Nine Month Old Dislikes Tummy Time

ah, yes, every mom looks at every detail... been there :) I have two boys and around nine months I started a game where they lay on their BACKS, I stand over them and drop a big stuffed animal. I say, "Catch," in my happy mommy voice and after two or three drops, they realized it was a game. They would start to use their arms (and legs) to try to manipulate the stuffed animal into their grasp, like they were caching it, although it was going to fall right into their arms no matter what :) Every time they "caught" the toy, they'd give it a good squeeze, so it develops arm stregth and co-ordination. She'll probably be a little more "fragile" than your boys, so it's a difficult adjustment, but I believe boys typically develop physically faster than girls and girls develop their speaking/understanding skills before most boys. good luck, anything using her arms/legs now will help her develop and once she starts pulling herself up on everything (especially the things that are most dangerous :) she'll develop those arms :)

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I had the same trouble with both my girls. With Ashlyn, now 14 months, I started out slouching on the couch and putting her on my chest, since they like to look at mommy’s face anyway, then move on to the floor. Then after a week I would put her on the floor and I would get in front of her, while talking and making faces and so forth. Then the problem was trying to keep her from rolling and stay on her tummy. But it seemed to help if I was in front of her or had a toy so she'd reach for it. Little bit little she'd scoot then crawl. I thought she'd be scooting on her head and hack forever. I hoped I was able to help. Good Luck.

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It's best to find something she really likes to look at, such as a noisy toy, a vibrant object or even your face. Lay it down just out of her reach but where she can see it easily. You can start out with just 5 minutes and build it up over time. Eventually, as her neck muscles grow stronger, you'll want to lift those objects a little higher (about eye level)to get her to pick up her head and look up. It worked for our kids! Good luck!

Hi, S.! My little guy didn't like tummy time, either. Every time we put him on his tummy, he'd scream until his face turned red. I worried his neck wouldn't develop, his arms would be weak, etc.

But he's now a healthy almost-three-year-old and the strongest kid in his pre-school class.

So, I just wanted to tell you not to sweat it if you can't get your little girl to like tummy time. I've learned to be one of those moms who says, "Okay, it's not like I'm going to end up with a teenager who can't [fill in the blank]. He'll figure it out." Now, if it's something huge (like he can't keep food down or his eyes don't stay together, etc.), then I stress and call the doc. But there are a lot of times I've learned to let things go.

Best wishes with your little girl!

Who cares. Just do it. Everytime you do it make it longer and longer. She will get to enjoy it. My daughter was the same way but I just pushed forward and she was already crawling at nine months it is best for your child so don't worry if she cries. She will be ok. I bet in two weeks she will be all over the place and so happy.

my oldest daughter was like that. she didnt like it at all.... she walked at 10 months.... dont worry about it if shes rolling and sitting up shes past tummy time anyway..

S.,
I think she may be past tummy time since she can roll and sit. I think they primarily started this because now children are put to sleep on their backs and don't prop themselves up on their arms and learn to crawl because of lack of opportunity. Anyway, I used to prop up board books on the floor in addition to toys and tap on the photos and talk about them. My daughters always enjoyed that.
Anyway, try not to worry about when she crawls. I am sure you know from the older ones, that each child has their own schedule. My first daughter walked at 12 months, but my 2nd daughter waited until 19 months. I was fine the first few months, but around 18 months I started to nervous. Anyway, now she is 2 and runs like the wind!
Good Luck,
P.

most pediatricians say that as soon as your baby can roll off his or her tummy, tummy time is not benefiting them any more. she will absolutely develop just fine without being on her tummy. my son always hated tummy time and he is crawling and almost walking now at 10 months. my daughter loved tummy time and she was a very late crawler and a very late walker. she was 18months before she walked. she is fine now, but all kids are different and they all do these things at different times. just relax and let her do the things that make her happy. she wont do anything until she is ready, no matter what you make her do.

Don't worry about it, if she is already sitting up and rolling around, she will be pulling up next and she will get more strength. She will be just fine. You could always show her how to lift weights. HA!HA! Just kidding!

My boy never liked tummy time. A few things you can do:

Get on your tummy with her and talk/play with her. Try to distract her with toys.

You can also try to just lengthen the time slowly. We started with just a minute (from when he was 1 month old) and kept adding 30 seconds, or as long as he'd tolerate it. But I don't know many infants who like tummy time at all :)

Use a boppy or pillow to prop up her upper body if you haven't done that yet.

Also, make sure she doesn't have a full stomach or bladder when you put her on her tummy. Makes it uncomfortable!

My son was never on his tummy because he disliked it so much and he was able to learn how to do it all. Just give her time and don't force her to be on her tummy. She'll be just fine!

just relax (unless you think that she's having trouble actually using her arms, then I'd call your ped). Otherwise, babies do not need tummy time, period. If you let them, they will develop and progress physically on their own natural time. There is a very wide range of what is considered 'normal' in the developmental process. Just relax and enjoy your baby girl.

One of my three disliked being on her tummy too! Chances are good with that many boys to watch - she likes to be sitting more than laying down. Bless you!! If she is rolling and sitting, I would not worry. My third only did tummy time for about a month around 6 months and after that wanted to be more in the action. Good luck!

That baby's gonna be walking in no time, tummy time is past, go ahead and start putting all the knick knacks up a level.

my daughter never liked tummy time and my dr. said that it was fine as long as she was meeting the milestones for that age. it sounds like your daughter is as well, so i wouldn't stress about it.

I work with child development from birth to three. I would say if she is pushing herself into the sitting position, that she will strengthen her arms that way as well. THe other thing I would suggest is a playground or an exercise ball. It needs to be a good size, but not too big. You can place her on her tummy on top of the ball and roll her forward until her arms will touch the ground for support. You can also use a cylindrical type pillow to get the same effect, they are harder to find, and probably more expensive. I would play with her while she is in this position every day for about five minutes at a time maybe a couple times a day. This should help. Good luck.

S.
I've raised four kids and I've never heard of the need for tummy time. Where did you hear that is something a baby needs? Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. She'll get what she needs naturally. Whatever you do, don't try to force it, you'll only create a problem.
S.

My daughter also hated being on her tummy. So, I never forced it...she learned how to do everything she was supposed to do. Just give it time, she will progress......
T.

My son SCREAMED when I tried tummy time, so I didn't do it. He progressed naturally on his own. As soon as she starts pulling up, she will get that strength in her arms. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Give up on the tummy time, she will strengthen her arms by pushing up to sitting! It should be fun at this age. She is developing fine!

at this point, there really isn't much you can do, but place her on the floor and put some toys around her to play with. if she's already learned to roll over and sit up, then if she doesn't like being on her tummy then she's not going to stay that way for long. what makes you feel her arms aren't strong enough. can she not grasp things or push her self up with them? can she not raise her hands up in the air. if you're really concerned about her muscle tone or function, then you need to talk to her ped and see what they think. they might suggest some strengthing excersises or physical therepy if she really has weak arms. but more than likely she is fine and doing everything a baby her age needs to be doing.