No Tummy Time

It is very important for your girls to have tummy time - it is the only way that they will gain muscle tone and strength in their arms, which they will need for both sitting up and, eventually, crawling. Also, babies that do not have tummy time on a regular basis do not "cling" to their mothers when held, but just kind of hang off their mothers bodies. Tummy time also helps greatly with neck strength: the benefits of it are endless, and necessary for appropriate development. We see alot of children in my field of work with low muscle tone, misshapen heads, and other physical delays connected with an absence of tummy time.
I am a special ed teacher and psychologist, and my daughter hated tummy time too: know that MOST babies do not take to it well! Here is what I suggest, and what other childhood professionals recommend: 10 minutes of tummy time a day, regardless of the crying (most babies cry when they are young and forced into tummy time). Put the girls on the boppy or put a rolled up towel beneath their armpits, and put some of their favorite toys in front of them so they have to reach or will have the desire to reach. You may also have to just lay there on the floor too, facing them, and entertain them yourself for the duration of the 10 minutes. You'll find that, in a few weeks, they will no longer cry when you put them on their tummies, but look forward to that special time. Also, their crying is not going to hurt them at all, its just frustration that they dont have their muscle strength to a point where they can hold themselves up to see what is going on. Once they've built some muscle, they will be able to hold themselves up just fine and no longer cry.

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S.,

My son was the exact same way. He HATED tummy time. He would scream his head off. I would just put him on his tummy as much as he could stand it. I personally don't think it would be beneficial to keep the girls on their tummy as they cry. It's pointless and they will just get frustrated. I would try a little each day and put some toys in front of them. They will eventually get better and like it a little more. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful

chest "tummy time" counts too so until your kiddos like it better you can do tat as their tummy time (which I think is over rated anyway)

1 mom found this helpful

My 9 month old had the same issue with tummy time, each time i would lay her down on her tummy she would scream, so what i did was every few hours (when i was on leave) i would lay her down on her tummy for about 5 minutes, she kept screaming, but she had the time to help her arm strength, even though she didnt get very much time, it didnt affect her milestones what so ever, she was at a full crawl by 7 month and is now 9 1/2 months and is taking steps by herself, so i do believe that tummy time helps, but who ever said that it had to be several hours a day, my daughter only had about 1 to 1 1/2 hours of tummy time a day at the most and she is hitting her milestones just fine, so dont worry about it to much, just let them have tummy time little by little and they will be fine

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Hi S.,

I've been out of the "business" for a long time but could you explain to me what "tummy time" is? I'm hoping for a grandbaby and I want to be up to date! Thanks so much.

V.

My son never liked tummy time either. It sounds like the same situation with your girls--screaming when on the tummy, but can hold up their own head and sit up assisted. Gradually my baby got more OK about being on his belly, but never like other people talk about. He started crawling at nine months and I expect him to walk any day now (he's now 10 1/2 months). I think you should still keep trying with your girls, but it's OK if they won't do it. Every baby has their own schedule and they end up turning out just fine!

Whether or not your daughters want to be on their tummies, it is truly the best thing for them. For some odd reason, they learn to breath deeper when on their tummies, and they help develop their lungs further by the screaming they do.

I was told that 5 times a day to put my son on his tummy for 5-10 min. each time. Don't give in to the screaming, at their age, it will help them learn to roll over, if they aren't doing so already.

Don't give up on it. Continue to have tummy time daily. Each week add a couple of minutes every time they are on their tummies. It is good for them to scream for a little while.

Some parents hate hearing the screaming and think it is hurting their child, but truly let them scream for 5 minutes at a time for 5 times a day won't hurt them. It will help them in so many ways that it is unthinkable not to have them on their tummies.

This is what I was told, but my son was 6 weeks old when we were told this, after a few days, he started screaming less and less, and then after about 2 weeks, he stopped screaming all together, and then learned to rollover, followed by scooting at 5 1/2 months, crawling at 6 months, and walking at 9 months. Only occasionally do I regret putting him on his tummy, knowing that by letting him get so comfy, he would learn to crawl earlier, but for the most part I don't regrett it. I think he would have learned earlier regardless of tummy time or not.

Try rolling a towel up for them. This lets them sit up a little lower than a boppy, and not flat on the floor either. (we put rubber bands around it to keep it from un rolling all the time). the other thing to try is get down and let them either see your face or have them facing each other so they can see each other, this may comfort one or both of them. Lay on your back with your arms out and lay them either on one arm each or both on one arm, get a non-breakable mirror and a couple of balls or other objects to hit on the mirror, babies love looking at their reflections, and the reflections of other objects.

These are just a few suggestions on what to try, use them and expand them as necessary. I hope this helps. It helped me, and a few of my friends as well.

Good Luck, and don't give up!

hi S.

ok heres the deal... my daughter NEVER LIKED tummy time. we had tried every trick in the book . never did anything. in fact once she got on her tummy if she didn't scream.. she would roll over! dont worry your girls will do it eventually just at their own time!

Dear S.,

I guess that you have tried them alone - so that one will not influence the other in the crying ?

Maybe their tummies are full try that just in an inbetween time, you probably already have thought of that. Um. I don't know, maybe they are not ready yet. Were they born a bit early? That would slow them down a little.

Try www.drgreen.com or Vincent Iannelli, M.D. on the web.

Good luck, C. N.

My daughter never had tummy time she screamed every minute of it until she was about 7 months old. I now have the same problem with my 3 1/2 month old. I just never forced the issue

S.,

Just because you think they are ready doesn't mean they actually are. Some babies just hate tummy time. In many other cultures, tummy time is completely unheard of but babies still develop just fine so I wouldn't worry too much about it. One thought though, do your babies have reflux? It is common in preemies and can make tummy time really painful because laying on their stomaches pushing acid into their esophagus.

T.

Hi S.,

You can try putting them on YOUR tummy or a pillow, so they're at a slight incline. You can also just try putting them on your chest and leaning back on the couch. But don't worry if they don't spend much tummy time. My daughter never liked it either, and she always had good neck strength and walked at 11 months, and is as healthy and as strong as can be!:-)

Don't worry!
M.
--
M. Sederquist, MES, CSCS, CPT

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My daughter is now eight months and still hates tummy time all she does is cry and sream ( she is walking rather than crawling). The only tommy time that worked for us is when I would lay on the floor and have tummy time on top of me. Instead of tummy time my ped suggested sitting her up in the pod or bumbo so that that she would develop the stomach and back strength.