4 Month Old Having Trouble with Tummy Time

My son hated to be on his stomach because his head was so big and he couldn't hold it up. I only put him on his tummy for a few minutes at a time because he either cried or just put his head down. Well, he weighed 10 pounds when he was born! He did EVERYTHING late - rolled over, sat up, crawled, walked,talked, you name it! He's 14 now, 6'3" and is a baseball pitcher, plays quarterback in football, and center in basketball.

DON'T WORRY!!!

I didn't read all of the responses but we put a paper towel roll under my daughters chest which helped prop her up. She didn't like tummy time either. But it got better the older she got.

A. -
My son hates tummy time also. He will only spend a max of two minutes on his tummy. He is now almost five months old and here is what we did. When I did get him on his tummy, I laid in front of him and made faces at him and anything that would stimulate him. I wanted him to lift his head up to see me. He recently learned to roll over from his back to his stomach (which is weird because most kids go from their stomach to back first and the back to stomach is more difficult). Learning to do this first was great because it was more difficult, plus he couldn't learn the other way because I hardly ever had him on his stomach. Now he rolls over and gets stuck on his stomach. I let him fuss for about a minute and then roll him back over. The fussing is kind of good for him because this is how he will learn to roll back over. I do help him roll back over and show him each time.
There is a great toy that we do use for tummy time that makes it much better. It does both time on their back and time on their tummy. It is Playskool Tummy Time Together Gym. You can order one at playskool.com. It has been the best toy we have had. He prefers this over all other toys and it is great. I never travel without it.

You can always lay down on your back and put her on your tummy and have a couple of toys and talk to her and put them a little out of reach so she has to reach for them, it dont matter if she is on the floor or on your tummy to do tummy time. You can always lay her on the floor and lay down in front of her on your tummy so your facing her and take a toy and put it just out of reach kind of above her but still so she can see it so she has to lift her head to reach for it.

Good Luck

Have you tried a sling? Slings are supposed to work the same muscles as tummy time, and in some ways are better, because as you walk, she has to readjust and is moving the muscles. My girls didn't like tummy time much either, but I carried them both in a sling quite a bit and they did just fine, hitting milestones at appropriate ages (both walking before a year). Plus, it's very handy, getting quality time with your kiddo while still getting things done.

K.

Have you tried just propping her up on a boppy? My youngest son didn't care much for the play mats etc... He liked to sit up on the boppy and feel bigger, or lay n the floor looking at the car or his big brother.... But he also only wanted to be on his tummy never on his back! LOL Try laying her across your lap, or propping her up on one of your legs so that she can kind of sit up more with her hands on your leg... Good Luck!

I don't know any tricks, but I do know that I have two children who I did not really do tummy time with. I was really bad about it. Both of them hated it as well, and I just didn't want to put both of us through that. My daughter was running before she was a year old. My son, well, it took forever for him to even crawl. The only suggestion I would recommend is to lie on the floor and put her on your belly facing you. I think that's the ony thing I did.

Hi A.,
I have an eight month old who still hates to be on his stomach. He would work himself into a royal FIT every time we would try and place him on his tummy. He just now is rolling from his back to his stomach. He didn't really hold his head up until five or six months. I asked my doctor, who said he wasn't concerned. Kids will hit their milestones at different times. He said that as long as they were in a three to six month window, he wasn't concerned.

Sure enough, we just kept putting him down four or five times a day on his stomach. We would get in front of him and cheer him on, sing songs, give him toys to play with. We would keep him on his stomach until he started to cry. Then we would pick him up and play with him or take him in another room, anything to distract him from the terrible tummy time! Every week he would stay a little longer on his tummy. Now it isn't a problem.

I also tried the bumbo seat, which he could stay in for only a few moments at a time in the very beginning. I also tried placing him over the top of a boppy pillow. Both allowed him to see the world.

I hope this helps! First time mommyhood is tougher than I expected!

Good Morning A., It's pretty normal that they do not like tummy time, our 8 month old Gr son didn't either nor did his 3 y/o brother. We ( DIL and I ) got down on the floor with them and played or made silly sounds when we did tummy time. Both cried and we rolled them over then back a few minutes later. It took a long time, to us anyway, to get them comfortable to be on their tummy's.

All children are different in their development, so don't get to concerned yet. Just keep working with your precious little angel. One of these days she will lift her head up and give you one of those heart melting smiles and all will be right with the world.

God Bless you and yours
K., Nana to 5
PS I married my high school sweetie also. 37 yrs and counting!
Now he is my Budda Baby, has a little dunlap disease! It done Lapped over that belt ;)

One thing that helped my son, who didn't like tummy time either, was to roll up a towel and position it under his chest. He was basically draped over the towel with his head and arms going over it, so it was kind of under his armpits. You can figure out what looks most comfortable for her. I think this takes some of the pressure off their tummies and they can still build up those neck and back muscles. We also did this at Gymboree so it must be a pretty widely practiced exercise! You can always put a favorite toy in front of her too for added interest!

My son also hated tummy time and we actually didn't do it very much (mostly because we just didn't think about it, how awful are we??), and he is just fine. They all develop differently, and she'll probably catch up just like mine did. Of course, you should still have the doc check her out, but I wouldn't be too worried unless you find out something definitive in the tests. Good luck!

A.,
Have you tried laying on the floor with your daughter. I would always lay down a big soft blanket that had a different pattern on both sides that we used on the floor only, and I would get on the floor with my Daughter and I would lay directly in front of her and talk and play with her. Her favorite toy was also very helpful in this process. Hope that helps, I know tummy time is generally a little break for Mommies, but it can also be a wonderful time to bond even more! Good luck.
M.

She may not like it but let her cry she is moving her arms legs and head when she is crying during tummytime.And this will help her build strengh in her body.Keep her tummytime to a min. of 3 min and the gradually increase it,but you have to do this several times a day not just once a day.

My son was not a fan of tummy time either but he is doing great! I wouldn't worry about it too much.

My daughter had the same issue. I finally bought a tummy mat that came with a little pillow that I put under her chest and arms. Then she was fine with tummy time. I hope you can solve your problem as easily.

Try laying on your back and laying her on your chest while on her tummy. This is what we did with my daughter when she hated being on her tummy. Baby will want to look at mom or dad and will push up on you (just watch out those little arms can push down harder than you think they can!). Or try laying fact to face with her so that she will look at you.

Try tummy to tummy time. Lay her on your belly. Most babies I know of hated tummy time. If you lay her on your belly she is more likely to stay to be close to you and look up too to see your face. Good luck.

I too had problems with my little guy not wanting to do tummy time. We tried boppies, putting him on us, enticing him with toys/mirrors, etc. But nothing worked. My doula suggested putting him on an exercise ball. This actually worked for us. We would "stand" him up and put the ball up to his tummy. Slowly we would roll the ball back (always keeping his tummy touching the ball) until he was on his tummy. When he started to fuss, we would roll the ball back down so he was in a standing position. We also found that he enjoyed TV and we would only let him watch it when he was doing tummy time on the ball. That was the only thing that would entice him to raise his head and he was eye level with the TV when on the exercise ball. I hope this helps!

I second the advice about getting on the floor with her, my almost 5 moth old was the same way but is much better now even though he's not exactly a fan of tummy time. I just get right on my belly with him and we sing and play. He seems to more often forget he'd rather be sitting up or standing (he's not a big fan of being flat on his back either - he likes to move).

I'm 53 yrs old and I hate being on my stomach, your daughter's issue may be just that simple. That doesn't mean that tomorrow or next week, she may love being on her tummy. If you are really concerned about her strength, try other things.

My answer to many issues is "get in the water" She's a bit young, but it may be worth a try. Even in a wading pool she could kick her legs, reach for things, splash with her arms, etc. Take precautions with clean water, temperature (young children can get chilled in water faster than we would think, they don't thermoregulate as well), water safety (don't EVER leave her more than a arm's reach away, if you can, be in the pool with her), and sun. Some wading pools are small enough to use inside with a few towels! When she hits 6-7 months old, I would look for a parent/child swim class. Let me know if you would like some criteria of what to look for in such a class.

My grandson had the same problem his head was to heavy for his neck to suport and he hated to be on his tummy on the flore or a mat but loved to be held so we would sit in a recliner or lay on the floor and do tummy to tummy time with him and help him with pushing up etc as we played with him. The Dr said tummy time is tummy time no matter how he gets it. Its not nearly as scary for them to push up and see mom or dad as a big floor or mat. good luck!! She will get stronger.

A.,

You might want to try getting on the floor with your baby so she can see you. Also you can lay flat and have her lay on your belly. My little ones hated being on their belly too, but this helped. Another thing to remember is to break the suggested amount of time into several small chuncks throughout the day. Hope this helps and good luck!

I definitely agree to put a towel roll under her chest in the shape of a boppy. That will help to lift herself up. I would try moving one of her favorite toys side to side in front of her face so she can track it with her eyes while moving her head. I did this with a colorful rattle that would get my daughter's attention. This will help build some strength. I would try tummy time when she is the happiest and do 2-3 minutes at a time. The minutes will add up during the day. Even if she is crying, really try to work on it because it will impact her development with rolling and eventually crawling.

Sorry this is late, and I haven't read the other responses, but here are a couple of things that you could try.

Lay on your back on the floor and put her on her tummy on top of you. You can entertain her for as long as she will let you.

Also, you can prop her up on a boppy pillow with her arms out in front and toys in front of her. This way she is not flat and has some support. You can also do this by putting her near the edge of the bed, and you can sit just beneath her on the floor so she can look down and see you and so you can play with her.

She is young still, so if you give her short amounts of time on her tummy, or as long as she is willing, then she will probably get used to it by the time she is a little older.

Our daughter was the same way, but also hated laying on my tummy, too. I was really concerned that she wouldn't develop strong enough muscles or learn how to crawl. But she turned out just fine! I just made her spend one minute on her tummy every day, but no more than that. And one day, she rolled from her back to her tummy - surprising since I thought for sure she'd go the other way first. Then she'd be stuck on her tummy and scream. Of course, she eventually learned to roll back and after that, she was fine with it. Good luck! Hang in there!

Does she sit in a bouncy seat and raise her head? What about a walker/exersaucer with blankets around her to support her, but she will need to raise / balance her head? When she's on her back do you put toys/playgyms above her so she can reach for them which would make her use her arms? She should then raise her head. Is she trying to roll over, yet? This would be a sign she has enough strength in her body. What about the new Boppy, that helps baby sit up? I know these aren't ways to get her used to her belly, but you may need to find other ways to strengthen her muscles. Once she learns to roll she will learn to be on her belly or roll back over, which is still using muscles. the reason why these babies don't like belly time is because we are no longer allowed to let them sleep or nap on their bellies so they don't get used to it. When she is on her back have her grip your fingers and you do nothing, but see if she will try to pull herself up holdong on to you. Most babies will do this several times before tiring & it is a great strengthening exercise. Just try to find other ways for her to use her muscles.

My daughter didn't like tummy time either. Have her lay on her tummy while she lays on top of you. That usually worked. Good luck.
V.

I agree lay her on top of you. Watch out though. Wear clothes that you don't care about or have a burp cloth there. And maybe close your mouth real quick if you hear that "burping" noise. :)

My daughter also hated tummy time (or time on her back) because she had reflux. We pretty much had to hold her until it was under control. One thing that I did with her that she loved was I sat on a couch with my feet on a coffee table in front of me so my legs were at an angle (or I sat on the bed or floor with my legs bent in front of me). I put her tummy on my legs, then "played music" on her back, legs, head, tushie, etc patting her while singing "bum bum bum bum".....whatever. She didn't build up arm strength but helped with her neck. I just did it because she liked it, but my parents as teachers said, "that counts as tummy time". Also, when she is old enough, you can lay on your back with your legs bent in front of you and put her on her tummy on your legs and do "airplane" with her.

A.,
I am right there with you. My son is 3 months. He hated it too. What I did was instead of 20 minutes at once I broke it down to 5 minutes four times a day. He liked that much better and within the first couple of days he was lifting his head and staying up on his arms. Yesterday he actually rolled over from his tummy to his back. The best part is he loves tummy time now. Hope this can help you.

try laying her on your lap on her tummy or laying on the floor on your back and then lay her on your tummy. Either way she has to lift her head to look you in the face.

My first daughter hated it too. We just stopped doing it. She never crawled, but was an early walker. So definitely don't stress yourself out about it. She'll be fine no matter what.

With my second, we layed her on the floor for as long as she seemed comfortable. At first, that was literally about 5 seconds, but we kept trying it several times a day (with and without a boppy and various play mats) and eventually she was fine with it for longer & longer. She also had acid reflux, which may have contributed to her unhappiness about lying on the floor. Just be sensitive to her cries-- if you got heartburn every time you layed on your stomach, you wouldn't want your caregiver to ignore your cries or try to make you stick it out, would you? Just keep trying several times a day, be sensitive to her needs, and eventually she'll be fine with it.

My son also hated it, but we prevailed. Just try to do it for 5 minutes (more or less) a few times a day. Eventually, she will start to like it. A friend of mine's little boy never liked it either so they stopped doing it as much. He ended up having problems because he never had the opportunity to develop those mucsles and had to have a little therapy at home.
Just keep trying and eventually those muscles will strenghten and she will love it. Make sure you get down there with her. Another tip... try laying flat on your back and letting her do some tummy time laying on top of you. She will be happier there while building confidence and strength.

Try laid her on your bed and you sit on the floor. this way she can see you and feel safe. I had same challenges with my little girl and this worked. She is now 5mo and set up on her own for few min. She is also rolling over from front to back and back to front. I hope this help.

Hi A.,
Our son didn't like tummy time either, so we never forced it on him. We've pretty much gone against what everyone else does w/ there babies and our son who will be 2 next month is more developed than other kids his age. I think parents worry too much and don't realize most kids will do certain things when they are ready. We held our son all the time and of course we heard, he's not going to crawl or walk if you keep holding him. He started walking when he was 10 months old. If you're really worried, put her in an exersaucer or walker and that will help strenghthen her legs. Keep in mind that she's only 4 months old and most babies at that age are just kicking and cooing. Don't rush her, let her set her own pace.
Good luck!!

My daughter hatted to be on her tummy too. I would lay her on me as several have suggested and I also used a Boppy pillow, propping her with her feet through the open side and arms over the pillow. I put toys or myself in her reach and we played. She would fuss a lot when she got tired of it. Just keep putting her on her tummy and she will do great!