Neck Strengthening Issues

All three of my kids HATED tummy time; while I know that it is important to help with muscle control, there are other things you can do to help this. My kids loved to be held with their head on my shoulder; this is where they got most of their lifting head practice. I also tried to hold them in such a way that they could always look around if they wanted to. Try putting toys that are brightly colored down on the floor in front of her that may help as well. I always let mine have some tummy time but as soon as they started fussing then I would pick them up or I would change them to their back. I also noticed that mine started liking tummy time a bit more after they learned to roll over.

Have you put a non-breakable mirror down for her to look at herself in? That does the trick for a lot of little babies. A really good, interactive play gym/mat is also good if you don't already have one. Some of them come with built in support. You can also use a small Boppy type pillow under her chest to help support her while she's getting the hang of it.

How about propping her up on a boppy. lay it under her arms and play with a colorful or nosiy toy infront of her. my lil girl loved staring at fishes when she was little. i had a beta in a small bowl and she'd lay on her tummy just watching it swim.

Have you tried one of those toys designed to encourage tummy time? My son liked the "surfboard" toy I got from Target. Something that has stimulation may help, and that particular toy has a raised cushion on the front which make the position more comfortable.

Neither one of my kids like tummy time either. I just kept putting them down though a few times a day and played with them. After they were trying to figure out how to crawl, it wasn't so bad. Just keep putting her down on her belly a few times a day and try to keep her amused at the same time.

Good luck
S.

I wouldn't worry about this at all. A lot of babies do not like tummy time. I never worried about it and none of my kids were 'behind'. I'd wait a couple of months. We don't have to force our babies to do something just because I book says something about it. My 5th child is currently 10 months old and I remember when I took him to the doc somewhere around 6 months....filled out the question sheet...asked if he is turning over. I checked no...was the pediatrician concerned. Nope. And even if she would have been, I certainly would not be. I know my children.

I wouldn't let a 4 month old scream it out. It's definitely teaching her that mom isn't going to come when she is in need. I'd rather build a relationship with her rather than give her lots of practice in crying and screaming. (In the future you'll be wondering why she cries so much...she's had lots and lots of practice.) :) Just my .02.

My daughter hated tummy time too. I used to lay her on my lap on her tummy while I was sitting talking with other people. If she fussed I would gently bounce her. I have also seen people put the boppy under the babies arm pits with her head up and put a toy under her. Good luck!

Hi T., I found an interesting article on www.parents.com about tummy time and the best advice is to keep trying. Short periods at first and build up to longer periods of time. Tummy time is very important to help facilitate muscle groups needed for crawling, walking and even fine motors skills later. I am an occupational therapy assistant and I can see the effects first hand on children who do not have these skills because they were not given adequate time on their tummies to develop these skills naturally. Babies pick up on our body language and energy very quickly, if you are worried and expect her to be upset, she will react that way more quickly. Try to relax,make short tummy time part of play when she is in a good mood and playful. And talk to your pediatrician, they can get you in touch with early intervention therapist IF you need them.
Thanks Pam

My son hated tummy time; he had terrible reflux, which made it uncomfortable for him. Our doctor encouraged us to use a Bumbo for him to sit in, which allowed him to be off the back of his head holding his head up and looking around. I don't know the degree of muscle weakness your daughter has, but maybe this could be a good solution. Eventually, once the reflux got under control, he was fine with rolling around on the floor and crawling, so not having tummy time wasn't a problem. Hope this helps!

Don't sweat the small stuff. And tummy time is VERY small stuff. My first child hated "tummy time", too, and I was starting to get dubious of the whole thing, so when he got upset, I would turn him back over, or pick him up. Now I'm convinced it's a complete waste.

I noticed that if I held him on my shoulder, he would be just fine with lifting his head, and he gradually was able
to support more and more of the weight with more control and less wobbling for longer and longer. When they are on their tummy, they have to hold all the the weight - but if he was on my shoulder, it was easier because he was almost vertical, and didn't have to lift it completely.

Occasionally, my husband would fuss at me because I wasn't rigorously sticking to the mandated "tummy time schedule", and *he* took over tummy time. But it quickly became apparent to him, also, that we had to find a better way.

I found that when I had him in an inward-facing baby carrier or sling, my baby was able to gradually work on supporting his head, and he would do it on his own when he was interested in some sound or wanted to see something. And when he had enough neck strength, I got one of those "Ergo" baby carriers that go on your back so you can actually *do* stuff. (Yes, and I've seen photos of women planting organic gardens with a baby on their chest in a sling, but I had a difficult time just emptying the dishwasher.) But with the baby on the back, I could do *almost* anything in the kitchen. (WARNING: Never try cutting onions with the baby in a back carrier - Mom's eyes start tearing up, baby's eyes tear up, baby starts to wail and pulls mom's hair, mom cuts her finger - all in about 15 seconds.)

So I gradually came to the conclusion that tummy time was a crock. If the kid doesn't mind it, then fine. But if they
are miserable, then it's not worth it, they *will* get plenty of this "exercise" on their own, especially if they spend lots of time more or less vertical. Now, to be fair, maybe babies who are always being moved from carseat to bouncy seat to crib *would* benefit more from tummy time. But I think they would benefit a heckava lot more from being held. It's human touch that builds the dendrites, which is why baby massage is so good for the infant brain.

Needless to say, when my 2nd baby came along, we didn't fight him. We put him on his tummy every now & then but ended it when he let us know he had enough.

Look at it this way, if failing to do tummy time is the worst thing you do as a parent, your child will have a charmed life. The worst POSSIBLE scenario is that it takes her - what? maybe 2 weeks longer to learn how to crawl. Tops. Big deal. That's 2 weeks that you won't have to worry about her crawling over to an electrical socket or over to a bug she wants to put into her mouth. It's not worth the stress for either of you, in my humble opinion.