I think I probably asked these questions before but how often do you guys put baby on their tummies? DS is just about 3 months and he still hates it! He cries and screams the whole time. I know he's supposed to be doing it anyway since he needs to learn to develop some of his skills but I feel so bad leaving him that way. I've noticed he's very strong everywhere but his arms and that's probably because I have to go and rescue him since I can't stand letting him cry like that. How old were your kids when they started to get used to it and how long should I let him go if he's screaming about it? He's doing it right now and I feel terrible! Help!

Celestine! I think I could have written your post. We don't do tummy time except for about once a week. She hates it. I notice the strength in my baby just like you described...and she is also 3 months old. Ava has been very colicy, and miraculously snapped out of it a couple weeks ago...so I'm making more effort these days...she still hates it.

When we try the tummy time, I prop her chest up on a boppy pillow. She can kind of lift her head up on her own...depends on how tired she is when we're doing it. It only lasts 3-4 minutes and she's done.

I've recently started doing baby sit-ups with Ava. This seems to be working some of her arm & chest muscles.
Gayle

I've never heard of baby sit-ups. How do you do that? We try to do tummy time every day. Now we've gotten into multiple times since can't leave him like that very long. Last time, he had tears in his eyes! I've tried with a boppy and with a blanket rolled under his arms and he still screams. I can sometimes sneak him onto his tummy when he's half asleep but then he just lies there so I don't think it's much of a work-out. I was hoping he'd at least get used to being that way and then he'd start trying to lift on his own but he seems to panic more than everything else. He's no where near a rolling point yet, I know that much. Poor baby, I feel like such a jerk when he's that upset.

Hi Celestine.

My DD never like tummy time either but just recently at 4 months she's started to go a bit longer on her tummy. Up until now I'd be lucky if she did 2 minutes but she'll go about 5 - 10 minutes now. I was advised to just give her brief periods on her tummy, like when I was dressing her to lay her on her tummy to do up buttons at the back for example. That way she'd start to get used to being on her tummy without it being a big ordeal.

Good luck I think they all get used to it eventually...at least I hope they do!

Spanish

The baby sit-ups is when she is laying on her back, either flat or propped at an angle in my lap. I hold her hands and pull her up slowly like a sit-up. Slow up and slow down. It helps with chest muscles, neck muscles in the front, and arms. In the beginning, we/she could do about 3-5 of these before her head hung back & got tired. Now we are up to about 11 before her neck & arms get tired. It's not tummy time, but it's better than nothing.

I had a post like this too. DD hated her tummy time too. And to make things worse she's a spitter upper. So I really limited the time to keep her comfortable. I told her DR at her 2 month (she was 12 weeks) well baby that she hated it and I wasn't forcing it on her. He told me she will grow into it and for about the past 6 weeks or so about 4 months she has perfered it. She will roll to her belly and look around and explore.

My son is 4 months, and he always HATED tummy time like your little one. Eventually as he became stronger though, and could hold his head up higher and higher, he actually started to like it. What I did was put him on his tummy on my bed, then go around to the other side and kneel on the floor so I was facing him and call his name. He was so interested in trying to lift his head to find my voice that he would stop crying. Then I would play Peek-A-Boo...I would duck down beside the bed, then pop back up and say PEEK-A-BOO. He loved it! Now he has learned to roll from back to tummy, and I can't keep him on his back!!

Celestine! I think I could have written your post. We don't do tummy time except for about once a week. She hates it. I notice the strength in my baby just like you described...and she is also 3 months old. Ava has been very colicy, and miraculously snapped out of it a couple weeks ago...so I'm making more effort these days...she still hates it.

When we try the tummy time, I prop her chest up on a boppy pillow. She can kind of lift her head up on her own...depends on how tired she is when we're doing it. It only lasts 3-4 minutes and she's done.

I've recently started doing baby sit-ups with Ava. This seems to be working some of her arm & chest muscles.
Gayle

Oh man Gayle....you just made me feel so much better! I was thinking I was the worst mom because we hardly EVER do tummy time (alex HATES it) It's so funny, tho, because I do the baby sit ups too! He laughs and giggles through this. Glad to see we are on the same page tho :p

Everybody has some good ideas. I'll definitely try them. I'm always limited on time as well because it has to be a while after he's eaten or he'll spit everything up. I'll try the sit-ups today. I'll try the bed trick as well. Wish me luck!