3 Tummy Time Tips For Newborns
Morning folks! Talking today about something a lot of new moms struggle with, good ol’ tummy time. Your doctor tells you tummy time for newborns is essential, but then your baby hates it and screams and cries. Ouch! As if there hasn’t been enough crying around the house lately, right?
Tummy time can in fact be a difficult adjustment for young babies. I learned this first hand through my own five babies. After reading a recent post on CafeMom, I was reminded of how common it is for young babies to dislike these baby yoga exercises, and I wanted to film this vlog to say to other new mothers that it’s possible to make tummy time easier for you and your baby with a few simple tips.
Here’s what the mom writes in her post:
“My beautiful 3-month-old daughter hates tummy time … after I lay her on her tummy it takes two minutes or less before she’s crying. How do I teach her tummy time can be fun and get her used to it?”
Okay, so our issue today on CloudMom is what is tummy time, why is it hard, when should it happen, and how can we make it work?
Why Baby Bellies Need To Work
Tummy time is such an important exercise for young babies because it helps to increase their upper back muscle strength. That said, it isn’t something an itsy bitsy newborn can handle. So, when is the best time to start encouraging a baby to get comfortable on her belly? Double check with your doctor but mine advised to start once the baby hit the one-month-old mark. Before that, my babies weren’t strong enough.
So you try to get your baby to partake in tummy time, but then it’s full on tantrum-mode. What do you do now? Here are my tips!
First, play with your baby. With my kids, I had an entire box full of toys that I used specifically for tummy time. I learned that it was best to get right down on the floor with my baby and play with rattles, puppets, stuffed animals — anything that would get them to sit up a little and be distracted. Not only does this give you the chance to encourage baby yoga exercises on the floor, it also allows you to make use of those rattles and toys that grandma bought for your little one!
To find out how to make tummy time for newborns more enjoyable for both you and your baby, check out my video! Oh, and please share how you made tummy time work!
xo Melissa
Comments
Phil Partington
We have three boys and they were all different. The oldest hated tummy time–no matter what we did. I think part of it was because his neck muscles took a while to develop so lifting his head was difficult at first. He got over it. We basically just kept trying and didn’t force the issue. Eventually, he got into it on his own. Playing with them is a good tip there. Distraction methods are effective for a lot of things. His mom always had more luck with it than I did (http://utterdadness.com/2016/03/30/potty-training-a-religious-experience/).
Some great tips there. Thanks!
cloudmom
Thanks for sharing your experience! Every child is different, so trying new things and sticking with it is helpful.
Baby's First Year: Month 7 | CloudMom
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