Tummy time - still no sucess at 4 mths old

[ashandsal]

Hi everyone, our 4 mth old little lady still screams and face plants (LOL) when we make her do her tummy time.
Any suggestions as I am concerned that she won't progress to crawling without getting this right.
First time mum at 37 and loving it. Thanks Sally
PS Anyone up near Paradise Point (Gold Coast)wanting to meet up let me know.

[ross_544]

I had similar probs with DS now 7.5mths. i was told to put a rolled up towel under his chest, with arms over the top. I tried this, and i lay on the floor infront of him trying to stimulate him and it worked. He still didnt like it at first, but got used to it. he loves tummy time now, and frequently rolls onto his tummy to play with his toys

Good luck :)

[MammaW]

Hiya,

My DD HATED tummy time when she was younger and I had the same concerns, she is now 1 (on Wednesday!) and is happily crawling, nearly walking, and loves being on her tummy. It just sort of happened one day when she was around 7 - 8 months.

I too used to put a rolled up towel or tummy time pillow under her which would work for about 30 seconds before she would scream again!

[Chrysanthemum]

My son did't like tummy time til about 5 months when he could roll over himself. He's now 8 months and likes it a bit longer. Don't worry your baby will like it one day and if he doesn't he's only 4 months they all learn at their own pace.

[MrsBishi]

My DS didn't like tummy time until I had his flat head and neck issues fixed at a chiro that specialises in children. Then he loved it. Keep in mind too that all the books say your child should be able to do X by the # month - but if read further they actually mean by the end of that month, so really a baby is not expected to be able to do it until 4-5 months.

[jaz.yaap]

hi Sally,
had the same problem with DS. He would cried and screamed the house down if I so much as to turn him over (before putting him on his tummy). Ask the paed, GP, and CHN about this and was suggested the towel thingy under his chest. Didn't work. DS still refused. Then my family GP said that I should just try different things see which one works cause he has to get used to being on his tummy otherwise it will be too hard for him to practice his neck muscle (as his head gets bigger). She continued on saying that her son was like that too but she found out that he was ok to be on his tummy as long as his nappy was off.

So I made a routine of giving DS a wash (with cloth and warm water) every morning. I undressed him and took his nappy off. After I gave him a quick front wipe, I told DS that I needed to clean his back and turned him over. I quickly wiped his back (and waited for him to cry :lol). He was fine. However he started to cry once I finished wiping him. So I figured out that so long as he is in the nude and I pretends that I am trying to clean him, he's fine.

So from then I try to prolong his daily wipe . I wipe him off twice for every section, dry him, put some lotion on, etc, then turn him over and do the same to his back. It has been 1.5 months now and he is getting very good on his tummy. He rarely complain anymore and now we are adding 'pure' tummy time in the afternoon (after nap), and the evening (before bath).

Sorry for the very long reply, but keep trying and you just have to persevere I think. Don't be put off when she cries, let her cry for a minute or two before you turn her over cause even a few minutes help them strengthen their neck muscle. Good luck!!

[Lisa_Jem]

My DD1 hated being on her tummy. would only ever tolerate for few minutes and even that was pushing it sometimes! However she crawled at 8 months and was walking by 9 months so never did her any harm.
ALso, tummy time doesnt have to be on the floor. COuld be across your lap or you lying down and bubs on your chest. Think outside the square and come up with some fun tummy time actitities. And if all else fails, dont stress too much, babies tend to have a mind of their own and unless she cant hold her head up at all i wouldnt think its too much of a concern, just do what you can!~

[om amoona]

Hi, my daughter also hated her tummy time. She would scream and cry and I thought it was impossible for her to get used to it. I was told that she wouldn't roll over at the right time but I just left her on her back and she slowly came up with this thing were she would turn in circles. Then slowly she started to roll over and all by herself! She nearly crawls now so don't worry, your baby will slowly progress by themselves- and before you know it she'll be running around breaking everything!

[Lisa107]

My DD hated tummy time aswell and she had very good control of neck from birth.

We started with tummy time for a minute at a time about 5-10 times per day & slowly increased the time spent on tummy as she got used to it.

She started rolling over at about 4mths and it was around this time that she started to enjoy tummy time more.

[Mumma*J]

Hi there,
My girl is the same she's just over 12 weeks now. I'll give you some different things to try that I do with her and she is liking it more now;

- towel rolled up under chest (as pp mentioned)
- put a mirror in front of them, she loves to look at herself in the mirror and holds her head right up.
- do it with nappy off
- roll bub onto tum for a bit after each nappy change
- if you have a fitball, (or even a beach ball) sit in front of it and lay bub on tum on top of ball and roll the ball around (holding bub of course, lol) my dd loves this one.
- put bub where she can watch something interesting (my dd loves watching our dog so I put her on a rug on the lawn and throw the ball around for the dog) anything to distract them.

basically I try to make it fun and interesting for her by doing it in different ways all the time, and she is getting better at it now... and don't worry she used to be a face planter too! She would just faceplant and then suck her fist, little lazybum