Belly Time/Strength

Maya's Mama wrote: Hi there ...I am new to this forum, my sister (dansmom) referred me as a great way to get new insight, and to connect to other mothers going through the same things.
Anyway, lately I've been thinking that perhaps I'm not working on Maya's (6/3/03) strength and motor skills enough. We do maybe 15 minutes a day of belly time and I try to have her sit up as much as my arms will hold out. I was curious if anyone knows how much you're supposed to do at this stage of development, and if there are any helpful exercises I should do besides belly time.

Thanks!

-Vanessa

aspenblue1 replied: Hi and welcome to the board.

I think my ped said to to 15 min 2 times a day of tummy time. From what I have heard the tummy time is the best exercise. A lot of babies like that tummy time toy.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: With Zach, I did belly time 6 times a day for 5 minutes. He did NOT like being on his belly...and for more than 5 minutes, he'd scream and drive me insane!!!! At least he was able to handle 5 minutes...and it was better for me too.

ediep replied: Hi and welcome!

Jason didn't really like tummy time at first, so his ped said just do as much as he will allow, even if it is 1-2 minutes at first. Gradually build up to longer periods.

amynicole21 replied: I'm afraid I was a horrible mother when it came to tummy time I hardly ever did it at first, and I think that Sophia took longer to roll over because of it. I would try to do it at least 2x a day for as long as she will do it... it's great for their motor cotrol. Good luck and Welcome to the board!!

Kaitlin'smom replied: like others said tummy time is the best but not for to long of streches, start slowly and build up the lenght of time. Some babies love it and others hate it, so dont worry, if they hate it at forst they will get used to it.

Hi and welcome!

coasterqueen replied: I was always told that they should be on their tummy for 20 minutes at a time 2x a day. Kylie absolutely hated tummy time with every inch of her being! She did like the Playschool (or Fischer Price, can't remember) tummy time toy which helped and a boppy helped as well. DH, I, and the sitter tried every day to keep her on her tummy for 20 minutes, but if she got fussy and looked miserable doing it we just let her do what she wanted and just added some tummy time later that day or something.

As far as sitting up, Kylie sat up a lot in the boppy pillow. She did this more at the sitter so she could see the other kids playing. She liked it then, but at home she didn't like it so much because Dh and I are just not as fun to see running around, I guess.

DansMom replied: Welcome to the board Maya's Mom!

Daniel hated tummy time, and we didn't force it, and like Sophia I think he rolled over later than a lot of other babies because of it. But then he crawled earlier (?!?), so I think they eventually catch up no matter what you do. If she likes it, though, I would do it as much as she seems to want.

Mommieto2Girls replied: Hi, welcome to the board....

Maddie never did tummy time either, and she rolled over in a "normal" timeframe. I wouldn't worry to much about that especcialy if she tolerates it for a while.

A&A'smommy replied: hey i dont have any advice for you (im pg with my first) but i wanted to welcome you!!!! Its always fun to meet new people!!!!

~CrazieMama~ replied: Hello there!!!! Welcome to the board. My name is Michelle (25) SAHM to Brianna (18 months) and Tyler (8 years). Glad to have you here. I hope to get to know you. I say that you should just be patient. All babies do things at different times.

MommyToAshley replied: Hi and Welcome! We're glad you joined us.

My DD, Ashley, hated tummy time! I could get her to lay on her tummy for a few minutes if I got down there and played with her, but that never lasted too long. She loved to sit up though and was sitting up on her own by 4 months old. It was funny that she sat up before she rolled over... probably because she hated tummy time. And, when she did roll over, she learned to roll both ways at the same time... she rolled from her back to her tummy and kept going on over... guess she didn't want to stay on her tummy. The only problem I think it caused is that when she started rolling over to her tummy in her sleep, it would wake her up and she would scream. But, she got used to that and now she rolls all the time in her sleep and sleeps on her tummy a lot.

I was just really careful that I didn't lay her on her back all the time... I didn't want her to get a flat head. So, I was always moving her to the sitting position, on her side, to her swing, and a variety of positions.

I wouldn't worry if Maya doesn't like tummy time. I read that ever since the start of the "Back To Sleep" campaign, there have been a lot of babies that don't like to be on their tummy.

Welcome again... I am looking forward to getting to know you better!

CantWait replied: hi there and welcome to the board
I'm Marie, 26, mom to Robbie who's 8 and Anthony who's 2 and a half months. Anthony also isn't a big fan of being on his tummy, and I was told that 2 minutes a few times a day is plenty.
You can try different way of doing this. Either laying him on your chest....this will develope his neck muscles, on the floor (sometimes putting a towel or small blanket under their chest helps hold them up to get use to it), or across you legs, or playing superbaby (where you hold them under their belly and fly them across the room).
Good Luck

Maya's Mama replied: Thank you all for the warm welcome and the advice! I've been doing tummy time about 2-3x daily now. Maya usually likes it for about 5 minutes but then gets a bit cranky and starts trying to chew on whatever is underneath her. The boppy/towel trick kept her for a bit longer, as well as laying her on my chest. I've also been doing more swing time--which she seems to like more everyday. My DH has taken a liking to the superbaby idea--it's fun watching them fly about the room together! Thanks again--nice to meet you all!