My 5 month old daughter is such a wonderful baby. She's a laughing, smiling, very secure little girl who only cries briefly when she's hungry, needs a new diaper or is fighting sleep. The reason I say this is because she HATES being on her tummy. She'll be fine for a few minutes and then she gets really frustrated and starts to cry. Because she is such a happy baby I really don't like letting her cry. When she's snuggling in bed with my husband and me she'll roll to one side to look and him and then to the other side to look at me but never all the way onto her belly. She has a really strong neck but isn't sitting on her own quite yet. How important is it to force her to be on her tummy? Thanks in advance for your help!!
When my children were growing up, sleeping on their tummies was essential but now it seems that tummy time isn't as important as it once was. Since it makes her cry, there's no need of putting her on her tummy.
P. S
I may be in the minority here, but I don't think that "tummy time" will make or break your child's physical development. Provided she has a variety of physical activities throughout the day, all her muscles will develop just fine.
If she sat strapped in a car seat for 12 hours a day, yes, "tummy time" probably would be a good idea because her mobility would be restricted. But if she spends lots of time on the floor playing, or on the bed rolling from one side to the other, and she's wriggling and reaching when you change her, or playing with a toy, the fact that you don't force her to endure tummy time won't negatively impact her.
If she's happy, and healthy, do not fret about not doing "tummy time"! You are doing everything right, and keep following your instincts. I say this as the mother of two incredibly healthy, properly developed elementary schoolers who didn't like it either, and so I didn't make them do it.
I personally don't think that she has to be on her belly. I no that all babies are different and she may not like it. My daughters docter told me to allow her to be on her tummy during the day but not at night due to sids. So therfore I would just let her do what she wants in that case.
Not really totally important if you're getting her to use the back and neck muscles in some way. My kids didn't sit independently until around 7 mos.
Why make you both fussy? Find another way:)
I had both my boys do tummy time for a couple minutes at a time 3-4 times day. It is a crucial step in their neck development as much as we hate to see them cry. I would place both my boys on the floor in front of a mirror becuase they loved seeing themselves. I also would lay down across from them so they would lift their heads to see my face. They love looking at mommy! Before you know she will be in school....enjoy these moments!
Some don't like it at first, but rolling back to front and front to back is a skill they all pick up sooner or later. Once they have the knack they love the freedom of greater mobility. I'd sit on the floor with my son and have a toy near by but just out of reach. He could roll both ways, but he couldn't crawl yet. He came up with his own method of getting the toy. He'd roll to his tummy to see where it was, then he'd flip to his back so he could push with his legs to scoot closer to the toy. If he didn't reach it after awhile, he'd flip to his tummy again to check it's position and try all over again. You could almost see his mind working out how to solve his problem!
My son sounds exactly the same as your daugher does. He always hated being on his tummy, I think daycare broke him of that because they were required to give him tummy time. However, at home I couldn't stand him being bothered; so I would put him tummy down on a boppy (arms hanging over too) so he could see what was going on while working those muscles. It seemed to help, I would try to entertain if he got mad but it's definitely not life or death, my son didn't crawl until 8mos and then he walked at 10mos! Do keep at it, but just don't stress :-) Crawling isn't a milestone anyway, she's rolling and that is good. Oh, and most babies don't sit up fully by themselves (witout the worry of falling) until around 8mos anyway.
I never did "tummy time" with my daughter because she didn't like it, if she rolled over by herself fine - but I think its a bit cruel to put babies on their belly if they don't like it.
my daughter sat up at 5 months, crawled at 6 and walked at 12 - so it didn't affect her in any way not having the fabled "tummy time"
I think it is very important but it also shouldn't be torture foe either of you. If she will only tolerate 2-3 minutes, then do it for 2-3 minutes several times a day. Or try other ways to get her to extend her neck and back muscles. You can try on her tummy over a towel roll or boppy, airplane, or laying on your legs at an angle. good luck!
My son had terrible reflux, so "tummy time" was torture for him. Instead, we would sit him in a bumbo before he could sit independently. (I think we started using it at three moths old with a blanket in it, since he is a skinny guy; he had been holding his head up for a while.) He still had to use his neck muscles to support his head, and it kept him from being on his back all of the time. He seemed to love this different perspective of the world, and I think it encouraged his wanting to crawl to reach items of interest. He was able to roll over very well despite the lack of time spent on his stomach; he would practice in his crib in his sleep. : ) Hope this helps!
My baby also hates tummy time but it can be made more interesting by propping her up on a rolled up blanket and putting some toys or a mirror in front of her. I also lean back on pillows and place my baby on my shins and do airplane which my son loves (also works the abs a little). Anything fun that I can think of that helps him lift use his neck muscles.
She needs to be able to develop her neck muscles and it is a way to keep children from having problems with their heads if they spend their entire infancy on their backs. She can get the equivalent of "tummy time" if she is cradled to your chest and you are a bit reclined--she is holding her head up and looking around in this position. She could be up on a Boppy or with a towel or blanket rolled and under her shoulders so she can see things better, too. There are some "tummy time" wedges you can get that keep them with their heads up a bit and might make them more comfortable. Just think more about what it is she needs and not strictly the phrase "tummy time" and that might help. She'll be mobile soon and then you won't really need to worry about it.
I have felt your pain. My little girl HATED being on her stomach. She would scream like someone was killing her. But I have to say I would put her on her tummy for like 5 minutes at first then up it every day to about 15 minutes a few times a day and she ended up being able to roll over and start crawling very quickly. I would have to go into another room for a few minutes because I would feel so bad about letting her cry, but she has to have tummy time. Hope this helps and good luck.
Sounds to me like she just hasn't figured out how to roll back over yet, and is frustrated. It'll come. But it's important that you give her that time on her tummy. Muscle development is key, of course. But letting her go on her tummy and get mad will help her get to the next level of rolling over.
It took my son (also a very happy kid) about 2 weeks of major frustration and crying before he figured out how to get comfortable on his tummy (and he's slept that way ever since), and then how to roll back off of it. It's hard to watch them struggle, but it's what they need to go through to learn. This is one of those things (and there will be MANY) that you need to let her figure out for herself, rather than help her.
