Tummy time is a great activity to do several times a day starting at birth! But not all babies love it right away, and it can be stressful if baby is crying and not enjoying it.
And then add on the stress of feeling the need to do tummy time because you know how well it helps baby develop!
Let’s explore 5 tips to help make tummy time more enjoyable for all!
Tummy Time Benefits
Tummy time supports baby’s physical development and preps for follow on milestones, such as rolling and crawling!
Tummy time can strengthen baby’s neck, back, and core musculature. It can limit torticollis and flat spots on their head too!
Tummy time also can help baby observe their environment, visual development (such as tracking and focusing), and sensory processing of their environment.
We want to support both time on baby’s back, sides, and belly when doing tummy time, as well! So, if baby is not loving their tummy, roll them to their side or back to change up the scenery.
Let’s explore some other ways to make tummy time more enjoyable for all!
Baby Milestones: 0-6 Months with Dr. Tara Andrade, Pediatric Physical Therapist
You had a baby. Now what?
There is no perfect map for new parents on how to get your child developing. This course should serve as a tool for new parents to promote gross motor learning in their child.
This webinar covers developmental milestones in the first 6 months of life.
It will cover typical development and what to look out for in atypical development (i.e prematurity, torticollis prevention, tummy time with acid reflux, general delays in skills).
It will discuss how to facilitate gross motor skills in your child including tummy time, rolling and sitting.
It will provide tips and tricks for parents to face challenges that sometimes arise with these activities.
This course will teach you how to prevent delays and how to perform purposeful play with your child in those first 6 months.
At the end of this course parents should feel empowered and confident in how to incorporate purposeful play into their daily routine for their 0-6 month old.
1) Put them on your chest!
The easiest way to do tummy time right after birth is to place baby on your chest! This can be done skin to skin, to increase bonding, or it can be done over clothing.
This will be baby the opportunity to take a nap, or to lift their head up for short periods of time to look around.
If you are breastfeeding, you can even do laid back nursing in this reclined position, which can also count as tummy time since baby has to use more of their musculature control to breastfeed.
2) Get on the floor with them!
Next, we can get on the floor with them! This is also a great opportunity for older siblings to play with baby.
Laying down on the floor with baby brings you to their level, and can increase bonding, as well.
We usually found that if our baby was more fussy in tummy time, once we got on their level, they tended to be happier.
3) Interactive Toys!
As baby becomes more interactive with their environment, it can be helpful to incorporate different toys for tummy time!
I found around the 3-4 month mark, my baby wanted to explore different toys we placed on the floor with him.
A play gym is a great option to add toys overhead or on the floor with them to play on their sides, back, or belly.
We love the Lovevery play gym for how much our baby interacted with the fabrics and toys, and it was easy to transport around too.
In addition, toys on a blanket are great options too! We found a mirror or toys that changed as our baby touched them were big hits!
We have loved getting the Lovevery Play Subscription Kits for our babies! Each kit includes developmentally appropriate toys to help entertain them and offers suggestions on how to play with them too to support their development. We have found each kit is perfect for each age and they go from 0-48 months of age!
The Lovevery Play Gym has been a great toy, as well, for our non-mobile babies! We were surprised by the quality and how engaged our babies were with the play gym.
4) Be in their view!
If you are going to stand up or are moving around, such as doing a workout, being in baby’s view can help them feel more comfortable and also give them something to visually track and watch.
When I was working out in the early moths postpartum, I found working out in his view made it much easier for him to enjoy tummy time and for me to finish my workouts.
5) Baby Wear!
And if none of the above options work, because flexibility is required for parenthood, baby wear!
Baby wearing counts as tummy time too! It can make it easier to do household tasks or be out and about with baby too! I found baby wearing to be my preference when going to the grocery store or out for walks over the stroller for ease.
Depending on baby’s age, you can either wear to the front or the backside. There are so many different carriers out there depending on your activity and baby’s age.
I found ring slings to be my preference for newborn days. It’s really easy to get my baby in and out of it and supported their entire body.
As my baby grew, I found structured carriers with buckles and straps to be easier to put on and work out in.
Structured carriers tended to be my preference too when I switched carrying my baby to my back too!
Tummy Time!
There are so many benefits to doing tummy time from birth, but it can be stressful to make it an enjoyable activity for all. If baby is crying or not enjoying it, it can make it harder for you to want to do it, as well.
Hopefully these tips helps to make tummy time more enjoyable for all, but know that it’s okay if you only do tummy time for short periods of time!