I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Well as expected the Ped said Noah has a pretty darn flat head. His exact words were he should be on his Tummy ALL day long .....

Easy for him to say, he doesnt have to witness the crying panic that overcomes my baby when I do it.

So I am gonna try so hard.

Any suggestions for tummy time?

The ped upset me a little, made me feel kinda like it was my fault But Noahs head was like this since birth due to the delivery circumstances, it just hasnt improved. I dont lay him flat constantly or anything....
He said to me" In the back of the Parenting magazines are helmets , and thats where your heading

Message edited 8/31/2007 11:56:07 PM.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Kaitee hated tummy time untill she could roll over on her own around 4 1/2 months old. I would use the boppy and give her toys and things to look at. I would also put her in the bumbo a few times a day to avoid getting a flat head.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Donna do you have any tummy time toys for him that he might like. My daughter hated it with a passion. I found tummy time toys helped a lot and I also used to make her stuffies walk in front of her and make silly sounds, that she liked. I would do it for about 5 minutes at a shot then take a break and do it again in a little while.

It's hard when they don't like something but just keep trying it.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

what kind of toys are considered tummy time toys? I need to work on this with my DS as well.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

We must have the same doctor. Sara's head was getting flat and he said only belly time . It was hard but eventually she grew to like it . She really did get strong infact we crawled by 5 months . I also had to give up the infant car seat bucket. Sara is 18 months and as strong as can be now and her head is perfect

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Message edited 8/31/2007 11:55:36 PM.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Place him on a boppy - Cailen hated tummy time any other way....

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

The above suggestions are great...
Also, do you have one of those baby mirrors? DD always liked to look at herself..
And when I put her in the swing, bouncy, car seat, etc... I used the Noggin Nest, made by Boppy, it's great...Takes the pressure off the back of the head...

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

DD has the same issue. I just bought the Noggin Nest the PP mentioned which has been great. It's hard but she has gotten used to tummy time, my only problem now is that she falls asleep during it.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

I think your doctor needs to chill...

My friend's daughter had a SERIOUSLY flat head until she was about a year old (then it started to round out). The kid is fine (and I don't think the doctor said anything about it to my friend except that is was pretty normal since they are on their backs most of the time).

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

tummy time was hard for us as well. Basically since he wanted to be held 24/7...

the only thing that worked for us was that I would lay down a towel...then a cloth diaper. Put him down bare bottomed to also air him out. he loved it. It got him use to it.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Donna - I just wrote you a book in FM about this and what my ped said so I won't repeat it here again for you.

But, trust me - I know how you feel and I felt like it was all my fault also. It's not. Babies lay on their backs. Bottom line. We can rotate there heads a million times a day - I believe that still wouldn't have changed anything.

Now that you know it is a little flat you can work on sitting him up more and doing more tummy time.

I do tummy time with Jack in intervals. Sometimes I'll get 11 minutes out of him - and other times only 4 minutes. But if I keep at it and add it up throughout the day it is more then he was getting.

And, I also believe that even if Jack does end up getting the helmut and it doesn't correct itself before then - then so be it. I will do whatever I can before then to correct it but if it does happen then I'll just deal with that when the time comes.

WHY AM I WRITING YOU A BOOK AGAIN - LOL - Check your FM!

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Tell his doctor to succk it. Really.

As for tummy time, I've been laying down on the floor with him and showing him stuff. It is a little easier now that he is starting to roll...and starting to grab at stuff. But a mirror really helped too, my kid REALLY likes to look at himself

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Posted by KateDevine

Tell his doctor to succk it. Really.

As for tummy time, I've been laying down on the floor with him and showing him stuff. It is a little easier now that he is starting to roll...and starting to grab at stuff. But a mirror really helped too, my kid REALLY likes to look at himself

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Posted by Diana1215

Posted by KateDevine

Tell his doctor to succk it. Really.

As for tummy time, I've been laying down on the floor with him and showing him stuff. It is a little easier now that he is starting to roll...and starting to grab at stuff. But a mirror really helped too, my kid REALLY likes to look at himself

So does Jack - he's so vain already!!!

My ped was like "GET ON THE FLOOR WITH HIM!!!!"

AND

"PUT YOUR DOG ON THE FLOOR WITH HIM"

Ok, well - I do get on the floor with him but there isn't anything I Can do when he is screaming to get up. AND if I put the dog in front of him she would try and eat him!

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

DS hated tummy time as well...He's 7 months and still not a huge fan of it.
Now I put him on his back and he rolls onto his belly, waits about 15 mins. or so, then starts crying.

I also get on the floor with him and try to distract him with different toys or stuffed animals.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

DD hated it too. One way we got some it was on DH. She didn't mind it as much when she was on her belly on his belly (when DH was laying down.)

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Is his head flat in the back or on one side? My DS had the flat spot on his right side, which was NOT caused by lack of tummy time, but by weak neck muscels: torticollis. We particpated in physical therapy for months, and the torticollis has been corrected and his head has been getting progessively better..

FM me if I can be of any help.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Message edited 9/1/2007 9:46:39 AM.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Try this:

TUMMY TIME

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

my DS, who is 2 months old, also does not like tummy time, he loves his little play mat when hes on his back, but the minute i put him on the tummy on it, he cries. So i decided to just lay a blanket down on the floor and put some toys around it. Even though he didnt love it, he worked better. I think he liked the open feeling versus being on the play mat where their are toys dangling, the bars crisscross above it, etc.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

First of all, EW to your ped. for how he spoke to you about it! Ew, ew, ew. I would have been very upset, as well.

Second of all, I haven't read through everyone's responses, so I'm sorry if I repeat advice...
Start him out and leave him for only one or two minutes. Then about a half hour later, try again, but leave him for two or three minutes, etc, etc, etc...
It will take a little while to get him used to it, and takes time on your part to assimilate him to it, but this is what we did with Ava and it worked like a charm. In a few days, she was loving being on her belly.
Also, he sleeps in his swing? right? Have you tried belly sleeping him for naps? Of course that all depends on your comfort level, but very early on, we realized that Ava only liked sleeping on her belly.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

Sarah started to get a flat head, so to get her off her back I used to lie in bed with her on her belly on my chest. She didn't mind that as much, and while not as good for neck strengthening as being on the floor, it's better than nothing.

I also used to make her do 20 mins of tummy time on the floor a day, but sometimes it was only 2 mins at a time, and then we worked up to more. I felt horrible, but she got used to it.

And sometimes I'd put her playmat on my bed and play with her on her tummy up there. It was softer than the floor, so she would tolerate it for longer.

I know how you are feeling.

Re: I need to do SOOOO much more tummy time

OMG I could have written this post! Sarah LIVED in her bouncy seat for the first 2 mths of her life and at her 2 mth check up I showed the ped how bad I just noticed it had gotten I felt TERRIBLE and the ped didn't help my fears that she'd need a helmet if we didn't give her more tummy time ASAP. He said she should be on her belly 6-8 hrs a day! What?! That's insane!!!

So now we get her off her back whenvever we can - she likes tummy time on her boppy with some mirror toys to look at the floor. Every little bit helps and already, just a month later her head is looking a lot better.

Hang in there and try not to panic just yet!