Tummy time! Or . . . More things to feel guilty about.

[Anonymous]

My DS hated tummy time too and so we really didn't try it too much (maybe once a week or so). He was late to rolling over (around 7 months!) although was really strong and woudl stand holding onto things at 5 months. I was kind of worried but then right around 7-8 months he rolled, was able to get in a seated position, and then pull himself to stand plus crawl all in a 2 week period. He was walking 2 months after that. At 15 months he runs (well, almost) and can jump on our bed. Very active happy little boy.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks moms! I love all of your suggestions and encouragement. Like other moms have pointed out, it is so easy to get really stressed about all of the things you should be doing with your child. Thanks again for all of the great advice. This is why I love this site!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We didn't push tummy time when he fussed. He hated it, so we usually skipped it. (Lot's of time upright or slightly slanted against our chests though, which he liked). DS (10 months) is ahead of the curve on all his physical milestones, likely to walk any day now. I wouldn't sweat it.

Could have written this post almost exactly!

[Anonymous]

I have a 21 month old and we tried tummy time maybe 3xs and he hated it! We never did tummy time again after that. Furthermore, when he was able to roll over, I think at 5 months, he CHOSE to sleep on his tummy. I did not panic and freak out, he slept better, we slept better and all is well.

So as a parent with a child who did NO tummy time, my son is perfectly ontrack, emotionally and physically. My goodness, the kid can do more pull-ups than I!

This tummy time is nothing, but baloney, along with the zillion of other stupid things they "experts" have us think we should be doing. The term I find most hysterical is "sleep training".

[Anonymous]

My son hated TT and I was wimpy about making him do it because I didn't like him to cry. He ended up with a flat head by 3 mos. old.

Just a concern I didn't on here that I wanted to raise since I was oblivious to that consequence at the time. I don't think it would happen to all kids who don't do TT but my son was already on the weaker end of the spectrum. As a result, when we put him down to sleep on his back he didn't move his head around and he got the flat spot.

It is virtually indetectible now (2 y.o.) because we went to PT from 4-9 mos. to strengthen his neck which in turn meant less time on his back and so less pressure on the spot. Some tips I learned from PT have already been mentioned above (the boppy, rolled towel). A few others to share:

1. The baby bjorn -- its a great work out for their neck and torso and unlike TT they don't seem to hate it because it's too interesting walking around. (What it does to Mom's back is another story!)

2. Rolling exercises -- you can actually help your baby learn to roll by rolling them from front to back and back to front on the floor or bed. As other posters have said, once they learn to roll they seem to stop hating TT as much when they can extricate themselves from it at will.

The PT said the exersaucers and jumperoo were off-limits for our son. I think for a stronger kid they are fine but for one who was weaker, they apparently develop the wrong muscles in the wrong order or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

1. The baby bjorn -- its a great work out for their neck and torso and unlike TT they don't seem to hate it because it's too interesting walking around. (What it does to Mom's back is another story!)

2. Rolling exercises -- you can actually help your baby learn to roll by rolling them from front to back and back to front on the floor or bed. As other posters have said, once they learn to roll they seem to stop hating TT as much when they can extricate themselves from it at will.

I'm very glad to hear that your DS is doing well. And these are really great tips!

[Anonymous]

Just want to second the experience with the flat head. My son's head became VERY flat, like he'd been pushed against a wall and it stayed that way. It's called plagiocephaly and is increasingly common since the back to sleep movement. Our pediatrician referred us to a neurologist but DS's head started to reshape on its own and is fine now. I think my son was especially susceptible because he was weak (low tone, and thus hit his milestones at the tail end of the normal zone) and his head (like his father's!) is normally a little flatter in the back. A good friend's son also had plagiocephaly but the flat part was off-center and so his ears became uneven, one higher than the other. He ended up wearing a plastic helmet 23/7 for 8 months.

[Anonymous]

My son has a little flat spot on the back of his head. How do I know when it's too flat?

[Anonymous]

Flat head is def a possible downside of no tummy time. Know several kids that had to have the helmets to deal with it.

That being said, there are ways to strengthen neck and back w/o a lot of tummy time. PPs have identified some of those. At some point, they will like to be on their tummies (when they can roll).