Tummy time is simply placing a baby on his or her stomach only while they are awake and supervised. This helps tremendously in strengthening your baby's neck and shoulder muscles and promote motor skills.
Infants respond differently to tummy time, some absolutely love it and others just hate it. In either case, tummy time is essential.Think of it as your baby's first exercise.Here's when and how to do tummy time and what to do if your baby hates it.
When to Start giving Tummy Time to Babies?
The American Academy of Pediatrics say that you can start right away — as soon as your baby is home from the hospital.But bear in mind that babies of any age should never be left alone face down, even if they’re propped up. Tummy time needs to be supervised.
How to Do Tummy Time?
Its very simple but as new parents you may have questions like how to do it, for long should the baby be on tummy time? and what if the baby does not like it.
Our Best advise- Keep it Simple! Below is a guide for Tummy time for each stage.
Tummy Time 0-2 months of age
At this stage, newborns have no head control so they may not be very comfortable in tummy time. Best way to do it is to put them on your own stomach, tummy to tummy for short periods of time. This not only give them the tummy time but lets you enjoy and connect with your baby. Try to do this 3-5 minutes at a time and 3-4 times a day .
At 02-04months of age
This is also when babies’ vision starts improving, and they may begin to fixate on you and interacting a little bit more while they’re on their tummies. Give them longer tummy time and take them off it if you feel baby gets uncomfortable.
At 04 -07 months of age
At this point, your baby will have better core strength, and they might start rolling over, from stomach to back and back to stomach. They may also start displaying their choice of liking or disliking tummy time. At this point, start introducing some toys. Tummy time helps them lift there head and chest further by straightening their arms. This strengthens arm, chest, and back muscles.
06 months of Age till Crawling
Babies now should get up to 1 hour of tummy time in a day. Keep them engaged with Toys,unbreakable mirror, water play mats, rattles etc.
Benefits of Tummy Time
- Helps prevent flat spots from forming on the back of baby’s head.
- Allows your baby to work different muscles
- Develops Motor skills
What if Baby Resists Tummy Time
- Do a couple minutes of Tummy Time after every diaper change or after every bath so baby starts to expect it.
- Avoid Tummy Time immediately after feeding as a crying spell may let to vomit.
- Make Tummy Time fun time
-Sing songs during Tummy Time to calm and soothe baby
-Use rattles, toys, and mirrors to encourage visual tracking.
-Get down on the floor at baby’s eye level. Baby loves your face!
- Sensory Play Mats- These help to keep your child engaged during play time and help them be on their tummies longer. Newbornlove sensory play mat is designed for a pleasurable tummy time for your baby and is a must have for all babies.