Tummy time tips : Make tummy time easier, so your baby can enjoy it!

Posted February 2, 2020

A new mother’s worst nightmare! Tummy time! I used to dread this part of the day, every single day. I would watch the clock and time it 5 minutes exactly. All while laying on the floor trying to soothe my little girl. I finally got my niche and stuck with it, and now my girl has already learned how to roll over at 3 months old! Not that it’s out of the ordinary, but I feel like it’s all because I was persistent and diligent with tummy time!

There is no exact age to start at, but they say as long your baby was full-term and healthy that you can start as early as day 1 home from the hospital! We let her settle in a little before starting. Like most things in life, starting is the hardest part!

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Tummy Time Mats

We have this tummy time mat, and it honestly does work great! But not for beginners! That was our first mistake! Thinking that miraculously putting our newborn on this mat was going to get her to perfect her tummy time skills… ummmm no! You definitely have to be on a professional level to use these mats! It can be scary for them, just facing the ground struggling(sort of) to breathe! And as a mom, you are obviously freaking out and uncomfortable when they’re uncomfortable! We put the mat away until she was much more advanced and now she absolutely loves to play on it and grab for the toys! I definitely suggest purchasing one forsure!

A Nursing Pillow

A nursing pillow has been such a lifesaver in my life as a new mom for so many different reasons. It’s a nursing pillow, so it obviously was amazing for that when I was just starting breastfeeding and really awesome even for other people to use when holding her! But I really felt like we got our moneys’ worth when I discovered its uses for tummy time! When she was still learning how to get better function and control of her head, the boppy pillow really helped due to the extra cushion put under her chest. It propped her up a little higher, making her more comfortable and able to see around her better. I think part of being uncomfortable with tummy time is them only being able to see the ground and that’s all. If your baby is anything like mine, I’m sure they love to look around and see their surroundings. The nursing pillow really helped her get better control and was a complete game-changer for her tummy time routine! We prop her on her pillow, put her flashing singing turtle in front of her, and let her gaze in awe at the colors and sounds! She loves it! Of course, always supervise your child while using the nursing pillow! You can read more about my thoughts on nursing pillows here.

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Time Increments for tummy time

Ugh, this was the worst. I wanted to pick her up the absolute second I put her down. She hated it so much! We started with 3-minute increments at a time. Honestly, I couldn’t bare to hear her go crazy and scream as she did for more than once a day. We really only did it for a couple of minutes once a day. Once I felt more healed from delivery, comfortable and able to really focus 100% on her (about 3-4 weeks in) we really tried making up for a lost time! Tummy time is apart of our daily schedule now and can sometimes last up to 15 minutes! She really enjoys being on her tummy and reaching for her toys. I think the best way to handle time increments is to start low at 3 minutes per time to get acquainted, and then increase from there. 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes. By the time they are comfortable, you can almost put them anywhere that’s soft on their tummies! We do tummy time on the carpet, our tummy time mat, in our pack and play – pretty much anywhere! Always supervised of course!