As a parent, you probably know how important tummy time is, especially since the safe sleep recommendations changed to placing baby to sleep on their back. In addition to the “Back to Sleep” campaign, parents have started to use “baby containers” more and more (things like carseats, swings, bouncers, and more). Placing baby to sleep on their back and putting them into containers takes away from the time that baby spends on their belly, which limits the time they are able to spend working on strengthening their muscles. So, yes, tummy time is super important! But many young babies have a really hard time with being placed flat on the floor on their bellies. In this post, I’m going to go over a few considerations and tips for how to make tummy time simpler and more enjoyable for both you and baby.
Check for tension
Does your baby absolutely hate being on their belly? It may be a good idea to see an infant bodywork to assess for and address any tension they have. We all carry tension, even babies! Tension can be caused by positioning in utero, the birth process, and more. Oftentimes, babies carry tension in their chests throat/mouth, and shoulders, and so being placed on their belly and lifting their head causes these already tense areas to stretch, and it feels really hard and uncomfortable. Babies can also carry tension in the back of their neck and upper back area. Let’s think of tummy time as doing an exercise like bicep curls. We do repetitions of bicep curls, and likewise, babies do repetitions in tummy time. Newborns don’t have the strength or endurance to sustain lifting their heads up and holding it there for a long duration. Instead, we want them to do repetitions- they bring their head up for a couple of seconds and then lay it back down. When babies carry tension in their backs, relaxing the head down in between repetitions can be really hard because it causes this tense area to stretch. Because of this, tummy time feels extra challenging because they can’t hold their head up for a long time, but it’s also not pleasant to rest in between reps.
If you suspect your baby has tension, you can see any skilled infant bodywork. Some examples include: pediatric chiropractors, craniosacral therapists, craniosacral fascial therapist, physical therapists, occupational therapists, or speech therapists who have specialized training in oral motor function.
Tip: Sometimes, brand new babies (days or several weeks old) are able to hold their heads up for a decent amount of time, and parents often mistake this as baby being really strong. This isn’t usually strength though. Unfortunately, it’s often because of tension. When baby is very tense, their fascia in one area can pull on another area of the body, and this can make baby arch their backs, hold their heads up, or even roll from tummy to back. But the difference is it’s the tension and pulling tissues that are causing this movement, not strength.
If your baby has tension, read this blog post to learn more about “red flags” and other symptoms that can impact sleep and feeding.
Gradually progress tummy time level of difficulty
Tummy time doesn’t have to be flat on the floor! Any amount of time baby spends on their tummy, no matter where that happens, counts towards tummy time. Being flat on the floor is really hard for newborns because it takes a lot of effort to lift their head from that angle. Instead, we can make tummy time a bit easier by starting off with baby at an angle. Here are some ways you can gradually progress tummy time for your newborn:
- Start with baby chest to chest. Place baby on their bellies against your chest as you lean back on the couch or in bed. The taller you sit up, the easier it is for baby. The more you recline back, the more challenging it is. Play around with gradually changing the angle as they get stronger. Chest to chest tummy time is great for those early days because baby feels safe and secure on you, and you can easily interact with baby while they strengthen their muscles.
- Place baby in tummy time over your legs. Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you, and prop baby’s chest on your thighs. This is the perfect next step because baby is still touching you and can smell you, but they are being challenged a bit more.
- Place baby on the floor with a small pillow beneath them. I like pillows like this, but you can also take a small blanket or towel and roll it up and place it under their chest. The bigger the towel, the easier tummy time is.
- Finally place baby flat on the floor! See how many ways you can gradually make tummy time more challenging as baby gets stronger?
- *Bonus: Don’t forget about babywearing! Babywearing has lots of benefits, and one of them is that it counts as tummy time. However, baby wearing is really easy form of tummy time. I also think it’s important to get baby used to being in more challenging forms of tummy time and decreasing that angle between baby’s neck and the floor, so try to get in at least a couple of short sessions a day of tummy time.
Short tummy time sessions are key!
Parents often hear from their pediatricians or therapists that babies need about 20 minutes of tummy time per day, and they think this has to be done all at once. Most newborns are not going to tolerate 20 minute tummy time sessions because it is just so challenging, and they will be exhausted and frustrated. The key is really to incorporate brief tummy time sessions into your daily routine. These sessions can be anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes to start with, and then gradually extend these sessions as baby becomes stronger and feels more comfortable with tummy time. I love to do tummy time after diaper changes to make sure we get in multiple sessions during the day. Even if baby only does tummy time for a minute, if it happens at every diaper change, that’s around 8-12 total minutes of tummy time during the day, and they will quickly progress to being able to tolerate a few minutes at a time.
Roll baby in and out of tummy time
Most parents just place baby right on the floor on their tummies, and while this isn’t wrong, it can be frustrating to babies. I find that babies tolerate tummy time better when they are rolled onto their tummies. This is also beneficial because it teaches baby the biomechanics needed to roll in and out of tummy time on their own, and help them begin strengthening their core to be able to do this. Here’s how you do it:
- Slowly place baby on their back while playing with them and talking to them so they are happy. Don’t start tummy time with baby crying or unhappy! It won’t go well.
- When baby is on their back and is smiling and ready to play, tell them it’s tummy time. Gently start to turn their hips to one side, while placing their opposite arm up over their head. As you turn their hips, baby will begin to roll. This is where you can experiment with only completing half of the roll for them and giving them a change to finish the roll themselves. For babies new to this, you will likely have to complete the entire roll for them, but the neat thing about this is they will know what it feels like to roll and save this movement pattern in their brain! Make sure you are guiding them from the hip/bum area, not the core so that they can use their core strength as they roll. You may also need to help them move any stuck arms when they are on their tummy.
- Play with baby on their tummy for as long as they will tolerate. As soon as baby starts to get a little fussy or frustrated, roll them out of tummy time. To do this, tuck the arm that they are rolling towards into their chest, and again, roll them at the hips/bum to their back. You can again experiment with partially rolling them and giving them the opportunity to complete the roll on their own.
- Reset! Play with baby on their backs or pick them up to calm them as needed, and then repeat the process again with the other side. Make sure you practice rolling on both sides. You can repeat this sequence as many times as baby will tolerate. I find that babies are often able to tolerate more tummy time with this sequence because they get more rest breaks, and it is more engaging for them.
Tummy time is for happy and calm babies!
I’ve already mentioned this, but it’s so important that it deserves its own section. Tummy time is for happy and calm babies, not fussy and dysregulated babies. We do not want to get tummy time in at all costs! The goal is for baby to enjoy tummy time and feel safe on their bellies, so we want to make sure we are not forcing it when they are upset. This is one of the reasons the above sequence is so helpful- it gives baby lots of opportunities to reset with you to calm them down.
Do tummy time with your baby
It’s okay to let baby play independently (supervised, of course), on their tummies if they are content, but many young babies really need your presence as they complete tummy time. Get on the floor with them, talk to them, and play with them. Give them something entertaining to look at such as bright-colored toys or toys that make neat sounds. You don’t need any fancy baby toys. Household items and any teethers or rattles you have already will get the job done (and remember that the best toy for your baby is you!), but if you are looking for something to make tummy time more entertaining for your baby, my personal favorite is a mirror like this one. Mirrors are the perfect toys for babies because it helps them develop so many skills including enhanced language development, sense of self, emotion recognition, facial recognition and more!
Tummy time doesn’t have to be stressful or challenging. Using these strategies, tummy time can easily be incorporated into your daily routine with your baby so that it’s pleasant for both of you.
