Fun Ways To Get Baby Used to Tummy Time
American Academy of Pediatrics recommends your baby spend time on his tummy to promote growth and development, and prevent flat spots from forming on the back of his head. Use this time to play and engage with your baby and let him explore. Some babies fuss because it’s uncomfortable, so you’ll have to find ways to make it enjoyable. Here are my seven tummy time tips to help advance your baby’s development.
2. Face-to-Face: Lie down on your stomach opposite from your baby and look at him face-to-face and start making silly faces and funny noises to keep baby distracted.
1. Use a toy: Find a toy your baby loves and dangle it in front of baby while he is lying on the mat to encourage him to hold his head up.
3. Give him a kiss: Lie back with your knees bent and place baby on your shins and while you hold his hands, gently move him up and down. Bring your knees and your head forward and give baby a kiss!
5. Carry him: Place your arm between baby’s legs and keep your hand under baby’s tummy as you carry him tummy down.
4. Use a towel: Place a rolled-up towel under baby’s arms or chest while he is lying tummy down to prop him up and then place a mirror in front of him to get him to interact.
7. Use a play mat: Place baby on him tummy on a soft blanket or play mat. Then take two corners of the blanket or play mat and slowly pull baby around the room. You can make choo-choo noises or car noises to further entertain baby.
6. Use his feet: Put a noisy toy at baby’s feet while he is lying on his stomach. Encourage him to kick his feet to have the toy make noise.
The sooner your start laying your baby down for tummy time, the easier the whole process will be. If your child can only stand it for a few minutes, that’s perfectly alright. Gradually increase the amount of time each session until it doesn’t bother your baby any more. Try a few short sessions each day as opposed to one long one. Remember: Never leave your baby unattended during tummy time.
Guest blog by Jennifer Jacobellis, founder of Baby J
Jennifer Jacobellis started Baby J when her son was just a few months old. She ventured out to mommy and me classes and play groups, armed with just a blanket for him to lie on. After class, she would fold up her blanket and stick it in the diaper bag, knowing that when she got home it would have to go straight into the laundry basket. There had to be a better way!
One day she decided it was time to solve this problem. She ran to the fabric store and began tinkering. She designed this baby play mat with her germ-a-phobe tendencies in mind, as well as being soft, baby friendly, and chic. The Baby J play mat was born!
For more information, visit www.babyj.com
Interested in writing a guest blog for Wee Urban? Send your topic idea to pr@weeurban.com.
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