I got a few messages on Instagram asking me about when I started tummy time with Anika…
When– The answer is Day 4.
How– Since I was unsure how she will react in the start, I put her on my tummy and she tried to wriggle and lift her head. I thought she was ready to go on mat at Day.10 and she fussed on and off, but I stayed close and made it short. All children are very different, Anika’s strength/ gross motor has been her strongest area since in my womb! Her kicks at week.27 gave me bruises around my navel. So follow the child to see when they are ready to go on the mat and make it short.
How often– Every time she woke up from a nap (that was longer than 1.50 hours).
What is needed– Cotton mat or lambskin rug on the floor is ideal. Make sure to have a firm surface area so baby is not sinking in. In the start, I stayed and spoke to her as an incentive to look up. Down the weeks and months, we will use books, black and white flash cards, sensory bottles, rattles etc as incentives during tummy time. We did no nappies during tummy time till week.5 (cause my mum was around to do the washing till then haha!)
Why- Tummy time is baby gym to put it in short. It’s hard work and not a favorite for most babies but essential for them to gain strength for neck control, rolling over, crawling, sitting and many other milestones in the near future.
[…] growth, we all know the answer is tummy time. I get most number of messages on Instagram asking me when to start tummy time and how to encourage it. Since I have not written about the “encouraging” part yet, […]