Tummy time tips for infants.

 

From an early age, babies need stimuli to gradually develop, one of those stimuli is exercise. Within the different types of exercises that you can practice for your baby, one of the most important is the Tummy time for infants. In this post, we are going to talk about all the benefits that tummy time has on your baby and also how and when to do it. Ready? Let’s begin.

What is tummy time infants?

Very simple. Tummy time is encouraged by pediatricians to parents. and is the act of putting the baby lying on the stomach while awake, intended to help the baby develop strength in the neck, arms, and/or back muscles.

A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concluded that a large percentage of infants spend more than 60 hours awake in the week confined in a crib, or chair, or stroller, etc. Causing this a negative effect on the motor and muscle development of infants.

Due to this study, the different benefits of tummy time in infants began to spread.

What are the benefits of tummy time and why motor development is enhanced with it?

Neck muscle strength.

The neck muscles are positively impacted by the tummy time. Babies while in this position have the opportunity to lift their heads and turn them to the sides, make sure to keep your baby occupied and entertained with different colors and textures in front to motivate him during this time.

Core muscle strength.

Very important. The muscles of the abdomen are working during tummy time. Babies need core strength to develop other skills such as crawling, sitting, rolling and walking later on. During the tummy time, there is a strengthening in the muscles of the shoulder, neck, hip, abdominal and back muscles.

Visual development.

During the tummy time, it is an excellent opportunity to strengthen and develop the vision, for this, you must place in the direct line of vision of your baby toys of different sizes, colors, and shapes.

Tummy time helps to avoid Flat spots on the head or positional plagiocephaly.

Babies who practice plenty of tummy time usually have rounder and more beautiful heads. And that is caused by the absence of extended hours with the compressed skull against a crib or a chair.

Stretch and exercise the hip flexor muscles.

One of the most important exercises where babies stretch and properly exercise the hip flexor muscles is tummy time, and why is this important? you will wonder, it is very important to exercise and develop the symmetry and development necessary for when babies begin to crawl or walk.

When can you start doing the tummy time?

You can start the tummy time effectively at about 2 months after the baby is born. However, you should keep in mind a few things.

• It is advisable to do it when your baby is more alert and awake.
• It starts with constant supervision by an adult, and you must start on a comfortable surface for the baby.
• To start introducing the tummy time to your baby you must do it for a few minutes and gradually increase the time.
• You should never do the tummy time right after feeding your baby since this compression in the abdomen can cause your baby to vomit or spit up.

Share the post.

Exactly for how much time do I do the tummy time?

In the beginning, newborn tummy time should be 2 to minutes max, once a day.

As the baby gets older you can start increasing the time as  I mentioned before, for a total of 20 minutes per day.

By the time your baby is 4 months old, he should be able to lift his chest off the floor with your arms. He may even be able to lift his arms off the floor, arch his back, and kick his feet. If you see that it falls do not worry, it is a normal part of the muscle development process.

What can I do if my baby doesn’t like tummy time?

You should know that the effort to keep your head suspended against gravity is great for your baby. Therefore, it is understandable that some babies do not feel well or even hate tummy time.

The tummy time involves a learning curve, where babies should develop the skills to strengthen the muscles by themselves. You must start to introduce the tummy time slowly and gradually increase it, and make it part of a fun routine instead of a boring exercise for them.

You might also like:

Normal child development by 24 months.

Child development, normal development by 12 months.

The 5 Key tips to raise responsible children.

Things you can do to make tummy time for newborns more fun.

To make a fun experience out of tummy time, you just need to incorporate in the routine a lot of face-to-face eye contact with your baby, and fun toys with fun and bright colors on the surrounding.

You can also try to:

• Recline on your back, either on a chair or the floor, with your baby on your stomach with his head facing yours, then start a conversation with them. More likely your baby will try to lift up her head to look at your face.
• Get down to the floor with your baby for a few minutes, make silly noises and face expressions, or just sing songs to them. I can assure you that she’ll be distracted from her tough workout session.
• Lay your little one down on a flat, clean surface, such as a blanket or playmat on the floor. Also, you can roll up a medium size blanket and tuck it under her chest for extra cushion.
• Place brightly colored stuffed animals around your baby on the floor and help her reach for and play with them, this exercise will be perfect for babies at around 4 to 5 months, when they are strong enough to stretch the arms and try to reach objects.
• Also creating Sensory walls or just by placing a mirror right in front of the baby a few feet away, can make your baby interested and keep them entertained for a little longer.

If you have other children, more likely your baby will respond really well to having a sibling lie down on the floor as “entertainment,” even more than having an adult to “play with.’ Just be careful to watch over children, especially young ones.

Conclusion about Tummy Time for Infants.

For a decade now the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has started to recommend to put babies on their backs to sleep. This method has dramatically decreased the SIDS in babies, but at the same time, this position has increased Plagiocephaly, or what is best known as flathead, also they advise that daily tummy time can “enhance motor development on your baby.”

This is why is very important to include tummy time in your daily routine with your baby.

I hope this article has been useful to you, share it with other moms.

Zadi, xo