Tummy time question?

Question

when should i start this my little girl is 3 1/2 weeks old how long and how often do i do it

Answer 1

Whenever you're around to watch her-put her on her tummy. My baby (4 months) loves tummy time...not because he can play with his toys or anything like that...he immediately falls asleep on his tummy, so we do just a few minutes at at time (until he passes out, then we flip him over :) )

Answer 2

My daughter is 10 months old now, but she has an amazing doctor, who told me to start tummy time right away. But only for 10 min. once a day the first couple of months. What worked for me best when she was a newborn was I would use the Boppy nursing pillow and have her do tummy time on that. so that way her face wasn't against anything.

Answer 3

You can begin now if your baby doesn't have any severe medical problems that would prevent it.

Start by putting your baby face down on your lap and patting her back. Or lay down with her on your chest.

She needs this experience so that when she figures out how to roll over, she can roll back and lift up.

Answer 4

you can start now for a few minutes at a time.  I put my son down until he fussed too much.  DO you have a Boppy Pillow?  They work great to prop up baby, so her face won't be flat on the ground.

Answer 5

now is fine. Put a blanket on the floor and just lay her down on it. Make sure that nothing is around her when You do it. But it wont hurt her, and needs to learn to like the tummy time now or she will never do it. Get to the point where she sleeps on her back and on her stomach during the day. She will be okay for it and if you are there with her and watching then it's okay, and there is no chance of SIDS if she's awake.

Answer 6

You do it like 5 minutes at a time in the beginning while they are awake just to let them have time to lift their heads up working the neck muscles.  You do it longer as they get older.  She may not like it at first but it is something that needs done.  You start now.  Do it a few times throughout the day

Answer 7

funny thing...i do tummy time with my dd; but i asked her ped the other day how much and how often i should do it bc of her reflux...he looked at me like i was nutz!!LOL he said not to worry, that even a child that had NO tummy time would catch up very quickly, he said go ahead and do it if i want, but if not, don't worry about it, it's another fad created by authors i guess...LOL; and he should know he stays up with current research constantly and is very knowledgeable; i have known him for about 20 yrs so i trust him very much and he has never led me astray...i also have been an RN  for 13 yrs so if he was full of bull i would have caught him by now...and yes, he has 3 kids...we do tummy time, i am a sahm now, and it is fun for my dd and she gets some exercise at the same time...and i like playing with her...but his reaction really made me laugh...thought i would share, since some ppl are soooooo adamant about tummy time, to the point of being religious about it....think how much the ppl are spending on accessories for this new fad? LOL

we will continue, but i thought if i could make someone relax or get a laugh i would share....have fun! and btw, there is no way! i would put a brand new newborn on his tummy for ten mins while he screamed....as someone suggested (not in those terms)...i have found it best in small doses when she's in a playful alert mood, and the min she gets tired or fussy we quit...

Answer 8

About 20 min per day, just make sure you are there for tummy time, don't leave the room.  My daughter is 7 weeks, she hates being on her tummy, so I lay her on my chest when I am lying down, so she still gets to exercise her neck and gives her poor back a rest.  

Just something you can do if your daughter feels the same as mine about being on her tummy.

Answer 9

You should have started it the day you brought her home from the hospital .. it's never too soon! =]