Aidan's already giving me a heart attack!

[JMarie]

Aidan can be a little spit-up machine, so I've been propping him up on the Boppy for tummy time. Well, this evening, I got him all set up and he was MAD MAD MAD about being subjected to that torture. So he VAULTED himself over the hump! Okay, so it took a little trying, but he just kicked himself over the Boppy like he'd been doing it forever. So I tried putting him back, and he just did it again - THREE MORE TIMES! Well, he needs his tummy time, but is there any way to prop him up without worrying that he's going to break his neck? I just don't want to make him toss his cookies any more than he already is, and that's what 'flat' tummy time seems to do...

Jennifer
Mom to Aidan Christopher 01/28/03

[mama2be]

...sorry pecking one handed as i successfully burped T and he has adorably fallen to asleep on my shoulder. I just wanted you to know I have been bad with Tummy time...and am right there worrying with you about the catapulting, T kicks those legs and yikes. I look forward to advice from others on how to tummy time successfully...

[smomom]

I always had good tummy time luck using a Pooh playmat that my MIL got DS for Christmas. It has a pillow that is similar to a mini-boppy. It propped him up well, but didn't give him as much leverage to flip over. She got hers at Sears and it was really cute, but I couldn't find a link for you.

Here's a link to BRU of a product that has a similar style pillow, but doesn't appear to have any attached toys for entertainment. Maybe something like that will work for you.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000K1WY/qid=1051621166/br=1-6/ref=br_lf_ba_6//102-3919661-6922544?v=glance&s=baby&n=731820

[dogmom]

I got a similar mat at Target I used for a while, but DS decided he was to big for those pillows. I got one of those bumper book things and put them in the crib. I now put him for tummy time in the crib. The mattress is really firm and I can get down at eye level easily and look through the slats at him. He tries to creep to the storybook thing. I find that I'm doing more frequent tummy time for him because I'm in there all the time to change him anyway. Aidan's the same age as Harvey, so maybe he just wants to do more on his own. If you are interested in the bumper book you can see it at http://www.tinylove.com/. It's under 0-3 months and called the double sided first book. I can't believe how occupied it keeps him. It helps at bedtime also.

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03

[bnme]

At the begining, tummy time for us was easiest if we were lounging on the couch (semi reclined) with DS on his tummy on our chest. Now at 4 months he loves that! He "climbs" up and grabs our faces. I also have the "Tummy Time" toy. I think its called the Tummy Time Picture Show and we would put a blanket on the floor with DS on his tummy in front of it. It is a sort of globe that has a revolving cartoon picture inside and plays music (can't think of a better way to describe!). It also has a mirror on the base and flower buttons that provide special effects if touched (music/lights). At first he would only tolerate it for extremely short period of time. But the more you do it, the more their they like it because they become stronger and more mobile in the position. DS tries very hard to crawl...but its still as if he is swimming in mud!

As for the boppy, I have mine on the couch with the closed end of the "c" against the back cushion..so he cant get too far. Its at he corner of the couch so I prop toys there that he can look at and reach for. His favorite is the Leap Frog Baby Tad musical stuffed animal.

[sweetbasil]

Our goal was to start with 5 successful minutes of tummy-time in one sitting, then up it by 3-5 min as DS would tolerate. Especially when he was that little, I usually laid down on my tummy, looking at him laying on his tummy, and talking, singing to him, getting the dog to come over and lay by me to interest DS, etc. That distraction helped him handle longer periods of time on his tummy. Admittedly, there was more spitting up than usual when he was on his tummy, so I always had a burp cloth around, but generally tried to do tummy time quite a while after he'd eaten, to avoid as much "cookie-tossing" as possible....

That irritation with tummy time seemed to diminish with time, but was also a motivator for him to learn how to roll over and proactively find other positions.

As for Aidan's vaulting- look out, Jennifer! Sounds like he's already developing a little personality of his own, and he's quite the problem solver already! ;)

HTH,

[JMarie]

Thanks everyone - Aidan is behaving much MUCH better today. No more gymnastics moves (I guess he gets that from me...), although we're steering clear of tummy-time-on-the-Boppy for now. I guess what startled me is how quickly he moved to get out of a position he didn't want to be in - I thought I had more time! The kicker is he usually loves to be on his tummy, so all I can figure is that he just decided it's okay if it's on HIS terms... I guess he showed us who's boss...

Jennifer
Mom to Aidan Christopher 01/28/03