Tummy time?

So I haven't formally introduced myself yet. I am a father of 4 week old twin di/di girls born @ 36 weeks and no NICU time. These girls are our first children and we couldn't be more excited for the adventure of raising twins. My wife isn't near the internet junkie I am so I came across the boards here by mistake when we were about 20 weeks pregnant and have been lurking almost daily since.

On to the questions. When do we introduce tummy time? How long should tummy time last? What is the purpose of tummy time? Is there a particular surface that works better than others (straight on carpeted floor, pillow, sofa cushion)? Is it recommended after feeding?

Who would have thought one could ask so many questions about just tummy time? Thanks in advance for the input.

Marcus

 

Congratulations on your girls and welcome to FY!!! Its nice to see a dad posting!

The point of tummy time is for them to strengthen their neck muscles. We used to do tt on our chests so the girls could look up at us. Or we layed them on a mat with pictures or over a boppy on the mat. But when they were tiny we'd just lay them on our chests. I never tried to 'time' it or make sure we did it for a certain amount of time each day. Actually one DD had much more tt than the other (who was a major spitter so we *couldn't* put her on her tummy with 1-2 hours of eating!) and they both crawled, sat up, cruised and walked within days of each other.

Congratulations again!

 

Congratulations and Welcome!

I havent had very little ones for a while..but I know the daycare my children go to are required to do it for the infants. I want to say to start at 2 months, but I may be wrong on the age. I do know they want babies to have tummy time for 15 minutes twice a day to help strengthen muscles.

 

Hi Marcus!
My son's physical therapist told us that the babies should get as much tummy time as possible, every day! So, whenever you get a chance, lay those girls on their tummies to play, to look at you, to look at each other, etc. In addition to strengthening the neck muscles, it also encourages learning to roll and crawl, and it strengthens the arms and keeps the shoulders balanced, and can help reduce the severity of torticollis.

 

congrats & welcome!

our doc said not to worry too much about "official" tummy time until the girls hit 3 months. before that, we would often just put our girls on our chests on their tummies. now, i put them on their tummies on a blanket/play mat on the floor after every diaper change until they get fussy - which is usually within 5 minutes. they aren't huge fans yet! but i expect it works out to about 30 min + every day.

 

Congratulations to you and your wife!!!

Dianna

 

QUOTE(Marcusmmc @ Nov 20 2008, 02:03 PM) [snapback]1079274[/snapback]
So I haven't formally introduced myself yet. I am a father of 4 week old twin di/di girls born @ 36 weeks and no NICU time. These girls are our first children and we couldn't be more excited for the adventure of raising twins. My wife isn't near the internet junkie I am so I came across the boards here by mistake when we were about 20 weeks pregnant and have been lurking almost daily since.

On to the questions. When do we introduce tummy time? How long should tummy time last? What is the purpose of tummy time? Is there a particular surface that works better than others (straight on carpeted floor, pillow, sofa cushion)? Is it recommended after feeding?

Who would have thought one could ask so many questions about just tummy time? Thanks in advance for the input.

Marcus


I love that there are dads here now!

At four weeks, I considered it a success if I could get them to lay on their tummy briefly at one point during the day. Just try for 5 minutes a couple times a day, and don't stress about it! We had some little activity mats we used, but I can't say that that made them happier about it at all. Just put them on a blanket on the floor, maybe put a toy in front of them or face them toward each other or lay down with them. I did it after feedings because we only had a little awake time after feedings and then they konked out again! The purpose is to strengthen their neck muscles, etc. to prepare them for lifting their heads, rolling over, crawling, etc.

 

I agree with previous posters. But I recommend not doing it on the carpet but on a blanket so you don't end up with pukey carpet :blink:

In the beginning we too did tummy time with them on our chests...at about 2 months is when we had them start doing it on the floor.

 

It was recommended that we start tummy time as soon as we got home from the hospital. My twins hated it but my current son was so 'lazy' that he'd just put his head down and be happy. By 2 months old they should be able to hold their head up by them selves without too much wobbling and that is a good sign that they've had good tummy time. It is for strengthening their neck. On the floor is best and for about 10-20 mintues a day. You can do it 5 minutes at a time if you'd like.

:welcome: to Twinstuff! Congratulations on your twins! :hi:

 

We've been doing it with our guys from some time during the first month. I wouldn't do it on a fluffy surface. I liked putting them on the activity gyms because those are made for tummy time--they have the bright colors etc.

We've done it with our guys religiously, mostly my DH, and my guys are already mobile at 5 months. It is really good for their development. It builds the neck and also the arm muscles.

 

Welcome and congrats on your twins! It´s nice to see dads posting here too

I didn´t give mine tummy time until they were 3 months old - no reason really for why, it just happened that way.

I try to give mine tummy time before every feed (x4/day). I don´t do it after as they would probably be sick. DD isnt a big fan but DS is. It strengthens their muscles and they learn how to crawl by being face down. Mine learned to roll over and roll both ways easily and have been doing so since about 4 months. It also gives them a different perspective instead of looking at the ceiling all day long - lol!

As for how long? - until they complain or roll themselves over!

I bought a twin gym mat and they love it as it´s bright and has things to hold, shake, make noise, etc. As one PP says, they dribble and can be sick so it´s best they´re not on the carpet, sofa or cushions. A flat, padded surface is best.

Another great advantage about giving DS tummy time before his feed is that he expels the air in his tummy. He burps great face down :lol: . DD doesnt but it certainly moves things around!

 

our pedi recommended starting tummy time as soon as possible. We do it after feedings because thats when their awake time is...sometimes it lasts 5 minutes sometimes just a minute or so before they get fussy. My daugher does much better with it than my son. We bought a tummy time mat that I really like and I hope they grow to like as well...but definately do it on a harder surface-just the floor-and use a blanket.

Good luck and congrats! I agree...it is nice to see a daddy posting, I hope you can post often as its nice to get male opinions/thoughts as well!

 

My pedi told us to give them 30 minutes of tummy time, on the floor, at the 2 months appointment... We followed it more or less, but started putting them on the floor all the time at 3.5 months, with tummy time about 3-4 times a day before meals until they screamed... which wasn't long at first. Then at 5-6 months they learned to roll to their tummy on their own and ended up on their tummy all the time, and learned to move around using their arms pretty fast afterwards.

 

As much as they can tolerate it. Ellie has physical therapy and tummy time is the best thing to strengthen those muscles. Sometimes, they'll last a minute and other times longer. One thing she taught me was to not just pick her up when she is fussy. Teach her to roll to her back and then pick her up if she is still upset. Roll them from their back to their tummy too. It's amazing how they do learn to do it on their own. I agree with laying them on a playmat or a blanket. I also give them toys now for them to reach for. I forget when we started doing that. Also, you can roll a receiving blanket up and put it under their chest/arms to give them some extra support when they are really little if you don't have a Boppy. At 4 weeks old we just did it on our chests, because they would scream on the floor. They felt safer on us, I think.

 

Thanks for the responses. Right now, we do lay them down on our chest for a short time but it's usually as we are winding down. I really like to feel them breathing as they lay on my chest. It's calming more than anything else. I hope as much for them as it is for me.