Tummy time with Dad
Tummy time is one of the first real jobs you can own with a newborn, and it's mostly lying on the floor making faces. This is a few short sessions a day, face to face, that build the neck and arm strength your baby needs to roll, sit and crawl.
- Time
- 3–5 min, a few times a day
- Cost
- $0
- Ages
- Newborn to 1
- Where
- The floor or your chest
What you need
- A blanket on a clear patch of floor
- A small towel, rolled, to prop under their arms
- One or two baby toys or a board book with bold pictures
- A timer on your phone
Before you start
- Awake and watched, every time. Tummy time is only while your baby is awake and you're right there. If they get sleepy, it's over.
- Back to sleep, always. When they doze off, put them on their back in their own crib or bassinet, even for a short nap.
- Chest time means you stay awake. If you feel yourself drifting, sit up and move the baby to their back in their crib.
- Clear the floor. No pets, pillows or older kids' small toys within reach, and never on a couch edge or bed alone.
Steps
- Pick the moment. Start after a diaper change or a nap, when they're awake and happy. Timer for 3 minutes.
- Start on your chest. Lie back with the baby tummy-down on your chest and talk so they lift their head to see you.
- Move to the floor. Baby tummy-down on the blanket, towel under the arms if needed, your face level with theirs.
- Give them something to look at. Make faces or hold a toy just out of reach, and move it side to side.
- Stop before the meltdown. When they fuss, roll them over or pick them up. Try again later.
- Build it up. Two or three short sessions a day, a bit longer as they enjoy it, toward 15 to 30 minutes a day by 7 weeks.
If it stalls
- If they hate the floor, go back to your chest or your lap, tummy-down across your knees. That counts too.
- If they cry the moment they're down, get your face closer. Many babies settle when they can see you.
Tummy-time sessions today
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date