The view from the floor....

Image via WikipediaWhat is tummy time and why is it so important?
“Tummy-time” is the name given to the time you spend playing with your infant while laying on the floor on your tummy. Carving out specific play-time with your baby is a very special and very important part of your baby’s day.
When your baby spends time on his or her belly they use different muscles than any of those that they use during other kinds of play. They use muscles that are needed to help support their body as they learn to sit, crawl and even walk! Baby’s as small as newborn can even do “tummy-time.” Placing a newborn on their tummy while on your chest is a great way to start to encourage development. It’s also a great way to bond with your newborn. Take into account the gestational age of your baby. If your baby was born 4 weeks early, you might want to do tummy-time on your chest for 3 or 4 weeks before you start on the floor. However, it’s never too early to play with your baby on their belly. It certainly won’t hurt them! Remember, most pediatricians recommend that you don’t place your baby on their tummy to sleep. We’re only talking about playing, with close adult supervision, with your baby on their belly.
Some ideas to try:
Lay a soft blanket on an area of your floor that is big enough for both you and your baby to lay together. Use a harder surface like a carpeted floor with a blanket over it rather than on a bed, especially when your baby is first born. Putting your baby on a soft surface like a bed could be dangerous since they don’t yet have the neck control to easily move their head from side to side and keep their nose and mouth free from the blankets. (This is one of the reasons that you’re doing tummy-time, to help encourage developing neck strength!!) Have a few soft toys, rattles and board-books around to play with. Place your baby on his or her belly and lay on your belly, face-to-face with your baby.
This is a great time to sing songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” “ABC’s,” or any other favorites. This is also a great time to make silly faces with your baby or tell them stories. Imitation is a very important skill for your baby to develop. Make a big “O” with your mouth and make high and low sounds, quiet and loud sounds; watch how your baby reacts or if your baby will imitate you. Blink your eyes slowly two or three times; see if your baby imitates you. Even in your baby is only one or two months old, encouraging them to imitate you will help their development. When a baby imitates your facial movements, it’s actually a foundation skill that supports them learning how to talk down the road!
Most important, have fun playing with your baby. Tummy-time is a great thing to incorporate into your daily play with baby. Have fun: giggle, laugh, smile, sing songs and soon enough your baby will be rolling over, sitting up and crawling all over the place!
Your baby can never have too much tummy time. So, when you need to put your baby down for a moment to do the dishes or put away the groceries, think about putting them on their tummy with a few toys around to look at rather than in the swing or bouncy seat. It will do a world of good for them and allow you precious moments of “hands-free” time to accomplish a few more things on your list of things to do.