Tummy time

Even when the helmet therapy is finished, the head will still be looking a little flat and their growth will actually take care of that.

And we hear a lot about the idea of tummy time and the new term being perhaps floor time.

Tell us what role does all of that have in helping with a flat spot on the head?

We like to create labels, don't we? And so tummy time has had this incredible press given to it as the way to help your baby to get moving.

In reality, floor time is actually what's important.

That means some time on their tummy and some time on their back on the floor, being free to kick, start to roll and start to learn how their bodies work and how they move and build that strength over time.

probably a little broader than that, it actually helps them to develop the strength in their entire core.

When we talk about our core, that's all of the muscles all the way through our torso.

And our philosophy is that if a baby's body feels really good and is functioning well, the things that they need to do and the things that they need to learn will come easier to them.

That includes breast and bottle feeding, learning how to do tummy time and all of their milestones, but also like digestion and sleep and all the things that parents do kind of stress about in that infant stage really come under the umbrella of just how well is their body working the way it should? Is their nervous system regulated well so that they can be in a space to do the learning that they need to do? And so we just kind of say that we are specialists in all the things that your baby's body needs to do in that first year of life.

So do you feel like you do have more come into you because they're like, oh, breastfeeding is not going well.

This must be attention issue.

Pediatricians are referring a little bit later for things like head flattening, delayed milestones.

You know, this baby's not rolling over.

They're having a hard time with tummy time.

So we do see both because there's a spectrum of all these different things that we can help babies with.

Today's episode is going to focus on tummy time, not in the way that I typically do and not in the way that you've probably heard before.

So if you are having a baby, if you have a baby, or if you're planning on having another baby, today's episode is going to be super helpful because I'm going to go right back to the basics of tummy time, the most common sticking points of how to get it right, troubleshooting tummy time almost, and doing it within a safe context.

I always stick to safety guidelines and we know that babies need to sleep on their backs at night.

However, I'm going to show you how to maximize your daytime hours to get your baby spending as much time as they can on their tummies safely so that it will not only eliminate so many of the problems I'm seeing nowadays with our babies just do not spend enough time on their tummies, but it will also have a really positive effect on their development and wellbeing.

So if you have any questions about your baby, you can always have a remote consultation wherever you are in the world with me, or now you can come and see me in Wimbledon.

So let's start with today.

Now, what I talk about a lot, and perhaps disjointedly, is tummy time.

And I want to go back to the original message and make it really, really clear for parents.

Welcome to The Rising Parent podcast.

Today we're diving into the episode "Five Crucial Tummy Time Milestones, and How to Help a Baby Who Hates It." I'm Tim.

And I'm Edna.

We're sharing the secrets to painless developmental milestones, including alternative positions and sensory exercises for infants who absolutely loathe tummy time.

No more one-size-fits-all advice.

Let's make this stress-free and get your baby thriving.

[upbeat music] You know, Edna, whenever we start talking about the early infant stages, there is one topic that consistently brings a look of absolute dread to a new parent's face, and it's not sleep deprivation, surprisingly.

Oh, I know exactly what you're gonna say.

That one is a classic for a reason.

And this really ties into tummy time, too.

Oh, absolutely.

Tummy time isn't just for neck strength and motor development.

When a baby is on their tummy, they are putting natural pressure on their own abdominal region.

Doing tummy time during their awake windows, again, when they are happy, not when they are screaming, can act as a preventative massage.

Yeah, it encourages all that core engagement, which gets the digestive tract moving.

It's all connected.