Tummy time

Tummy time is something I'd heard of before baby was born, but didn't really know what it was about.

Tummy time literally gets babies off their backs. It provides a break for the occipital area, or back of their heads, and gives babies a chance to strengthen their neck muscles to prepare them for crawling. It also helps them to get ready to push up, roll over, sit up, and eventually stand.

We visited the free community nurse yesterday, armed with a bunch of questions I was meant to have already asked at various points in time - the mark on the back of her head is a strawberry, and nothing to worry about; we shouldn't worry about hyperlactation; we should try carrying her on the other side to stretch out her neck if she's favouring sleeping on her left side; soft drinks shouldn't be affecting her tummy - and were told that she should do tummy time six times a day.

It sounds easy enough, putting your baby on her belly that many times, but it's crazy in practicality just how quickly the day goes!

We're getting in to a bit of pattern, if she's asleep I wake her to feed her at around midnight when I go to bed (if she's not already asleep) and then she doesn't wake until 5:30ish, and again at 9:30ish. Our nappy changing routine is getting quicker. She is usually quite happy after a feed to lay beside me if I express or to just hang out on the bed while I get dressed. She understands the process of getting in and out of the car a lot better and doesn't complain as much.

She's pretty good at holding her bobble head up for fair periods of time when we hold her up at her shoulder, so I'm not too concerned, but it's got me thinking about what other things I should be doing (and how often!) at each stage.