You can never start tummy time too early. We started doing it with Jenson for a couple of minutes a day a week or two after we came home from hospital. He was doing it pretty much from birth on our chests but a couple of weeks in we made an effort to put him down on his tummy on his playmat. This was taken when he was five weeks old!
Although he had his moments at holding his head up, I found he fared much better at our weekly baby group, where he used half-circle pillows to support himself. I figured it was worth investing in a special tummy time playmat and ordered the Mamas and Papas tummy time snuggle rug from Argos. It was £22.06 and because it’s a home delivery only item the postage was free. It arrived after a few days and I was immediately impressed.
The first night Jenson used it he took to it straight away – he even went one-handed before Luke managed to grab his camera! He looked so proud of himself and it was great to see how strong he is already.
He’s going through a phase of tasting everything at the moment and he loves the silky ribbons on the top of the mat. He’s not so into the rattle or teething ring yet but he actually pushes down on the mat to hear the crinkly sounds. I love those crinkly toys you can get for little ones – although I reckon they just have used crisp packets inside them!
We have most of our playtime in the office in the evening as there’s more space and it’s fun to watch Luke play with him when he comes home from work. I took the mat down to the living room the other morning and pushed the furniture back for a little play. It was the first time he had really paid attention when he was on the floor downstairs and he was fascinated with his new view.
This video was taken when he was ten weeks old. I know all parents are biased but I think he’s a pretty clever chap to be holding his head up for so long!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tzkYw_Brnk]
The Mamas and Papas tummy time snuggle rug has become a part of our daily play time and even from the first use I knew it was worth every penny. I think it’s an essential purchase for every new parent.