My pediatrician said we need to do tummy time starting around 3 weeks old but my daughter hates it. She starts crying immediately. How long should I let her cry before picking her up? Should I do it after feeding or before? She's only 3 weeks 2 days old so maybe I'm jumping the gun here?
Hang in there, tummy time sucks for everyone at first. Start with just a few minutes and work up gradually - even 2-3 minutes counts. It gets easier as she gets stronger and it won't last forever.
Don't overthink it. Just make sure she gets those reps in, even if it's broken up throughout the day. Ours hated it too but we did like 30 seconds at a time and it was fine. The pediatrician's recommendation is solid even if she complains.
My daughter did the same thing at that age. We found that doing it on a blanket in a patch of sunlight near a window helped. She'd get fussy but at least there was something interesting to look at. Might be worth a try.
Tummy time is important for development but it doesn't have to be this huge battle. Start with just a minute or two and work up. Some babies just hate it and you have to be patient. She'll get used to it.
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Both my kids hated it too, but we just kept at it in short bursts. A minute or two is fine at 3 weeks, and honestly she'll figure it out. The crying stops eventually, I promise.