Tummy Time

It started when Avery was a baby. Being the first child, she was constantly held, rarely put down, and never given the opportunity to develop her muscles to hold her head up when laying on her tummy. The pediatrician had a little talk with me and I started giving Avery "tummy time" every day for a few minutes. I would lay her on her tummy, on a quilt, and resist the urge to pick her up as she cried and cried. Within a few days, she finally started to lift her head up, stop crying, and start looking at the world, and feet, around her.

Eventually, "tummy time" evolved into something different, something less like a workout. As Avery got a little older, she loved to lay on my tummy to fall asleep. When she started sleeping in her own bed, she would get out of bed early every morning, and I would hear the pitter patter of her tiny feet running down the hallway to climb in my bed, and she would lay on my tummy, and we would drift off to sleep for a few more hours.

Our "tummy time" sadly came to an end when Aidan started occupying my tummy. To this day, Aidan still likes to lay on my tummy; Daddy's tummy too. When he is tired, cranky or restless, tummy time calms him right down and puts a smile on his face. Tummy time is getting shorter and less frequent, but we are enjoying it while we still can.