Super Joshua!

One of the strongest recommendations pediatricians give to new parents today is to put babies to sleep on their backs, not on their stomachs. Back sleeping is one concrete factor that has been linked to the reduction of SIDS, likely because it reduces the risk of suffocation. So that's one thing that's really been drilled into our heads -- Joshua must always sleep on his back, or he might DIE! (Gotta love the fearmongering rampant among new parents...)

A potential downside of all this time spent on his back, though, is that it may slow down some of his gross motor skills development. Back when babies were always put to sleep on their stomachs, they were more often in a position conducive to learning how to roll over and crawl. These days, some studies suggest that babies are slower to develop head control and to start scooting around -- and they're also more prone to flat heads, since their skulls, which are still soft, are more often compressed in the back.

So the solution to this potential problem is "tummy time." Our pediatricians recommend that babies be put to play on their tummies for at least a few minutes every day, to give the backs of their heads a break and to help encourage them to learn how to lift their heads.

Our little guy seems to really like tummy time -- at least, for the first five minutes or so. Then he gets fussy and wants someone to turn him around so he can see more of the world (or at least, that's my gloss on his feelings... it's perhaps more likely that he just gets tired and wants to sleep after tummy time...).

It's remarkable watching Joshua grow and develop. Tummy time in his play gym really emphasizes how much neck strength he already has -- it's not quite at the point of head control, per se, but he's definitely able to lift his head and look around when he's on his belly! He's so strong, and so advanced -- he's totally a developmental genius. :)

Think I'm just being a blindly doting mother? Well, here's photographic proof of how awesome and strong our little boy is!


Check me out, I'm totally ready to crawl!


Seriously, this passive "tummy time" is for suckers -- I'm a man on the move!


Whew! Tummy time is hard... Little help here?
It's hard to believe how quickly Joshua is growing... He's already starting to outgrow his newborn sized clothes! And while he's probably not actually going to be crawling any time soon, he's certainly starting to figure out how to work his neck and arms... Such a smart and strong little boy!