In a group environment (12-18 kids at all times) what do you do with a 3 month old? We have a pack-n-play for nap times which happen about 5 times during the day for thirty minutes or so each time. We have a bouncer, but are not allowed to leave the infant in that more than 15 minutes at a time and I do keep an eye on the clock.

Sometimes I will take out the infant for 15 minutes and put the infant back in the bouncer for another 15 minutes because I'll be in charge of diaper changes that take that long. I hold this infant when I can....I LOVE babies and we have not had a young infant since the last one who grew up.....about a year ago.

Do you ever lay the infant on a blanket on the floor? We don't have carpet, but we have foam mats so it's soft enough. We have to hold during feedings because our high chair and baby table do not recline to support the head of one who can't yet. What else can I do with this infant and other toddlers? At what time does "tummy time" begin? Most of our infants could support their heads and sit up when I started at the daycare. They're all 12-18 months now so we're just getting more younger ones now.

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Yes, you do sometimes just lay them on a blanket on the floor, with toys around or a grown-up to play with.

This isn't likely to be a popular idea around here, but honestly, the point of "tummy time" is for the infant to have a chance to gain head/neck/trunk control. This can happen either during tummy time, or when being held/carried upright in arms or a good sling (read: NOT the types you can buy in most brick and mortar stores; those Baby Bjorn type carriers are NOT what I'm talking about and they're NOT good for the baby). Floor time is still important (for learning to self-soothe, self-entertain, grasp those fascinating feet, etc), but tummy time is not the holy grail of infant development--they can gain those motor skills in other ways.

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I disagree with this because the muscle development that comes with lying on your belly and pulling up such a heavy thing (head) is WAY different than the muscles to keep your head upright when someone is managing your trunk.

It's just a different movement... both are important.

I do belly time from birth on. Highly supervised ... meaning visual supervision and proximal supervision every single second.

I do NOT use bouncy seats for infants under six months and I don't even do them then if they don't have excellent head control. I don't know what the rules say but I don't like to use them until I know the kid can manage their trunk and head together.

Belly time is the best exercise for babies. Gravity is their best friend. I use two levels of boppies as they get older to give them a different work out where they are supported at the trunk (armpits over the bobby on the belly)

You want them to have excellent head control before they can back to belly flip. You only have the window of the first five/six months and sometimes even less.

Best time for us to do belly time is right before eating. We don't use belly time if they have eaten within an hour or so.

We use belly time to get them used to our baby massage. I do a lot of total body massage with them when they are little to relax them on the belly. Warning: they will fart a lot so sit at their heads not their butt.

I use little seats I have had since the eighties. They used to be attached as a swing on the old school crank graco swings. Man they made some QUALITY equipment in those days. I've been using them in my day care for seventeen years and the hardware works perfectly. I hope they make it thru my next decade of care.

The thing I love about the seats is they have a graduated angle. You can sit them straight up or you can do five levels of down. They also have a thick nice tray at the front of them and a thick center stop for the crotch. I luckily have two of them so if I have two babies they can have their own seat.

They have a bar across the top and side and we attach toys to the bar so they don't get winged off. They are pretty nifty.

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For young infants in mixed ages I always rearange the space so there is a baby area. Since I only take one infant at a time we call it the "_____ corner" and insert the child's name. That way the older kids know that the items in that space are only for babies. They need to have time to just explore their environment which can't happen in equipment or while being held. They needto have a wide variety of items to touch, see, taste and smell. I typically have a low shelf with lots of items divided between several small totes to make things easy to rotate daily or sometimes several times during the day. Each tote has the same variety so there are always things out to encourage skills.

I have hardwood floors and my infants play right there. I typically lay a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet under the baby area to designate the space and then we'll put foam mats/tumble mats out with boppy pillows for tummy time. The older kids are great helpers and always want to "help me" by playing with the infant whenI need to do 2 things at once. Since it's only me here it's nice to have an extra set of willing hands but I also have to stick close.

For the older kids I make sure that they have plenty of things to keep them busy and either move the furniture/toys around to keep running/rough housing to a minimum or make sure that they have sufficient space for active play by putting up a gate in the doorway between the two rooms so the infant can't get under their feet and run over.

I agree that the carriers/holding doesn't necessarily encourage head/neck development plus it develops a "hold me" mentality in the infant. I encourage independant play (supervised and still interactive) as much as possible because I can't possibly hold them all day and I don't have equipment here at all. No swings, exersaucers, johnny jump ups in the doorways, nothing but a bouncer and that is for only nessarily times like when preparing meals/changing a diaper and only until they can sit up and then the bouncer goes away.

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I am a huge fan of baby carriers. Not the Baby Bjorn kind though. (those are crotch hangers) But, for young infants, I use a sling or a baby wrap, and by five or six months I switch to a Mei tai. I can carry even a large baby for hours without needing to use my hands, and still get everything done.

I do use tummy time as much as I can, but I don't trust my other kids not to fall on them. My other kids are so young, and they don't ever pay attention. Once the baby is mobile, I take that risk because kids need floor time.

When I started doing daycare, babies slept on their tummy. You didn't lay a baby down on his or her back. Kids developed faster back then. Walking at 15 months was something a doctor would have been concerned about... now it's normal. But, in the long run, the kids all get to the same place at the same time... they just start out a little later than they used to.

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I have to say that I have an exersaucer, bouncer seats, a swing, 2 floor gyms,2 boppies, a johnny jump up, a bumpo, and a jumperoo. I don't have them all out at the sametime but do use them frequently. The reason for this is i have 2 toddlers, and one crawler who many times have crawled/walked right ontop of the baby on the floor. Right now i have no money to get those gates to block them off from the baby. I have to due what i have right now. I do many times a day do tummy time with the baby. The baby is now 6 months and is already showing signs to sit up soon. I don't see any harm in having baby equipment sort of say. My dd had it all and did just fine, sat up, crawled and walked right on time.

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I have a bouncer, saucer, baby gym, and a bumbo seat with a tray. My DCK is 4 mos now, and I rotate between all of these activities, plus tummy time on the boppy, lying on a blanket on the floor, and napping/feeding. I can't just leave the baby on the floor to play because my 1yo is a new walker and falls over everything (not to mention the toy throwing, which we're working on stopping).

I see the benefit of letting babies have a lot of floor time, but honestly I don't see what is so terrible about bouncers and other equipment.

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Thank you! I have the same issue but 2 walkers and a crawler!

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I have two infants at the moment, the rest of my kids are 2 and up. I split my area...baby side, walkers side. I have gymnastics mats on the floor for the babies so that they can roll, scoot, and otherwise be babies.

I don't use bumbos and the like either.

Last week one of my Mom's asked her son if he played with his sister at daycare...he said, "nah, she's on the baby side." They learn really quick...

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Oh I don't see the bouncers as being terrible. As long as the time in them is short and they are rotated onto their belly and back many times a day. Three months is TOO YOUNG to be in a bouncy seat... any seat where they have to hold up their trunk, neck, and head.

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These are probably the same infant items I'll have in my home daycare in another year. I find nothing wrong with using baby "equipment" but I don't like baby walkers and johnny jump-ups.....we're not suppose to have either of those in daycares here anyways.

Nannyde, bouncers are for children 5-25 pounds and 0-6 months in age. 3 months is NOT too young to be in a bouncy seat. http://www.target.com/Fisher-Price-L...n&frombrowse=0

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I'm confused on what you consider a bouncy seat? do you mean these?

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That is what I'm talking about. I'm wondering if nannyde is thinking of a seat that actually bounces up and down requiring head support. My sisters all loved using these bouncy seats for their children and we enjoy it in daycare so the infant can watch what is going on. We're required to move the infants often, it's not like they even sit for 30 minutes at a time or anything.

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Oh I didn't mean those. I have never owned one of them.

We call exersaucers bouncy seats.

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No I mean exersaucers. The one with the wrap around trays that they can bounce in.

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I just had a baby in the end of Dec so he is just over 2 months! I have a swing, a bouncy seat and baby gym for him to be in! Here is his schedule and how I do it thus far with him;

He usually naps around 9 am for about an hour and he does this in a pack n play in my bedroom or in a pack n play I have set up in the play area! (He is use to the noise and sleeps right through it, important when you live in a daycare)

I have the baby gym set up in the bassinet part of a pack n play in our play area, so he is not laying on this on the floor with all the kiddos running around! He can either be on his back or his tummy in this! I also have a few toys and a mirror in there for him to play with!

I also have his crib set up in his room with a mobile and one of those light up crib toy things!

During lunch, when all the kids are eating and in there spots is when I let him lay on a blanket or the gym (which is easily moveable) onto the floor and this is when he usually does most of his tummy time! Since everyone else is occupied, he is save to be unattended on the floor, he is where I can see him though! My area is wide open!

If I do floor time with him when everyone is awake, I am right there down on the floor with him and all the kids know that they can't touch the blanket, but you can't trust them!!

Also to incorporate floor and tummy time into the day, we all do tummy time with him!! : ) Kids are GREAT entertainers!!

He then sleeps the entire naptime! (usually, but not always) If he is awake during naptime this is usually when he has floor time, which includes belly time!

AND the rest of the time I am holding and snuggling and chatting with him, because that is what babies need most of all!

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Nannyde, I totally gotcha! Yes i totally agree way to young for those...

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Wanted to also mention that I did all of this same stuff with my daughter who is now 4! I used baby equipment, rotated her from one thing to the next, played with her, engaged her, but also let her have time for independent play, gave her as much tummy time as I could just the same as I am doing for my new son AND my 4 year old daughter started climbing out of her crib at 7 months, before she was even walking! Walking didn't start until 8.5 months! Anyway I wanted to mention this to show that kids develop just fine when baby equipment is used!! Baby equipment has bright fun colors and things to engage a childs brain, tummy time builds alot of core and neck muscles! Holding, snuggling and talking to an infants builds a relationship and a bond and social skills! ALL of it is important for an infant!!

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You guys are so lucky. In Calif. we can't have bouncy seats, exersaucers or swings,
We can have highchairs, cribs, and playpens,that's it!

We end up holding them, doing floor time, and if they are old enough play in the highchair with toys. My favorite is to have them play in the playpen outside under a tree while the other kids play.

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Hubby is building a large play room. One side of the room will have a counter across the wall and a rocker and all sorts of baby stuff. It will be separated by the XL gate and I am looking into getting something more permanent.

So 1/3 of the room is just for babies. Toddlers and preschoolers will play together in the larger room. That way I am closest to the little babies and the older ones cannot hurt them. I will also be able to see the older ones from the infant area to supervise and intervene as needed.

The diaper changing station is right outside the door of the room and I can see the play room and the arts and crafts/eating area from the area.

I have a 6 week old and we mostly spend time eating, sleeping and some time on the floor. I have a little play gym that has sides on it so that the baby can lay on the floor but the 6 month old who likes to roll around cant roll on her.

Since children develop at different rates I would access what the infant can do and then have activities such as tummy time as appropriate.

I have exarsaucers, bouncy chair (no different than a soft place for an infant to sit), swing and think they are great. JMO

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When I say "bouncer" I mean the stationary infant seat with the toy bar overhead, the ones that sometimes vibrate. I don't mean one of those door jumpers or the jumparoo things.

As I said my 4mo goes into the exersaucer...but just started this week and is very nearly 5 months. I agree that 3 months is definitely too young for a saucer!

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OK, just a term confusion. Exersaucers are what you call bouncy seats and those are recommended for 4-5 months for the starting age when they have control of their head support. They don't actually bounce because they only move around in circles unless the baby pushes really hard with the legs to move up and down. Jumperoo's are the only other thing babies can actually "bounce" in and those recommended starting ages are at 6 months.

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Same here.

"No mechanical restraint"

"Cribs for sleeping, only"

(and I refer to Johnny Jump Ups as "boucy seats"... It has to be an age thing)

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