Tummy Time Painting

Tummy Time Painting | Mama Papa BubbaThis little bub.  Gosh, he melts my heart.  At 8 months old {and 5 months corrected} now, we’re working hard on building his strength and motor skills and he’s already come so far!  According to his physiotherapist, the number one thing we can do at this point to help his development along is tummy time.  I’m absolutely not a professional, but according to her, it’s sort of ‘the gateway’ to many of the other skills he’ll be working on mastering in the upcoming months.   

Now while there are many people, proponents of RIE {a parenting philosophy that I quite adore} included, who advocate for babies moving and developing naturally without being placed into positions they can’t get out of on their own, I do think it’s a different situation in the case of our little Sam.  While he’s doing amazingly well for being born at 27 weeks gestation, it’s likely that he wouldn’t be nearly as far along as he is without some of the early intervention he’s had so far.  And so, tummy time it is.  The key for us is making sure that the time he spends on his tummy is happy and positive, despite the ultimate goal of slowly expanding the amount of time he’s able to spend in the position.  When he’s tired or frustrated, we’re done.  Simple as that.

The good news is that since figuring out rolling a while back, this guy is constantly on his tummy.  We make sure to get down on our tummies and chat and play with him on the floor, but today, with Big Sister at bike camp and Papa out for the afternoon, I decided we’d try something new – a little tummy time painting. ☺

While it’s not at all a new idea {Allison from No Time for Flashcards shared her no mess colour mixers post back in 2008 and MaryAnne of Mama Smiles shared her no mess finger paint post in 2010}, mess-free painting was something Miss G and I did as a table top activity when she was wee, so it was fun to try a new version this time around.

IMG 8484{this post contains affiliate links}

First up, what we used…  Some watercolour paper, some paint {while not affordable on Amazon, these shimmer shine paints from Kid Made Modern are oh so pretty!}, a large zip-close bag, and some tape.  {I personally would have used a thick painter’s tape had I had it, but clear sticky tape worked just fine too.}

IMG 8485

After cutting a piece of watercolour paper to fit inside our zip-close bag, I squirted some paint directly onto the page.

IMG 8487

Then I carefully slipped it inside the bag, trying not to smudge the paint along the way {not that it would have been a big deal if I did}.

IMG 8488

Then I zipped the bag shut and taped it directly to our wood floor.

IMG 8490

With our mess-free painting bag ready, I brought Sam over and placed him on his back right below the bag, knowing that he’d automatically flip over and have a fun surprise waiting for him.

IMG 8495

IMG 8503

IMG 8504

I wasn’t sure what he’d think, but he was actually quite interested in it and began smushing his little hands over it right away.

IMG 8500
The smearing didn’t happen nearly as quickly as it does when doing this activity with a toddler, so we took a little break part way through and did some foot painting too. ☺  While not planned, this part of the activity was actually perfect for our Sam.  After spending the first 69 days of his life in the NICU and having constant blood draws from his little heels, he’s not crazy about having pressure on the bottoms of his feet {unless it’s in the form of kisses!}, so it’s something we’ve been easing him into.

IMG 8507

When he was no longer into it, that was it.

IMG 8509

I carefully cut open the sides of the bag so as not to muck up his creation, and lifted it out so it could dry.

IMG 8510

And while the purpose of our tummy time painting was the process itself, the end result is baby’s very first painting!  {Which is most certainly being framed and hung on his nursery wall. ☺}

 

Are you following us on social media?  Find us on:
Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Twitter

 

We’d love to have you!

 

14 thoughts on “Tummy Time Painting

  1. This looks great! Really love your site Jen, design looks amazing and your pictures such high definition. I wish I had found this blog 5 years ago. My babies are all grown up :'(. Lego time is fun times, maybe they’ll want to try the painting if I bribe them with a new lego set. muahahaha

  2. This is so fun! I have a little boy who was born on Christmas Day at 33 weeks! He’s doing very well, but he rolls out of tummy time immediately. He either wants to be sitting up playing, which he does do independently now, or rolling to get around. I’m so worried that if he doesn’t keep up tummy time he won’t crawl. I am going to try your idea to see if it will keep him from rolling. :)

  3. Hi Jen, what a heartwarming story to read about Sam and how well he is doing! I love the idea of combining mess free painting with tummy time. With Adam I didn’t discover mess free painting until he was already standing up unfortunately – but it is perfect for tummy time, I would like to feature this post on ADAM & Mila in our guide to tummy time milestones and activities, just want to check with you first since I would be grabbing a picture from your page with the link. I won’t copy the content, just link to you, please drop me a line if it is ok to use your picture.
    This is the article where I would be linking from: https://www.adam-mila.com/milestones/gross-motor-skills/tummy-time/

  4. I absolutely love this idea!! I will definitely be doing this with our 8 monther (6 corrected)! Sam looks like he is doing amazingly well and loving it!!!

  5. This looks so cute interesting.. just loved this idea.. Gonna try it with my 7 months old daughter. Excited to see her response for this activity.. Thanks for sharing..

  6. Very cool idea! I gave my daughter paints in the bathroom, so that it would be easier to wash both her and the bath itself later. Let’s try your method today.

  7. Thanks for your comment! I’m so glad to hear that you like what we’re doing to help our little one grow and develop. I definitely understand the idea of wanting the baby to develop naturally, but in this case, I’m confident that the therapy and early intervention have been beneficial. We’ve found that by making tummy time fun and joyful, Sam is more likely to cooperate and keep trying to develop his strength and motor skills. We’ll definitely keep up the good work and see how far our little bub can go!

  8. There are a number of benefits to online gambling, such as the convenience of being able to play from anywhere with an internet connection, the availability of a wide variety of games, and the ability to access promotions and bonuses. However, online gambling can also be risky, potentially leading to addiction and financial problems if not done responsibly

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.