Tummy time- some lessons learnt!

One of the things that you hear from your new born's pediatrician most probably during your first visit is to give the baby some tummy time daily. To elaborate it, tummy time is placing the baby on their tummy for sometime which has numerous benefits. It gives the baby a new view. In fact to make it more effective, you can lie down beside the little one with your face pressed against the bed so that the baby can see your face in proximity. This also helps bonding. Apart from this, it helps strengthens the baby's muscles at the back which will help the baby roll over, crawl and sit at a later stage.  Of cos this entire activity has to be done under full time adult supervision. 

My daughter Angel  enjoyed her tummy time but got restless in few minutes and had to be turned over. One day, out of the blue she turned on her tummy and lifted her head. O what a beauty! The most wonderful mommy moments lie in these little milestones that our babies achieve. The euphoric feeling just can't be expressed in words. As I lay beside her and saw her lift her head slowly and look around taking in so many interesting sights- it made me nostalgic. I recalled how anxious she was when we placed her on her tummy for the first time. It was something new for her, the view she was so used to lying on her back was now different. She looked a bit scared and confused but slowly got used to it and then started enjoying it for short periods at least. Finally, she mustered enough energy to turn herself on her tummy one fine day. And lo behold! Wasn't she thrilled about it? Now that she had emerged victorious in the first lap, she became confident to try something new- lets raise our head and get a better view of what's around us. She did that too after some struggle and now she cooly lifts her head and amuses herself with different sights each day. I'm certain she'll try out the next stage of sitting/crawling very soon. It is said all these are milestones which all babies naturally progress through. It set me thinking -what about us adults? 

Isn't our story so similar to baby's tummy time? We become so comfortable in our little cocoon that we hesitate to get out of it. Be it our job, our set of friends, family life, hobbies or anything else. Over time, we get so complacent that we do not want to step out of this comfort zone. Just like the baby was happy laying on his back, remember!

How willing are we to take risks which may dynamically alter our life's course? A promotion at workplace, getting married, having a baby, making new friends, moving to a new city, taking up that hobby you always dreamt of- we are always hesitant, aren't we? There is no doubt we need to give it a lot of thought but very often the fear of unknown and the unwillingness to let go of our comfortable space leads to lost opportunities. Just like the baby who was scared when he was first turned on his tummy, he didn't know what's in store for him. But, gradually he started liking it and mustered enough courage to do it by himself one day. Once successful, he went a step further and tried lifting his head.

We adults too need some tummy time- beat complacency and step out of that protected zone. You aren't sure that you will succeed, no one is. But taking one small step in that direction will definitely teach us some interesting lessons. Taking up that promotion at work or changing a job would surely mean additional responsibility and you may be required to stretch at the workplace, but if you manage to do a good job, it would no doubt boost your morale and the person enjoying success would be none other than you. If you don't, you would not end a loser. Self introspection would make you realise you have gained something out of this experience.

There's lots we learn from our tiny tots. As they grow each day, we grow not only as parents but as individuals too. Tummy time is one of the first lessons they give us. So the next time you see your little one on their tummy, probably think about getting some tummy time for yourself too!