Like A Caterpillar

Seth hates to be on his tummy. Every time I lay him down he pushes himself up a few times and then gets so frustred and angry. I can't bear to leave him on his tummy for too long b/c I feel so bad. When I went to Seth's last Dr. visit he asked me if I was giving him tummy time. I proudly said yes, twice a day for 5 minutes. He laughed at me and basically said that wasn't enough time and that he'd be fine longer. Today, just before Seth's nap,I laid him on his tummy and watched him cry and push and get frustrated. I thought about the analogy of the caterpillar in a cacoon. When a caterpillar is growing into a butterfly it pushes and wiggles and fights his way out. If you watch from the outside you may be tempted to cut the cacoon open and help the caterpillar out. However, the caterpillar needs to push and wiggle in order to become strong enough to fly. If you cut it out too soon it will now survive. As I watched Seth scream and cry I reminded myself that this is for his own good and soon he'll roll himself right over. TODAY HE JUST WORKED HIMSELF INTO A 75 MINUTE NAP ON THIS TUMMY!