This week we've been chatting to Nicola, Mum of two and founder of Mummy to Dex, a parenting and lifestyle blog. She's been introducing tummy time to her little ones routine, and has reviewed our Prop-A-Pillar. Here's what she had to say...

I did lots of tummy time with Dexter as a baby, but never used a specific tummy time toy, so I was super intrigued to see what the Prop-A-Pillar was all about and whether Felix would benefit from using it.

Why the need for tummy time?

Back in the 80s babies were always put to sleep on their tummies, however the amount of babies dying from SIDS or cot death as it was more popularly known, was huge. In the early nineties after a lot of research from Peter Fleming, the recommendation changed and Mums were advised to put babies to sleep on their backs. The number of SIDS cases fell dramatically, but all of this time on their backs meant that babies’ neck muscles weren’t developing as they should, so tummy time was introduced as a way to encourage babies to get exercise to strengthen their necks. And why is this so important? Well, if we want babies to be able to support their own heads, sit unsupported, crawl and eventually walk, then developing these neck muscles is an absolute must.

What does the Prop-A-Pillar Tummy Time & Seat Support offer?

The Prop-A-Pillar Tummy Time & Seat Support is a soft, textured caterpillar which can be extended to create a tummy time support to be used from birth onwards. It comes with two detachable toys: a BPA-free tether and a crinkle-sounding sun to help engage baby while they’re in the tummy time position.

As baby grows and is looking to start sitting independently, the caterpillar can be stacked to create a C-shaped seat support.

What did we think?

We loved the brightly coloured, engaging caterpillar and the idea that this toy grows with your baby, providing tummy time support to begin with before becoming a cosy seat support.

Felix doesn’t mind tummy time, but like most babies, he does prefer to be on his back. Before we got the Prop-A-Pillar toy, we had been using a playmat for tummy time and he was managing around five to ten minutes before wanting to be put on his back. We noticed straight away that the amount of time he could do tummy time for increased substantially. Whether that was because he was more comfortable or because the toy raised his eye level quite a bit more, meaning he had a clearer view of what was going on around the room, I don’t know, but the toy encouraged him to stay in the tummy time position for over fifteen minutes the first two times we used it.

The two detachable toys are very engaging for Felix, especially the crinkly sun, and I love that there’s space for you to attach other toys you may have that will work well for tummy time.

We are yet to try the Prop-A-Pillar out as a seat support yet, as Felix is still only three months old, but will report back in due course on this feature.

Priced at around £30, the Infantino Prop-A-Pillar is a sound investment for baby, and one they’ll get lots of use out of before they turn one.

Where to buy?

Available from Amazon priced at £29.99.