Moving Babies
Moving Babies
Group class
Thursdays
2:00 - 3:00 pm
April 11, 18, 25, May 2
in-person
$80
for 4-week session
For infants and their caregivers
This in-person class is for caregivers interested in supporting babies movement development and spending time with other caregiver/baby dyads.
This is an opportunity to refine your skills of picking up, putting down, and holding your baby. You will gain insight on supporting their movement development at whatever stage they are at.
We will explore developmental milestones such as:
-rolling
-sitting
-belly crawling
-hands and knees crawling
-pulling up to standing
-transitioning to walking
Babies enter the world in tune with their senses
The choices caregivers make support a baby's sense of self and teach them about their bodies. Babies are hardwired to development at their own pace and in their own timing and you can support them on their journey.
I help caregivers become intentional about the way the carry, hold, and transfer their babies.
Expecting Parents
Caregivers of infants
Professionals who work with infants
BABY BALL
photo credit: Brittany Flegel
Baby ball is a supportive way of holding your baby. In this position, you are folding babies arms and legs in and allowing their spine to flex forward.
Using your body to create a container for your baby will give them a sense of safety and security that they are fully supported. This allows them to relax and settle into the comfort of their caregivers body.
Sometimes babies resist this! Babies can get stuck in an extension pattern and resist this flexion and containment. When this happens, you can offer some gentle resistance. Not forcing them into a position that makes them upset, but encouraging them to settle into a relaxed state. It can take some practice to figure out how to manage all the squirming limbs and get them tucked in snuggly.
I was introduced to this concept by Amy Matthews in my Laban/Bartenieff training, and then got to participate in weekly online drop-in classes through Babies Project after my son was born. They do some brilliant work over at Babies Project and I highly recommend checking them out.
ALL 4 SIDES
Babies spend so much time on their back!
Between the many, many hours sleeping on their back, being in devices like car seats and bouncers, or being held on their back by caregivers, babies can spend a large majority of their time on their back.
It is important that we offer our baby many opportunities throughout the day to be in a different relationship to gravity, including spending time on both sides and on the tummy. This can be done on the floor or in your arms.
For babies having a hard time being on the tummy, spending time on their side is an excellent way to work towards tummy time. If you are looking for help with tummy time, stay tuned. In the mean time, try placing baby on their side and let me know what happens!
PICKING UP
&
PUTTING DOWN
If there are two things you do the most in a day with your baby, it’s probably picking them up and putting them down.
Do you place them straight down onto their back?
Do they often startle as you doing this?
Do you scoop them up under their armpits?
I want to offer another way of picking up and putting down that will be supportive of your baby’s development. You don’t have to add anything extra to your day, and you can turn a mundane, repetitive task into a moment of connection that is intentional and mindful.
Try it!
Next time you go to pick your baby up, fold their legs up towards their chest and then roll them onto one side. Get your body quite close, connecting your chest with their side before you lift them up, allowing them a feeling of security as you lift them and sending their weight into your body as opposed to just your arms.
To put baby down, you do the opposite. Holding them in a baby ball with their side towards your chest, lower your body down placing baby’s hip and then head on to the floor. Baby can pause on their side before rolling. Say, for example, you are changing their diaper, you can roll them onto their side keeping their legs tucked up, then lower their legs once they have arrived on their backs. If you don’t have a specific task to accomplish, you can follow your babies lead and see where their interest takes them. If you wait, they will become curious about the space around them and you can follow their gaze, rolling them to their back or their tummy.
Why?
This can help you avoid triggering the startle reflex that often happens when placing baby straight onto their back
Baby gets to practice the motion of rolling over and over before learning to do it themselves
This will trigger baby’s head righting reflex, supporting them as they learn to roll and sit
When baby does inevitably fall over while learning to sit up, stand, walk, etc. they are less likely to hit their heads on the floor
Bending sideways helps in tummy time, rolling, sitting up, crawling etc.
TUMMY TIME
Babies will often fuss or cry when placed on their bellies and that can leave caregivers to look for devices and tricks that offer a quick fix or abandon tummy time all together.
There is no quick fix for tummy time troubles, but there are many small ways you can help your baby become more comfortable on their tummy. Many of these things I have already talked about in previous posts.
Baby Ball: helping baby come into flexion
All 4 sides: including the back, the tummy, and both sides
Pick up and Putting down baby through the side
Does your baby have ample time where their movement is not restricted in any way, say from a car seat, bouncer, or bassinet? Time spent freely exploring movement on the floor is often under-utilized as babies are frequently place in some kind of container. Devices have their place, but should be used minimally and intentionally.
As for devices to place under baby to support them on their tummy, while it may keep baby on their belly longer, they are missing the true purpose of tummy time. It’s not to simply have their belly downward towards the floor, it is to feel their weight into the floor and then using their strength to push into the floor. Props under the chest do not allow baby to feel weight into their arms or to shift their weight to the side, forward or back. They are again stuck in one position, unable to explore and play through movement.
These early days of moving can be tricky
and I am here to support you.
Photo Credit: Danielle Tocker
Let's work together
Photo Credit: Danielle Tocker
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