Babies
It’s endearing the way newborn babies fling their arms out when somebody closes a door too loudly, in what is known as the “startle” reflex. And the way they instinctively grasp an outstretched finger, or turn their heads to “root” when their cheek is stroked.
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These are all examples of baby reflexes that we are all born with, these should disappear between six and twelve months as the brain starts to inhibit them when more sophisticated, neural functioning begins to develop. We see this development as the baby becoming more engaged, more able to move, responsive in different ways, beginning to learn language. The brain is growing and developing. But if these reflexes persist, they will interfere with the mastering of intentional control of muscles and, in the run-up to starting school, hinder the development of physical readiness for academic learning.
Each of the baby milestones is crucial in creating a strong foundation in the brain, for developing skills such as, emotional control, learning, attention, balance and co-ordination.
If you baby or toddler has delayed or skipped a milestone/s I can assist you to help them achieve it and move onto the next milestone.
Babies come already ‘pre programmed’ with the milestones, we don’t teach them to roll, or commando crawl they just know how to do it when the time is right.
Remember those fun games you can play with dominos, where you line them up then push one over, it hits the next and so on until they have all fallen over. The baby milestones are like that, once one has been achieved it sets the next in motion.
Sometimes the baby gets stuck in a stage and it like the domino didn’t hit the next one and its my job to get them back on track.
This process is usually very quick one or two visits and they started rolling, crawling or walking. I give a specific set of simple exercises and because these responses are already pre-programmed the baby responds quickly and they are away again onto the next milestone.
How it works
If you decide to come to see me with your baby, you will visit me at my office, this is so fun for me as I get to be on the floor playing with you and your baby.
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You give me a history of the pregnancy, birth and life so far, let me know your concerns and then I show you what you can do at home to help your baby get to the next stage.
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This plan involves play, some physical exercises which are simple and easy to do, you do these daily with your baby until they have moved onto the next stage.
The week after I see your first visit I see you for a quick check, where you show me what you have been doing and ask any questions. We check in again in about 5-7 weeks and if needed we have another appointment to give the next exercises. Usually it doesn’t take more than two appointments.
What if its more complex?
Sometimes it can be more complex, but usually you already know that, its not just simply by baby hasn’t started to crawl or they are only rolling one direction.
You might notice:
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baby upset and crying frequently
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baby hates the car, fusses or cries in the car
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extensive dribbling
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feeding challenges
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gagging on food
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delayed early speech
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extreme separation anxiety not expected at this stage of development
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floppy baby
These things are great to seek advice from your Doctor and Maternal Child Health Nurse. If they don’t pick anything up, you can often bring in some neuro exercises to support the brain and body to mature and improve the above symptoms.
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If you would like to book an appointment or have a chat to see if I am the right fit at the time, please send me an email or give me a call.
There is a baby’s questionnaire which gives me a history for our first appointment, this questionnaire is also gives a good idea of the areas in which I can help.
All the very best with your baby.