Whole Body LLC

I highly recommend enrolling in a Baby Signing Class.   Click here  www.SigningSafari.com  to check it out!

Being still with your baby:

It is beneficial for your baby to spend time in a quiet environment with a relaxed and calm parent at least one time per day.   This helps your baby learn to regulate their attention and to relax their whole body.  Being a baby can be quite stressful!

• Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit
• Dim the lights
• Take several deep breaths, slowly inhaling and exhaling
• Clear your mind of worries or concerns 
• Pick up your baby and sit down in this spot
• Think about how much you love your baby and how grateful you are for him or her

Interacting and Communicating with your baby:

Ways to listen to your baby - Your baby communicates through sounds and body language or movement. You know that your baby is interested in interacting or communicating, when you see their eyes brighten.     Enjoy making eye contact with your baby.   Use a nice, relaxed facial expression, and change your facial expressions slowly.   You will know your baby needs a break from the stimulation when they look away, start to fuss, or arch their back/stiffen arms or legs.

Ways to talk to your baby - Your baby has been listening to your voice since conception.   Sound waves travel through the womb and fluid to baby's ears. Speak in a soft and loving voice with your infant. 

Imitate the sounds your baby makes and watch for his or her reaction!  Many times babies raise their eyebrows and smile when they hear the parent imitating their sounds.  They really feel listened to!    It is critical that babies engage in back and forth communication like this to learn social and emotional regulation.    Social and emotional regulation means that your baby is aware of what they are feeling, they are able to easily move and play within their environment and they feel comfortable and confident with interactions with other human beings.

Take turns with your baby  - Your baby will make a sound, allow time to finish, baby will naturally pause to hear what you have to say, speak slowly and lovingly, then pause to give another opportunity for your baby to "talk" to you. 

Your baby is responsive to your emotions and feelings.   Many times babies take on our emotions.   It is important to be as calm and relaxed as possible, even when baby is uncomfortable and / or crying.

  There is no single effort more radical in its potential for saving the world than a transformation of the way we raise our children.

~Marianne Williamson

ENHANCING YOUR BABY'S BRAIN DEVELOPMENT:

Eye contact:

Researchers have found that your baby's brain is particularly stimulated in the visual area.  They have also found that babies enjoy looking at faces of loving adults.  Making frequent eye contact with your baby promotes brain development.    Eye contact is easy to do!

Here are some helpful tips:

• Hold your baby in a comfortable position
• Smile at your baby while he or she is looking at you
• Maintain eye contact until your baby looks away.
• Allow time for your baby to come back to your eye contact. 
• Smile again at your baby and wait for their response. 

It is very important to allow your baby to look away briefly.  This is how they "reorganize" their thoughts and how they learn to calm themselves  when they are overstimulated.     You can positively influence your baby's development by making eye contact frequently.    This teaches your baby to regulate their emotions, to express their emotions and to be able to transition in and out of challenging situations.

 Eye contact helps your baby get a preverbal (before language) sense of self.  Sense of self is who you are, how you discriminate between you and the environment, what you like, etc.  When human beings have a solid sense of self, all activities and skills are made easier and more fluent.

Feeding your baby:

Both breastfed and bottle fed babies benefit from eye contact during feeding. Your baby may close his or her eyes or look away briefly during the feeding. Continue to be available for eye contact throughout the feeding.

Tips for bottle fed babies: Breastfed babies experience a wider variety of positions during feeding, because they nurse on both right and left sides. Alternate the side you feed your baby with a bottle, to encourage this change in position and activity.

Hold your baby during feedings.  Babies benefit from physical contact with someone who loves them during feeding.

Playing with your baby:

Your baby learns as he or she plays.  Newborns do not need toys to play.  Newborn playtime consists of being held, being touched lovingly and being in a variety of positions (tummy time, sidelying, lying on their back).   Your baby will benefit from experiencing a wide variety of positions, including tummy time, lying on their side and back.   Some babies like soft music playing in the background.  Other times, it is nice to offer a quiet environment for your baby to listen to one sound at a time, for e.g. your voice or a soft musical toy.   

Toys can be beneficial, however, they do not replace one on one interaction with a loving parent or other caregiver. 

Toys:

• Newborn: toys or additional visual stimulation (other than the human face)  are NOT recommended or needed for this age
• 1-2 months:   Even at this age, toys aren't recommended.  Most babies like bright colors and sharp contrasts  (red against black, or blue against yellow, etc.)    Rattles and hand held toys can be good way to introduce toys to your baby.  
• 3-4 months: Wooden toys and textured chewy toys are best at this age, simple board books, rattles, small ball, teething rings with textures, socks with patterns or noise makers to encourage hand to foot play
• 4-6 months: ring stacker or other cause and effect toys (toys with push buttons, lights and sounds, etc.), wooden blocks for stacking, toys to bang together.

I do like toys, however, NOTHING replaces human interaction for helping your baby's brain develop.  Reseachers have found that when a baby has consistent, loving and interactive (back and forth) relationships, brain development is enhanced and learning is made easier.

Loving your Baby:

Most of us take for granted that we love our babies.  This is usually a natural process.  From my own parenting experience and from many years working with parents and their babies, I have found that although loving our babies is easy to do, we are often challenged by how to SHOW our love to our babies.  Here are some ideas that help your baby FEEL loved.

-  Massage your baby once per day. 

-  Spend time just looking at your baby, and allowing them to look at your face.

-  Sing, read or talk in a loving voice. 

-  Spend time loving yourself and keeping yourself healthy.  Your baby notices when you don't feel good.  We pass these feelings along to our babies.

-  Hold your baby close.

 Babies rely on their caregivers and the environment (things going on around them)  for learning and brain development.  Unlike other mammals, human babies are the most helpless at birth.   Babies are dependent on us for everything, ranging from their physical needs to social and emotional needs!     This means that the way we touch, talk, and take care of our babies has a direct effect on their development.    Please take this as an opportunity to make positive impressions and relationships with your child!

 EQUIPMENT WARNING!!!!!!!

Please LIMIT the amount of time your baby spends in positioners  (pumpkin seat, exersaucer, bouncy seats, infant swings) to a MAXIMUM OF 15 MINUTES PER SESSION (except when riding in a car).    Your baby's head has a greater potential for mishaping if he or she spends too much time in these devices.   In addition to the increased risk of head flattening in positioners, your baby will miss out on opportunities to move their body, stretch, and turn side to side with their head.          

To further prevent head flattening, remove your baby from the carseat and carry them into the place you are going.   Infant carriers, slings or wraps are available at Target, Toys R Us, or other specialty stores, some great ones are found online.   This allows you to strap the baby to you.  Your baby will enjoy being carried close and secure to your body.         

Concerns about your baby:

If you suspect that your baby is having problems with head flattening, digestive, or sleep problems, discuss this with your baby's pediatrician. The pediatrician will take everything you say with sincere consideration. If you are not content to hear the pediatrician say "(s)he will grow out of it" or "let's wait and see...", consider a consultation with Whole Body.  

A physician's referral is NOT required for treatment, however, I recommend that you share any treatment or suggestions given to you for your baby with the pediatrician.   

The first three years of life have been proven to be the most influential on the entire lifespan. The earlier an issue is addressed, the more likely it is to resolve.