Go Babies Grow

Placing babies on their backs gets a BAD RAP. In reality, the issue is the surface babies are being placed on. The issue with containers is the squishy surface. Babies heads are super malleable so they melt and conform to the soft cushions which can cause pressure/flatness on the head. If babies already have any tension, limited movement of head & body—> contribute to further torticollis. Think of getting up sleeping all night on a plush couch- holy ow!

Putting babies on the floor, they’re able to turn their heads, reach with their arms, actively move arms/legs & bring feet/hands to mouth. These are all important mini milestones for self feeding, rolling, sitting, walking. Not to mention the valuable sensory play, reflex integration, cognitive development.

Of course, floortime is best with equal time spent on back, belly & sidelying!

Placing babies on their backs gets a BAD RAP. In reality, the issue is the surface babies are being placed on. The issue with containers is the squishy surface. Babies heads are super malleable so they melt and conform to the soft cushions which can cause pressure/flatness on the head. If babies already have any tension, limited movement of head & body—> contribute to further torticollis. Think of getting up sleeping all night on a plush couch- holy ow! Putting babies on the floor, they’re able to turn their heads, reach with their arms, actively move arms/legs & bring feet/hands to mouth. These are all important mini milestones for self feeding, rolling, sitting, walking. Not to mention the valuable sensory play, reflex integration, cognitive development. Of course, floortime is best with equal time spent on back, belly & sidelying! #babies #developmentalmilestones #OTtips #gobabiesgrow #tummytime #babyplay #babydevelopment #floortime #containerbaby #plagiocephaly #torticollis #2under2 #babyactivities #babysensory #babysensoryplay #babymilestones #infantmilestones #skintoskin #colickybaby #colic #refluxbaby #reflux #tummytimetips #tonguetiedbaby #tongueties #tonguetiedbabies #milestones

Those cute little baby neck rolls can actually be a sign of tension. When you peel back the neck, you can see deep red neck creases. Because the tongue is attached to a bone (hyoid bone) in the neck, the neck & tongue are super connected! When breastfeeding, a baby must lift their heads up & back (wide gape) & tongue sticks out in order to effectively latch. The tongue then engages in extremely complex movements to effectively suck & transfer milk. If a baby has a “tight” neck, they have tension in their oral motor skills as well.

The tension in the neck can also contribute to torticollis, plagiocephaly & potential motor delays (ex only rolling to one side)

Tummy time is a great activity to work on lengthening & strenghening the head neck & shoulder. Sometimes tummy time flat on the floor is effective (like in the video) & other times modifications are helpful (ex boppy, therapy ball) to ensure the baby can lift out of their head neck & shoulder!

Those cute little baby neck rolls can actually be a sign of tension. When you peel back the neck, you can see deep red neck creases. Because the tongue is attached to a bone (hyoid bone) in the neck, the neck & tongue are super connected! When breastfeeding, a baby must lift their heads up & back (wide gape) & tongue sticks out in order to effectively latch. The tongue then engages in extremely complex movements to effectively suck & transfer milk. If a baby has a “tight” neck, they have tension in their oral motor skills as well. The tension in the neck can also contribute to torticollis, plagiocephaly & potential motor delays (ex only rolling to one side) Tummy time is a great activity to work on lengthening & strenghening the head neck & shoulder. Sometimes tummy time flat on the floor is effective (like in the video) & other times modifications are helpful (ex boppy, therapy ball) to ensure the baby can lift out of their head neck & shoulder! #gobabiesgrow #torticollis #plagiocephaly #babymilestones #babydevelopment #tongueties #tonguetiedbaby #breastfeeding #infantdevelopment #babyOT #parenting #parentingtips #2under2 #sensorydevelopment #sensoryprocessing #tummytime #flathead #floortime #containerbaby #monmouthcountymoms #njmoms

Babies bodies aren’t the the only thing growing in utero! 🧠

🧠 Babies are born with their heads and brains more developed than their bodies.

🧠 At birth, babies have all the neurons they will have.

🧠 Their brains develop at rapid speed and by age 3, their brains have twice as many synapses, or connections, compared to adults.

🧠 The more sensory experiences babies have, the more babies develop strong brain pathways to build foundational skills

🌻my goal is to provide evidence based information & resources to help babies (and toddlers) grow to meet their motor, sensory, and social-emotional milestones

Hi! My name is Shelly and I am a pediatric OT and boy mama! I am here to educate parents & therapists on infant to toddler development! I am excited to help babies grow through:
🌼moving
🌼playing
🌼eating
🌼sleeping