CalmBaby and Growing Spaces - Step by Step Tips for Positioning and Development of Newborns
The following video clip is a demonstration on how to properly carry your baby to ensure their safety and developmental wellbeing:
Carrying and Baby Wearing
Position: Carry your baby close to your body using your arms and/or a sling.
Development:Calms Central Nervous System, develops baby's inner sense of safety and security and helps develop the baby-mother bond. * Wear your baby as much as possible during their first two months of age to ensure their BEST and healthiest development.
Playing - Tummy Time™ (view interactive playtime page for Tummy Time™ activities)
Position: Place your baby "tummy" down on either a tummy roll, over your shoulder, accross your chest, across your knee or on a rocking therapy ball (tummy down).
Development:Breath integration, muscles necessary for extension of head, body and limbs.
"All development comes from the tummy position. If a baby doesn't develop the core strength - the muscles of the chest, the tummy, the back, the neck-they also don't have those muscles to use for breath control, for the tongue moving back and forth and for the ability to form their mouths to do speech." - NEWSWEEK August 18/25, 2008 Christina Gillham, pediatric physical therapist
Feeding
Position:Cuddle your baby in your arms while feeding and feed on alternate sides when breast and bottle feeding.
Development:Visual tracking, sense of trust and security.
Laying/Sleeping
SLEEP ALERT - NEW SLEEP INFORMATION Always put your baby to bed asleep. New information indicates babies sleeping on their backs now need to be put to bed asleep to ensure a deep and longer sleep. The old information of putting your baby to bed awake is no longer believed to create a healthy sleep pattern for babies under 10 months to a year.
Position: Lay your baby on his/her "back" to sleep. When your baby is AWAKE evenly apply stimulation to their entire body. Lay your infant on his/her right side, left side, stomach and back for equal amounts of time.
Covering eyes: To help your baby get to sleep when you are holding them, try covering their eyes (visual space) with a thin blanket over your shoulder and across their face. This is especially helpful for babies who are very visual.
