Tag Archives: safety

School of Hard Knocks: Babies and Everyday Bumps

Infant Health & Safety,

Your baby inches his way under the coffee table and bumps his head on the leg. He rolls over on the play mat, and lands right on top of a plastic toy. He’s working on sitting, but tilts sideways or sometimes even backward when he loses his balance. All before breakfast.

Chances are good that over the coming weeks and months, he’ll have a dozen minor bumps, falls and mishaps before his first morning nap. Your mantra can be: “Oh well! You’re Okay!” Bumps happen. It’s a sign of healthy development!

Minor bumps and tumbles are part of becoming mobile and learning about the world. Healthy, active babies get their bodies into some uncomfortable predicaments and learning how to fall is just as important as learning balance. Your baby needs to be able to explore his safe environment freely (though supervised). Yes, having a baby-safe environment is essential, but even so, you’ll never be able to protect your baby from every bump and bruise.

Practice your UNDER-reaction. 
If you gasp with fear each time and rush to his rescue each time he takes a little tumble, it’s going to be a very long few years for you both.

Even when you’re wincing inside, try to keep your expression neutral or positive, and ignore any bumps or tumbles your baby doesn’t react to. You’ll be amazed that he takes his cues from your own reaction. Babies will often take what seems like a scary or painful tumble, and then continue on as though they hardly noticed.

Of course you should offer comfort (and then distraction) if your baby seems upset or scared, and soothing if he is hurt. But most of the time, your baby will topple over from sit, or roll over and flop his head on the floor or bump his head under the table, and may look to you as to how to react. If you can foster an attitude of: “Oh well! You’re okay!” it’s likely that he will, too. Save the scooping up, attention and comfort for the times when he is clearly is hurt. Unfortunately there will be plenty of those opportunities as well. (Remember, minor bumps and bruises are a sign of healthy development 😉 )

Floor Time for Babies

Infant Health & Safety, , , , , ,

Your baby’s gross motor development occurs along predictable Cephalo-Caudal principles. As a reminder, this means that your baby develops motor strength and muscle control starting from from the top (Cephalo, Latin for “Head”) toward the bottom (Caudal, Latin for “tail”). This principle of development means that first, your baby works on achieving head and neck control, then upper body strength in the arms, shoulders and upper torso, then lower abdominal strength, and finally, leg strengthening and balance for walking.

For this context, think of the first year of life for a human child as a timeline from birth, essentially laying flat with very little muscle control, to one year, when a baby is now upright, standing and moving independently (cruising, crawling or walking).
The mid-way point, six months, the baby is halfway there. During the sixth month, most babies will be working on sitting upright, and on finding some way to move. Here’s how tummy time plays a critical role in building strength for these skills. Tummy time doesn’t go away, it evolves into “Floor Time”.

Between 2 – 4 months, babies (hopefully!) are working on tummy time, beginning to push up on bent arms and support their head, neck and eventually shoulders and upper body (pushing their chest up off the floor to the nipple level, even) for increasingly longer periods of time. What the 2 month old found frustratingly hard work when placed on his tummy, the 4 month old effortlessly performs: remaining propped up on his bent arms for much longer periods of time.

At five months, he’s ready for a new challenge: rather than resting on his bent forearms during tummy time, he may push straight up on extended arms, getting almost all his chest off the floor down to his belly button. After doing this for a week or two, you’ll begin to see some fancy developments: he’ll start pivoting in a circle and then moving (creeping) backward. Using some combination of pushing off with his arms, typically these earliest movements will take your baby sideways and backwards. These fun efforts mean that your baby will creep backward until he’s halfway under the couch or coffee table. You’ll watch him get stuck many times over, often to your amusement.

To encourage him to pivot (which strengthens his upper body) yet to lower his frustration (Frustration Tolerance – another skill) place a few tempting toys around him in a circle. This way, when his efforts take him away from the object of interest in front of him (because early movements tend to take babies sideways and backwards!) there will be a new and rewarding item that catches his attention.

This activity is called “Floor Time”. Unlike Tummy Time, where you may have needed to use a prop, position your baby carefully, and a receiving blanket was all that was needed, Floor Time requires more space. Your baby needs some space to begin to explore how his body can move, and motivation to investigate his environment. Months before he can crawl and even though he may not yet be able to roll, he’ll still figure out ways to somehow scooch, creep, wiggle or otherwise inch and arch himself a few feet in one direction or another.

A clean area rug or foam matting makes a perfect surface for floor time. Blankets and quilts tend to get bunched up under your baby’s efforts to move. When possible, bare feet is best for sensory input and for traction. Watch those little toes flex and dig into the surface to get leverage to push off with!

By six to eight months, your baby will figure out some version of movement. Though it may not be what you think of as “crawling”, most babies in this age group have some way of getting a few feet away from where you left them. HOW they move matters less than having the motor strength to move, and the cognitive desire to explore. Some babies will use their arms to pivot and creep backward, others will “commando crawl”, using lots of effort with their upper body to drag themselves forward. Some will use an amusing combination of rolling, shimmying or scooting to get around!

Time to Baby Proof!

Changes in Routine over the Holidays

Baby Sleep, Breastfeeding, Infant Health & Safety, New Moms, , ,

It’s easy for everyday routines to be disrupted over the busy holiday weeks. Travel, visitors, parties, new decorations, and changes in childcare or playgroup routines , plus alterations in meals, nap and bedtime routines may result in both excitement and stress for infants, toddlers and parents.

Some simple steps may help to maintain a sense of security and routine during these busy days:

Keep mealtimes as regular as possible, or offer healthy snacks if a family meal is being held later than your child might like. Most toddlers have a short attention span in the highchair, so bring along some appropriate diversions to keep a child content at the table a little longer, or allow him to play with quiet toys on the floor next to the table if appropriate.

When traveling overnight, bring along some favorite toys, books, music and blankets and try to keep to your regular bedtime routine, even if it’s a little briefer or later than usual. If you usually bathe, read, rock, sing with your little one at bedtime, follow that pattern. Your baby will recognize the familiar rituals, even in a new environment. White noise may help mask unfamiliar city or party sounds.

Unfamiliar faces or crowded rooms at parties may take your child some time to get used to. Sometimes visitors are so eager to see the baby that they want to rush in and envelop the baby in a hug. Explain to visitors and relatives that most young children need some time to acclimate to new places and people (even grandparents, if it’s been awhile since their last visit). Hold your child and let her watch you interact with friends and relatives first. Wait until she seems more relaxed and shows a willingness to explore the environment or be held by someone new.  Using a sling or frontpack is a great way for relatives to see and interact with the baby, while parents are still able to maintain a sense of safety and security.

Keep extra-vigilant at holiday gatherings and parties when there are many adults and children present. It’s often assumed that someone else is watching a child, when in fact the toddler may be unobserved exploring an area that is unsafe or mouthing a potential choke-hazard. Sometimes a well-meaning relative may give a baby or toddler a food or plaything that is unsafe or not age-appropriate. Party foods (including candy, nuts, chips and baby carrots), festive decorations and toys for older children are all tempting and potential hazards for a crawling baby or young toddler.