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My mind, like I’m sure everyone’s, runs 100 miles a minute. I thought it would be funny to write down everything I think about in a span of 10 min. Driving in the car is the worst for me and since I do that the majority of my day – oh you can imagine the trouble I get myself into. So enjoy peeking into my busy head. Just be glad you don’t have to stay! 

Be thankful for each day. Show gratitude. Eat your veggies. Botox is helpful. Iran is testing nuclear bombs. North Korea has a new leader. Our men are still fighting wars. Diet coke is bad for you. KERA is having a pledge drive. The school needs me to blow up 200 water balloons. Girl Scout drama continues. 30 minutes of exercise a day. Omega 3 is essential. Cold medicine may be bad for kids. Someone I love dearly has cancer. Too many pesticides on our vegetables. Need to eat local. Taxes are due. Kid needs a haircut. I need a haircut. Forgot to read book for book club (again). Late to my meeting (again). Car needs an oil change. Allergies are affecting my brain function. Pile of bills waiting. Teacher gifts. Sales presentations. Great grandmother needs a phone call. Husband needs some attention. Dog needs a walk, bath, vaccines and heartworm pill. Political campaigns. Public or private schools? Don’t sweat the small stuff. Friends that turn into enemies.  Juicing experimentation. Play dates. Keeping the marriage exciting. Doctors’ appointments. Cancer. Cell phone needs a new cover. Aching back. Need to get back to boot camp. Body parts are drooping. Starbucks, too expensive. Traffic. Chipped fingernail polish. Emotional girls. Gas prices. Finding the right underwear. Party planning. Summer vacation. Family reunion. Dirty car. Trying not to talk on cellphone while driving. Healthy snacks. Cancer. Justin Beiber’s song is too sexy. There’s an app for that. Senseless killings. Reliable mascara. Recycling. Returning phone calls. Water the thirsty plants. Yoga is a miracle exercise, why aren’t I doing it? Tired. Curtains for bedroom.   

I try to remember to just be thankful for each day and see each challenge as a blessing. Yes, they are blessings. Yes, they are blessings . . . . . . .  

From all my years of experience, if I could give one piece of advice to new moms it would be this. TRUST YOURSELF. All too often I see that new parents bombard themselves with books, theories, websites, experts, classes, etc. This can be helpful but it can overwhelm as well. It can impede your ability to go with what makes sense for you and for your baby. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen very successful/intelligent women struggle over seemingly simple decisions. What diapers to use? What temperature to make the bath water? What way to best burp the baby? What will happen if we put the baby on their tummy? Let the mother-in-law massage baby or not? Whether to hold the baby or “encourage independence”? The list goes on and on.

I once had a good friend of mine (mind you, she was a very successful project manager for a large hospital – extremely educated) call me in a panic. “I can’t give Joey a bath!” Perplexed, I asked, “Well why not?” She told me, “I can’t find my rubber ducky thermometer!” Oh boy, we’re in trouble.

One of my other friends had a hard time hearing her baby cry so she would do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to avoid it. Well, that can wear a person down in about 30 sec flat. Needless to say, she was exhausted and because of the unnecessary pressure she was putting on herself, she felt like a failure anytime her sweet baby cried.

Or the all too familiar sleep issues that can be addressed by any of the 52 books on the subject – all telling you something different. Enough to confuse even the most brilliant among us!

I have seen the worst of parents, the best of parents and everything in between. There are millions of people who are raising their children very well without an ounce of baby knowledge.  If you need proof, I would highly recommend the documentary “Babies”. It follows several babies from totally different cultures through their first year of life. I was astounded by what I saw other cultures do to their babies! Let them eat dirt?  Play with livestock? Wrap them in a papoose for months on end? Surely these babies will be delayed and totally messed up for life! Guess what? They weren’t. They all walked and talked around the same age and were perfectly comfortable with what was being done to them. The common denominator, for me, was the confidence in the moms. They seemed to just know what to do and that made the baby confident. It is an amazing perspective on child rearing that I recommend to all new parents.

So, trust yourself and know that you have everything you need to raise a happy, healthy, well-adjusted child.  That’s what we are built for. Believe it in your heart. 

We are firm believers that babies, for the most part, should not cry during therapy. We do not hold the belief that they should just suffer through it and we will get the stretch no matter what. Not only is it miserable for everyone, it is actually counterproductive. The baby is stressed and resisting your attempts, thus making the tight muscles tighter. We try really hard to find ways to stretch the baby’s neck in ways that are effective but gentle and well-tolerated by the baby. This works most of the time.

On occasion though, we work with babies who simply just don’t like to be messed with. They would rather just hang out on their back, with a nice tilted head sucking on their dominant hand. They disagree with the importance of midline positioning – I mean – who cares right? They certainly don’t want to work on tummy time – too hard. And rolling? Who needs it? “My mommy gets me everything I need, even before I need it.” Soooooooo, they pitch a fit when that darn therapist comes in and starts insisting on these crazy activities.

If we determine that the exercises/activities are not hurting the baby and the resistance is more behavioral (yes, babies can manipulate us from much younger ages than you think), then we will push the issue a little. This is important for several reasons. First, we need to get the stretches in. We need to make sure that neck is stretched properly and consistently. Secondly, we need to gently encourage the baby to tolerate touching, handling and doing things that, at first, seem difficult. After a session or two, we typically see that the baby is much easier to work with and see that we are actually pretty darn fun.

As a parent, sometimes it helps if you step away. Babies pick up on our anxiety and if the baby sees a concerned look on your face or senses that you are worried, they think something is wrong and will react to that. I often suggest that the parent go to the kitchen to “clean some dishes” and just watch from there. They can see the baby and what we are doing, but the baby doesn’t see the parent. Or sometimes, I will take the baby and just walk around the house, where the parent isn’t. We can then work on the exercises and address any behavior issues head on. Most of the time, this works like a charm.

So if you are having trouble, ask your therapist if they think this is a good option. It may just be enough to ease the stress on everyone and make therapy time fun and productive. By the way, we are used to babies, we all love babies, we have worked with babies for years and are NOT affected by the crying.  Please don’t apologize. We love your baby, fussing or not!    

Just read an estimate that by the time a baby is 2 months old, they will have been on their back an average of 700 hours! At first, I thought there was no way this could be true but after adding it all up – it most certainly can. And unfortunately, it’s probably even more.

Think about it. 24 hours a day. 60 days.  2 months.  That is 1440 hrs.  700 hours is only half of their time on this earth. This surely doesn’t take into account time in a swing, hanging out in a bouncy seat, running errands with mom all day in the car, going for a little jog in the stroller, etc.  And we wonder why their heads are flat!

This is yet another way infanthood is changing. We need to make sure we are talking about it and remembering that babies need to be off of their malleable skull, especially for the first 3 months. After that, you really don’t need to worry about the head flattening.

We recommend “wearing” your baby. There are so many cool and comfortable options now – virtually something for every body type. So, go out and try a few on. Or if you are past that point, go get one for your best friend who’s having a baby. This is a great option to decrease that back time and ensure your baby’s head stays nice and pretty.

Best of luck to all of you. Let’s kick this plagiocephaly thing in the fanny!  

You may remember our past blog article where we talked to all of you about all those containers that we are all putting our babies in.  So you may be wondering if you can't put your baby in a swing/bouncy/nap nanny/etc then where should you put them?  ON THE FLOOR!  

Babies love playing on the floor.  They are able to move their arms, legs, and entire bodies so much easier while they are laying on their backs.  It helps them develop their motor skills as well as promotes self-exploration.  It works all their little growing muscles in the most optimal way possible.  The key is to start doing this early and incorporate it into their daily schedule.  They love to lay on these little playmats and will eventually start reaching for the objects, rolling side to side to see all the fun toys and then will surprise you one day by rolling over to see all the beautiful colors!  

So keep your time in those containers limited and start putting your baby on the floor to play- i promise they will thank you!

Can't keep up with all the constantly changing carseat recommendations?  Luckily we can!  Here is the breakdown of all the newest information:

For all the info here is the link to the article.

http://www.healthychildren.org/english/safety-prevention/on-the-go/pages/car-safety-seats-information-for-families.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR:%20No%20local%20token&nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR:%20No%20local%20token

“The first time his laughter unfurled its wings in the wind, we knew that the world would never be the same.”  B. Andreas

Your baby’s first giggle. Can you remember it? Or maybe you haven’t experienced it? Well, I am here to tell you that it is the absolute coolest thing on earth. I remember it like it was yesterday (even though it was eight years ago). I was changing her diaper on the changing table and talking away about God knows what. Then out of the blue – I hear her giggle. The sweetest sound came from her “sugar lips”. The world stopped . . . . . .

I was so moved by that sound I almost cried. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. Of course, then we all tried and tried to get her to do again but she took her time in sharing it again. I still get a kick out of her laugh and like the quote says “the world would never be the same.” Not sure about the world but I do know that mama’s heart was never the same.

Here’s to lots of giggles from our precious children. May there be more joy that we know what to do with.  LOL!!!!  

Incorrect Swaddling Related to Increase in Infant Hip Dysplasia;

Hip Dysplasia Institute Offers Hip Health Swaddling Tips

Dr. Charles Price, pediatric orthopedist at the Winnie and Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and director of the International Hip Dysplasia Institute (www.hipdysplasia.org), has reported a direct connection between incorrect swaddling and hip dysplasia. “Swaddling an infant has many positive effects such calming a crying baby and soothing pain in infants. Unfortunately many parents are taught to swaddle the baby’s entire body to create a tight cocoon, and this restriction of movement in the lower half of the body can lead to post-natal hip dysplasia.”
Hip dysplasia is the most common infant abnormality and results when the top of the femur (leg bone) is not properly located in the hip socket or is loose in the hip socket. The condition is most common in breech birth babies, first born girls and when there is a genetic predisposition (family history). If diagnosed early and with proper care, this condition can usually be reversed. Recently, however, it has been discovered that infants whose hips were normal at birth are developing hip dysplasia in the early months, and this may be due to improper swaddling. Improper swaddling has been associated with hip dysplasia in specific cultures worldwide where tight swaddling is the norm. The condition often goes undiagnosed and leads to early onset of adult arthritis of the hips with hip replacement at a young age.

Dr. Price offers these hip healthy swaddling tips to help avoid hip dysplasia:

• -If using a blanket, wrap firmly around the arms but loosely around the legs so the hips can move   freely.
• -When swaddling baby, avoid stretching the legs our straight or pressing them together.
• -Encourage baby’s hips to be spread and bent as if riding on a horse. (When carrying baby, wrap     his legs around your body for proper hip development.)
• -Consider using a sleepsack product with a roomy bottom such as the Halo SleepSack Swaddle       which is a fool proof way to swaddle baby in a hip healthy manner.

This is a great medical research article that supports what we have all known all along, that therapy is an EFFECTIVE treatment for plagiocephaly!

The main conclusion of the article is that if a therapy program is started early, ie 2 months, it will significantly reduce the prevalence of severe deformational plagiocephaly!

If you are interested in the full article it can be found here:

http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(08)00901-3/fulltext