Hello, and welcome to another BabyPillars video tutorial.
In this video we will focus on:
The importance of tummy time, and its connection to future development milestones, such as
your baby lifting its head How to relieve your baby’s muscle tension
How tummy time leads to future mobility Where to place your baby’s hands during
tummy time In this video you will learn the different
exercises that we as parents can practice with our babies so that they learn how to
lay on their stomachs in the most comfortable way.
We’ll begin this process with our baby laying on it’s back.
This position is familiar and ƒcomfortable for them, and at this stage, it is also the
position they spend most of their time in.
Only after we familiarize our baby with it’s body through a step by step process, will
we move them to lay on their stomachs.
Over the course of this video you will watch and learn how your baby will learn to lay
comfortably on its own or with our help and guidance.
Lay your baby on it’s back and establish eye contact.
With one hand cup both of your baby’s feet, and place your other hand beneath it’s pelvis.
Gently roll your baby’s feet towards it’s head and back, do this a few times, as far
as your baby allows you to.In this process you’re looking to see how far your baby’s
back rounds with as little effort as possible.
In this same position, begin to roll your baby’s pelvis in both directions.
Here too, do not roll your baby’s feet with any force.
Roll your baby gently to the right, and gently to the left.
For the entire duration of this exercise, make sure to maintain eye contact, and to
communicate with your baby.
After this first stage, rest your baby’s pelvis on your leg.
Once your baby’s feet are elevated, you will most likely see it bring it’s arms
together.
Gently begin to pat your baby’s chest, while making a smooth sound.
This patting allows your baby’s chest to release downward, and allows the spine to
round, in order to release unnecessary tension caused by gas, belly aches, or discomfort
that may occur in your baby’s body during their first few months.
Continue to gently pat your baby’s chest, and vary the movement by rubbing and gently
applying pressure on the chest in a downward motion.
All of these actions work towards the release of tension that is present in your baby’s
first few months.
Slowly, remove your baby’s pelvis from your foot, and check to see if there are any significant
improvement in their leg movement towards their head.
Should your baby’s motions remain stagnant or stiff, repeat the previous steps until
their body releases.
Now, place your thumbs beneath your baby’s knees, so that your remaining 4 fingers are
wrapped gently around the front of the legs.
Bounce your baby’s pelvis gently up and down.
Notice that the motion is slow, and passes all the way on to your baby’s head.
Here we can evaluate their chest motion.
When the pelvis is lowered and meets the floor, your baby is learning how to relax it’s
body and release unnecessary tension.
Slowly, straighten your baby’s legs and continue this same back and forth motion towards
their head.
Place four fingers underneath their shins, and your thumb should wrap around their shins.
Gently rock your baby up towards it’s head, and down back toward you.
Again, the movement here is slow and steady, and should always be accompanied by eye contact
and constant communication.
Gently hold on to each of your baby’s legs separately, and roll them onto their side,
making sure that one knee is bent, and the other is straight.
Rolling them should always be towards the side of the straightened leg.
Leave your baby on their side and massage them in this position for several seconds.
Make sure your baby’s knee is held closely to the floor.
This exercise is actually your baby’s first introduction to the sides of it’s body.
This will ultimately lead to a further familiarization with all of your baby’s body parts, and
will be extremely helpful in every stage of development.
Perform this exercise on both the right and left sides of the body, and then return your
baby to laying on it’s back with one knee straight, and the other bent.
In the following step, hold your baby’s legs separately once again, and roll them
until their belly reaches the floor.
Watch your baby’s position.
Bend the right knee with your four fingers placed around the shin, and roll them gently
towards their stomach.
Notice how the baby is laying on it’s stomach: Did it adjust it’s hands to reach forward?
Is your baby trying to lift it’s head?
Is one hand stuck beneath its body?
Is it comfortably laying on it’s stomach?
Is it lifting it’s head?
Each stage of this exercise will lead your baby to lay comfortably on it’s stomach
without any tension in it’s chest.
Now that your baby is lying on it’s stomach, gently pat it’s back, and massage it’s
hands and body.
Accompany these motions with soothing sounds and touch as a distraction, in order to keep
them on their stomach for as long as possible.
Make sure that your baby’s arms are bent at the elbows, and leaning on it’s elbows
while lying on it’s stomach.
The patting motion teaches your baby where to place their hands, which will allow them
to lay on their stomach comfortably and for elongated periods.
Remember to continuously guide your baby through this process with your voice and a sense of
security.
As long as your baby feels you guiding it along the way, it will feel and receive your
sense of confidence.
You will see that it will feel more comfortable continuing this process on it’s own.
Remember that your baby’s development from the newborn stage, until they begin to walk,
lies in the foundation of laying in tummy time.
From this position, your baby will lift it’s head, roll over, and become mobile.
The tummy time position is the root of your baby’s crawling and sitting stance.
From the crawling position, onto the knees, to standing, and from standing to walking.
With these positions, your baby’s spine and organs mature, and a sense of space and
surroundings expands.
Your baby experiences confidence and a sense of security when they are less exposed to
the amount of stimulus surrounding them.
Tummy time leads to the strengthening of the muscles, and is the basis for developing a
sense of their own weight.
That’s all for this BabyPillars Tutorial.
Untill the next time...
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