Thank you so much!!! My daughter was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. So we have an OT come to our house but your help and advice is helping tremendously with her developing sitting
Oh my gosh, you are so welcome and I am so glad that you guys are being proactive! Another PT channel you might find helpful is @pediatricptexercises or pediatric physical therapy exercises, they are awesome and a little more diagnosis specific with a ton of videos. If you havent yet, feel free to check out the free courses all the way through walking here: drlaurenbaker.com/courses And I found this coffee shop the other day and thought it was the most magical place so I am sharing it all over ❤️ I hope you love what they are doing as much as I do: www.bittyandbeauscoffee.com/
My almost 8 month old son wants to sit up on his own so badly. He can do it well when sat up on his bum but when laying on his back looks like he is doing a crunch trying to bring himself up with just his ab muscles.
Hi RedFive! Thanks so much for your comment, if your little has not yet learned to sit up on their own yet, make sure to check out the "learning to sit" free online course here: drlaurenbaker.com/courses -- it will go over lots of different options to go from different positions to sitting up specifically back to sitting up and make sure that your baby has everything they need to be ready for crawling! For context, the movement pattern that he is currently doing is not optimal for what he is trying to accomplish. A few tweeks you can learn in the course will help so much! specifically, check out module 4 "transitions" section for exactly what you need :) the whole course is great though because you never know if there is something under the surface that might make crawling more difficult and it's good to make sure you fill out the checklists to feel confident they have everything they need to be ready for the next stage!
Hi Tamara! With a babe who is "collapsing" (for lack of better word) through their upper trunk (shoulders/upper back) you can move your support up to under their armpits if working on sitting without hands on the ground (elevate the toy to eye level. or use a toy that is on an incline like this: kit.co/drlaurenbaker/best-toys-for-toddlers-12m/vtech-sit-to-stand-l or you can take two legs off and make this one an incline: kit.co/drlaurenbaker/best-toys-for-toddlers-12m/leapfrog-little-offi or I also love these: kit.co/drlaurenbaker/best-toys-for-babies/battat-wooden-acti If you don't have any of those already and don't want to purchase anything (totally get it): you can also hang toys off of a vertical laundry basket with holes in it (make sure that it's not easily tippy) or put toys up on a cushion or box that makes them eye height. All of that being said, placing weight through the arm/hand on the ground or vertically through an incline surface or flat surface will help build that upper body strength so absolutely keep working on that. I would also check to see if they can tolerate up to 10-15 minutes in tummy time and if not, check out the tummy time playlist and specifically place the child on an incline like a boppy with their arms above their hips to make it easier so they can go longer (longer = more muscle endurance). If a babe is past 8-9 months and struggling with sitting still, I definitely recommend having an evaluation done by a peds PT/physio if you have one near you (it may not require a long plan of care, but it's so helpful to have someone walk you through how to support your baby!). Hope this is helpful! Lauren
Hi Karen! Babies who are premies can struggle with core strength since they worked so hard on their physiology at birth (everything is harder when you’re born early!). The biggest suggestion I have is to raise things off the floor so that the kiddo is more engaged at eye level. I don’t have many videos showing this yet but I can see if I can find some for you. Having a small box or playing at a mirror are both good options. You can have the kiddo support themselves on your leg or a boppy to lift that upper trunk to stay more upright. I would also suggest looking through the learning to sit playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLxYt0JBWx03RLo0bW2r3jWr--nNDXIyHs.html If you’re really struggling, a baby physical therapy or pediatric PT appointment might help you learn specific strategies for your kiddo (or you can book a parent consultation where we can talk about specific forward fold strategies etc for an hour: drlaurenbaker.clientsecure.me/request/service
If you still have questions book a 60 minute online consultation with me here: drlaurenbaker.clientsecure.me/request/service
Thank you so much!!! My daughter was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. So we have an OT come to our house but your help and advice is helping tremendously with her developing sitting
Oh my gosh, you are so welcome and I am so glad that you guys are being proactive! Another PT channel you might find helpful is @pediatricptexercises or pediatric physical therapy exercises, they are awesome and a little more diagnosis specific with a ton of videos.
If you havent yet, feel free to check out the free courses all the way through walking here: drlaurenbaker.com/courses
And I found this coffee shop the other day and thought it was the most magical place so I am sharing it all over ❤️ I hope you love what they are doing as much as I do: www.bittyandbeauscoffee.com/
My almost 8 month old son wants to sit up on his own so badly. He can do it well when sat up on his bum but when laying on his back looks like he is doing a crunch trying to bring himself up with just his ab muscles.
Hi RedFive! Thanks so much for your comment, if your little has not yet learned to sit up on their own yet, make sure to check out the "learning to sit" free online course here: drlaurenbaker.com/courses -- it will go over lots of different options to go from different positions to sitting up specifically back to sitting up and make sure that your baby has everything they need to be ready for crawling!
For context, the movement pattern that he is currently doing is not optimal for what he is trying to accomplish. A few tweeks you can learn in the course will help so much! specifically, check out module 4 "transitions" section for exactly what you need :) the whole course is great though because you never know if there is something under the surface that might make crawling more difficult and it's good to make sure you fill out the checklists to feel confident they have everything they need to be ready for the next stage!
what about a baby who corves their upper back and shoulders forward when sitting?
Hi Tamara! With a babe who is "collapsing" (for lack of better word) through their upper trunk (shoulders/upper back) you can move your support up to under their armpits if working on sitting without hands on the ground (elevate the toy to eye level. or use a toy that is on an incline like this: kit.co/drlaurenbaker/best-toys-for-toddlers-12m/vtech-sit-to-stand-l
or you can take two legs off and make this one an incline: kit.co/drlaurenbaker/best-toys-for-toddlers-12m/leapfrog-little-offi
or I also love these: kit.co/drlaurenbaker/best-toys-for-babies/battat-wooden-acti
If you don't have any of those already and don't want to purchase anything (totally get it): you can also hang toys off of a vertical laundry basket with holes in it (make sure that it's not easily tippy) or put toys up on a cushion or box that makes them eye height.
All of that being said, placing weight through the arm/hand on the ground or vertically through an incline surface or flat surface will help build that upper body strength so absolutely keep working on that. I would also check to see if they can tolerate up to 10-15 minutes in tummy time and if not, check out the tummy time playlist and specifically place the child on an incline like a boppy with their arms above their hips to make it easier so they can go longer (longer = more muscle endurance).
If a babe is past 8-9 months and struggling with sitting still, I definitely recommend having an evaluation done by a peds PT/physio if you have one near you (it may not require a long plan of care, but it's so helpful to have someone walk you through how to support your baby!).
Hope this is helpful! Lauren
My 7 month old ( 6 month corrected ) goes forward so much. I hold hip by the hip and bring him up but he literally raises his legs. What can I do ?
Hi Karen! Babies who are premies can struggle with core strength since they worked so hard on their physiology at birth (everything is harder when you’re born early!). The biggest suggestion I have is to raise things off the floor so that the kiddo is more engaged at eye level. I don’t have many videos showing this yet but I can see if I can find some for you. Having a small box or playing at a mirror are both good options. You can have the kiddo support themselves on your leg or a boppy to lift that upper trunk to stay more upright.
I would also suggest looking through the learning to sit playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLxYt0JBWx03RLo0bW2r3jWr--nNDXIyHs.html
If you’re really struggling, a baby physical therapy or pediatric PT appointment might help you learn specific strategies for your kiddo (or you can book a parent consultation where we can talk about specific forward fold strategies etc for an hour: drlaurenbaker.clientsecure.me/request/service