Filed under: baby development — Alan @ 12:21 pm
Strengthening muscles enough to walk, crawling helps your baby and is her first opportunity to move around easily on her own. In the traditional crawl method she will learn first to balance on her hands and knees and then figure how to edge forward and backward from that point by pushing with her knees.
The average age a baby learns to crawl is usually between six and 10 months. Some children will never crawl instead they shuffle their bottoms slithering on their bellies or moving trying to move to pull themselves up. What is important is your baby becomes mobile, what method is not important.
Typically crawling follows a baby’s ability to sit up without having to be supported which most accomplish by six to seven months old. At that point she can keep her head up and look around and her body muscles are strong enough to keep her from falling off to one side or backwards.
Over the next few months your baby will gradually learn to confidently move from sitting to being on all fours to soon grabbing and pulling herself up. Usually between nine and 10 months she will realize how to push off with her knees and will soon have the thrust forward to be mobile. Then she will soon be moving the arm and leg on opposite sides in unison – cross-crawling- and following that it is just a short while before she will be walking.
Following crawling the only thing left to learn before walking is standing. So therefore she will soon start to pull herself up to a standing position and use that object to support herself. Once the art of balancing on her legs becomes second nature, she will be ready to stand alone without support and then walk around while have one hand on something for moral support.
Before the crawling disappears and the standing alone leads to walking with support and then to all out walking on their own and to just be on the safe side it is good to have lots of pillows and other soft things strategically located in case she decides to take a nose dive into the floor.
Filed under: baby development — Alan @ 2:27 pm
For babies that are unable to sit or stand on their own gyms or play mats is an excellent way for the babies to have fun. With newborns the gyms and mats are good from propping up their heads. There are even gyms that help with eye development by having the contrasting white and black patterns. Little by little as they grow the babies will get to learn music, phonics and cause and effect from the gyms. They make a great gift for any occasion.
As the hand eye coordination and muscles develop the baby gyms and activity mats are excellent for promoting healthy bodies and minds. They can incorporate the important tummy time and also for the all important bonding with your baby. The gym not only offer a way to develop their minds but also help with important motor development skills that they will carry with them for their lifetime.
One of the newer gyms is the Spin and Explore Sea Gym that was developed by a group of paediatricians. Vital development phases can be introduced to the babies with the gym. It is shaped like a surfboard and has little sea creatures to grab the attention of the child, like turtles, dolphins and fish.
The child can also spin in their stomachs to build neck and stomach muscles. There are also rattlers, a mirror, squealers and crinkly flaps to enhance their playtime. The brand Lamaze is well known and makes good quality products that are for learning. This gym is made in an outer space theme with a sun on the mat. The bars of the gym have rocket ships, planets, stars and monkeys that are dressed in space suits.
Baby Einstein is a great choice for educational toys for newborns to preschoolers. The gym they have has a soft mat to lie on and look at the bright colours, toys and characters that will hold their attention and encourage them to explore.
Filed under: Baby health — Alan @ 6:36 pm
A new study from Japanese researchers at Fukuoka University found that babies that are born to mothers who consumer a large amount of yellow and green vegetables and fruit have a lesser risk of birth eczema, which is a skin condition in which itchy red dry patches appear across the skin.
Even without the study, most people know that eating habits affect the way that people feel. Still, leader of the study, Dr. Yoshihiro Miyake and his research team studied 763 women and their babies to see if the mother’s lifestyle habits and eating habits affected their children.
The women in the study were around the age of 30 and each around 17 weeks pregnant. Researchers then gathered more data once the children were born and reached the ages of 16 to 24 months old.
The team found that 32% of children born from mothers who consumed citrus fruits and yellow and green vegetables versus 54% of children that were born from mothers that did not. They additionally found that a Vitamin E rich diet can reduce the chance of having an infant that wheezes.
This study along with other previous studies cements the fact that key foods should be consumed during pregnancy in order to prevent children from developing allergies throughout their infancy.
Also known, is the fact that healthy women that choose to breastfeed are able to offer their children the best nutrition compared to women who choose not to breastfeed.
Strengthening muscles enough to walk, crawling helps your baby and is her first opportunity to move around easily on her own. In the traditional crawl method she will learn first to balance on her hands and knees and then figure how to edge forward and backward from that point by pushing with her knees.
