Infant Care and Development  

When it comes to infant care whether you’re a new parent or a veteran caregiver, worrying about your baby’s development and needs is universal. 

Knowing how to best help them achieve their important developmental milestones can be stressful, and understanding what those milestones mean is often confusing and frustrating. Try offering your child these simple, fun activities to promote their learning and have some fun with them.

Get Creative with Tummy Time: 

Your pediatrician has likely told you about the importance of tummy time, where your infant spends time lying on their stomach to play. Many infants resist spending time on their stomach and start to fuss almost immediately. The best key for getting them to stay happily on their tummy and play is to make it as interesting as possible for them.

Provide plenty of sensory stimulation – books propped open so they can see the pictures are great, as are noise making toys they can grab and shake. Make it even more exciting by dimming the lights in the room and surrounding them with lit twinkle lights, or providing an infant safe mirror for them to look at themselves in or flash cards to start with black and white colors moving too more colorful as the infant is growing. With plenty going on around them to take in, they’ll barely notice they’re spending time on their tummy at all!

Baby Sit-ups: 

While no, your infant isn’t ready for working out yet, that doesn’t mean they can’t exercise. Hold your baby so they’re lying on your lap, with their feet near your stomach and their head resting on your knees. Then gently take their hands and start to pull them upwards towards you.

Once you see them start to brace their chin against their chest, pull them upwards further so they’re sitting upright, then slowly lower them back down. This way they are getting great practice at holding their head up and maintaining their core strength as they sit up and lay back. It’s a great way to build motor strength, and little ones love the feeling of going up and down over and over!

Baby Massage: 

Many parents, they start by placing their infant on their chest and do skin to skin contact.  Skin to skin contact witch is also known as kangaroo care. While you’re holding your baby close, gradually start stroking their legs and back gently moving to their arms. After the first few weeks of birth, you can begin massaging your baby. Skin-to-skin contact stabilizes heart rate, oxygenation, improves sleep, and provides better brain development.

Feet splashing:

Developing the use of your little one’s feet is going to be critical for encouraging mobility and walking soon, and the best way to incentivize that development is by giving them chances to use their feet to explore exciting new sensations. Placing their feet in a shallow pan of water or a tray of shredded paper creates an intriguing sensory opportunity that encourages them to wiggle, stomp, and splash with their feet!

Also, you can used water running throughout their fingers as a transition from play, eat, or sleep that will allow their brains to recognize the act of moving from one thing to another, witch it’s important during their development stages.

Overall, Infant’s development new abilities quickly in the first year of life, let make it fun and enjoyable as much possible.  Our team at Sleeping Angels Co. will be more than happy to answer your question “Is my infant development on track? That’s a question the parents, caregivers, pediatricians, Newborn Care Specialist ask over and over as infant grow and change.

As infants grow and change, it is natural for parents, caregivers, pediatricians, and newborn care specialists to question whether their development is on track. At Sleeping Angels Co., we understand the importance of monitoring an infant’s progress and are here to provide support and guidance. 

Our team is dedicated to ensuring that your little one’s development is both fun and enjoyable as they rapidly acquire new abilities in their first year of life. Feel free to reach out to us with any concerns or inquiries you may have. 

Contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced professionals. We are committed to providing personalized care and tailored solutions to meet the unique needs of your child. Let us help you navigate this exciting journey of your baby’s development and provide you with peace of mind.