Develobaby

Some babies tend to arch their bodies backwards. This is so common that we even have a word for it in Danish, which translates to “back dominance” (because the muscles in the back are stronger than those in the front). “Back dominance” is more common in babies with a tongue tie, reflux, or neck tension. Babies with “back dominance” tend to prefer sleeping with their heads positioned straight in the middle rather than to the side, which often results in a flat head (brachycephaly). To counteract the arching movement, try this exercise: Gently roll your baby into a little “cannonball,” as I demonstrate in the video. Do this several times a day, especially when the arching occurs. Additionally, be sure to offer plenty of tummy time with the arms on the floor and encourage head and full body rotation. If your baby arches frequently or is too stiff for this exercise, and you want the best practice exercises for arching babies (as well as for flat head prevention or treatment), you can find them in my online program, “Develobaby - Back Arching and Flat Head.” ❗️My prices are adjusted according to purchasing power parity to ensure they are affordable in all countries, and today I’m offering a 15% discount❗️ With love, Maria ♥️ (Your baby PT from Denmark) . . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #backdominance #babyexercise #brachycephaly #archingbaby #babyplay #motordevelopment #flathead #babytips #babydevelopment

This fun changing table exercise is great for babies who have not yet learned to roll. It gets your baby used to the rolling motion and provides vestibular stimulation. Plus, it’s just a really fun thing to do with your baby! 🥰 It can be used gently from 8 weeks. Vilma, the little star of the video, is 10 weeks old 🤍 Stay tuned for more changing table exercises! With love, Maria ♥️ (Your pediatric physical therapist from Denmark 🇩🇰) . . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #sensoryintegration #flathead #babytips #babydevelopment

This exercise is great to do with your baby on the changing table from the very beginning. I often give it as part of the treatment for babies who: 🔸Have resistance in the movement 🔸Don’t like getting clothes over their head 🔸Do The Skydiver Position during tummy time (raising the arms) 🔸Arch their body 🔸Have difficulty lying on their stomach 🔸Have difficulty rolling (or rolls arched) ❗️ Always read your baby’s cues when doing changing table exercises. This baby has no tension, so I can do the exercise relatively quickly. Maybe your baby likes it better if you move their arms gently and slowly❗️ If your baby has some of the signs I outline here, then it may make sense to do the exercises from my mini course ‘Develobaby - Back Arching’ for a while to get back on the motor track. Comment “arch” if you want to read more! With love, Maria ♥️ . . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #sensoryintegration #momhack #babyplay #motordevelopment #archingbaby #flathead #babytips #babydevelopment

A good habit to develop from the start is picking your baby up sideways. Of course, you’ll need time to learn how to carry and lift your newborn, but once you’re comfortable, you can start as shown in the video. ❗️Ensure your baby’s head doesn’t hang down; support it with your finger if necessary❗️ Lift in a tipping motion rather than a straight upward lift, and do it as slowly as possible. This daily habit will help your baby strengthen the muscles needed for rolling and crawling later. Let me know if this was helpful to you! With love, Maria ♥️ (Your pediatric physical therapist from Denmark 🇩🇰) . . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #sensoryintegration #momhack #babyplay #motordevelopment #montessoriparenting #montessori #flathead #babytips #babydevelopment

When your baby is rolling, pivoting, and belly crawling, the next important milestone is, of course, crawling on all fours. A great way to help your baby achieve a strong crawling phase is to give them the experience of standing on hands and knees. When your baby is lying on their belly with arms stretched, gently follow the steps demonstrated in this video to help them into the crawling position. Then, slowly rock back and forth to give your baby the feed back of weight bearing on hands and knees (this is also great for reflex integration). If you’re interested in learning all the best-practice physical therapeutic exercises for crawling, you can find them in my video-based online exercise program, “Develobaby - Crawling on All Fours.” Today and tomorrow I have a 10% discount on all exercise programs! With love, Maria ♥️ . . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #sensoryintegration #momhack #babyplay #motordevelopment #crawling #flathead #babytips #babydevelopment

This tip is for you if your baby has a preferred side (prefers to look to the same side). Preferred side is important to prevent or correct as it is the main cause of one sided flat head and asymmetrical development. Place your own face to the non-preferred side to give your baby sensory input while you gently help your baby’s head all the way to the side. Repeat every time you change your baby’s diaper until your baby comfortably sleeps to both sides. This exercise will often be enough to correct asymmetrical development if you detect the preferred side early. If your baby has had a preferred side for a while the exercise is only a part of several correcting exercises that you can get from your local pediatric PT or from me in my online video based course “Develobaby - preferred side”. www.develobaby.com Have you noticed a preferred side in your baby? With love, Maria ♥️ (Your pediatric PT from Denmark 🇩🇰) . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #maternityleave #breastfeeding #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #parenthack #momhack #csection #birthstory #kidspt #preferredside #plagiocephaly

Motor restlessness is quite common in babies and can manifest in different ways. What these signs have in common is that the baby is seeking sensory stimulation to calm down and fall asleep. Examples include: 🎈 Pronounced physical movement. The baby may move around and flap their arms and legs to feel the boundaries of their own body. 🎈 A high need for movement to fall asleep (e.g., bouncing in a baby hammock, being pushed in a pram/stroller, or being rocked on a Pilates ball). 🎈 A strong need to be held tightly or wrapped. 🎈 A strong need for sucking (breastfeeding, pacifier). 🎈 Continuous head movement, back and forth. 🎈 Pressing up against the side or head of the bed. If one or more of these behaviors are challenging your family’s sleep, I think it’s important to know that in most cases, they can be alleviated by stimulating the primary senses during the day. The video shows one example of how to stimulate the tactile sense. I’ve made the best-practice exercises easily accessible in my program, “DeveloBaby - Sleep.” The program includes simple and enjoyable sensory-stimulating exercises demonstrated on real babies, along with plenty of tips for better baby sleep. You can find the program on my webshop (link in bio) Check out my Trustpilot (link in bio) to read about other parents’ experiences with the program. Get 15% discount today❗️ With love, Maria ♥️ . . . . #Sensoryseeker #sensoryintegration #tactilesense #fussynights #tactilesense #vestibularsense #colic #reflux #premature #sensoryintegrationsexercises #babyexercises #baby #babyhack

As a pediatric physical therapist, I see many babies who struggle to keep their arms on the ground and/or hold their heads up during tummy time. For effective tummy time, a baby should touch the ground at three support points: the pubic bone and the inside of both elbows. When these three support points make contact with the ground, tummy time becomes easier. Based on my experience, the three most common underlying reasons for difficulty with tummy time are: 🎈 Arching: The baby has difficulty activating the body’s rotations and spreads their arms out to try to stabilize themselves. 🎈 Preferred side: One side is weaker than the other. 🎈 Low tone: The baby has “floppy” muscles. For all three issues, I recommend helping your baby sense where their arms should be. One way to do this is through “approximations,” as demonstrated in the video. Gently press your baby’s arms into the ground at the support points to give their brain some feedback, making it easier for them to place their arms correctly. I suggest doing this for a couple of minutes several times a day. This exercise is just one of the many tips and exercises in my international bestselling exercise program, “Develobaby - Tummy Time.” Link in bio. 💥This week, I am offering 10% off everything!💥 With love, Maria ♥️ . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #sensoryintegration #momhack #babyplay #motordevelopment #tummytime #montessori #flathead #babytips #babydevelopment

Many babies with asymmetrical development also start to belly crawl asymmetrically, using one leg to push and the opposite arm to pull. This occurs because one side of their body is stronger than the other. If the asymmetry is minor, the baby will likely reach the all-fours crawling milestone eventually, though it might be somewhat delayed. However, if the asymmetry is more pronounced, the baby may learn to sit up and bum-scoot instead of crawling because the weaker leg and arm can’t stabilize the all-fours crawling position. To help your baby strengthen the weaker side, you can use my program “Asymmetrical Belly Crawling,” which includes best practice physical therapy tips and exercises. There are two programs: one for when baby uses the right leg and one for the left leg. In this video, the first twin uses his right leg and the second uses his left leg. Many babies with asymmetrical development also start to belly crawl asymmetrically, using one leg to push and the opposite arm to pull. This occurs because one side of their body is stronger than the other. If the asymmetry is minor, the baby will likely reach the all-fours crawling milestone eventually, though it might be somewhat delayed. However, if the asymmetry is more pronounced, the baby may learn to sit up and bum-scoot instead of crawling because the weaker leg and arm can’t stabilize the all-fours crawling position. To help your baby strengthen the weaker side, you can use my program “Asymmetrical Belly Crawling,” which includes best practice physical therapy tips and exercises. There are two programs: one for when baby uses the right leg and one for the left leg. In this video, the first twin uses his right leg and the second uses his left leg. With love, Maria ♥️ . . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #asymmetricalbellycrawling #exercisecourse #momhack #babyplay #motordevelopment #montessoriparenting #montessori #flathead #babytips #babydevelopment #plagiocehaly With love, Maria ♥️ . . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #asymmetricalbellycrawling #exercisecourse #momhack #babyplay #motordevelopment #montessoriparenting #montessori #flathead #babytips #babydevelopment #plagiocehaly

“The Sensory Rock” is a little trick I’ve used with my own children and now use all the time in my clinic. It’s often super effective for calming a slightly unsettled baby. When you bring your baby’s arms in close to the body, give light weight to the tummy and chest and gently rock the body back and forth, you will often find that your baby calms down. This resembles the feeling of being inside the womb and at the same time offers basic sensory stimulation. If you want all my baby sleep tricks, including the best practice exercises for sensory stimulation, you will find them all in my bestselling online program “Develobaby - Sleep”. Go to bio for link. With love, Maria ♥️ (Your pediatric physical therapist from Denmark) . . . . . #babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #sensoryintegration #momhack #babyplay #motordevelopment #montessoriparenting #montessori #flathead #babytips #babydevelopment

If your baby has a flat spot on the back of their head, here’s an easy method to help! 🍼✨ Roll up a small towel or blanket and gently place it under your baby’s neck while they are awake and supervised. This helps relieve pressure from the back of their skull and encourages head movement in all directions. 👶 ⚠️ Important: Never use this method during naps or bedtime when your baby is unsupervised. Safety first! This tip is a part of my program “Back Arching and Flat Head” which contains all the best practice exercises and positioning tips according to Danish Health Standards. Go to bio for link! With love, Maria ♥️ #FlatHeadPrevention #BabyTips #TummyTime #ParentingTips #BabyDevelopment

Tummy time is hard work, so many babies try to find ways to make it easier. One common strategy is to lift their bottom and ‘drop’ their head. When this happens, you can adjust your baby’s center of gravity and contact points by holding their bottom, as I demonstrate in this video. Gently push down towards your feet and at the same time, press down towards the floor. This small movement helps activate the lower abdominal muscles, supporting the muscle synergy needed for strong, effective tummy time. This is just one of the many tips you’ll find in my ‘DeveloBaby - Tummy Time’ exercise program. Go to link in bio if you want to check out my baby exercise programs 🫶 With love, Maria ♥️ . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #newborn

If your baby is attempting to crawl backward and ends up under the sofa instead of moving forward, try this technique to support the next motor milestone - belly crawling. Place your baby’s toe (the inner side of your baby’s foot) on the floor and wait for active movement. In my experience, this is the fastest way to teach a baby how to move forward. This works better with bare feet because your baby gains a sensory advantage when feeling the floor beneath them. If one leg appears weaker than the other, focus more on exercising that leg to prevent asymmetrical belly crawling. Enjoy practicing belly crawling! For a 15% discount on my evidence-based motor development and sensory integration courses, use the checkout code: 🌸MOTOR15🌸 With love, Maria ♥️ . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #babyexercises #babyhack #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #sensoryintegration #momhack #babyplay #motordevelopment #montessoriparenting #montessori #flathead #babytips #babydevelopment

Have you tried this way of burping your baby? For many babies, it’s much more effective to burp them like this rather than positioning them over mom or dad’s shoulders. In this position, the stomach is slightly compressed, which helps the air come up. This technique is great for all babies but particularly useful for those who tend to arch or when it takes a long time to get a burp out. I hope this helps some of you achieve a lot of successful burping! 😵🫧🫧 With love, Maria ♥️ Your BabyPT from Denmark 🇩🇰 . . . . #Babypt #paediatricpt #paediatricot #strongbaby #maternityleave #breastfeeding #newborn #babyexercise #nappychange #parenthack #momhack #csection #birthstory #kidspt #danish