Did you ever wonder what is the optimal way of carrying baby in your arms? If to hold baby under header, neck, his back or buttocks?

So what to do/not to do with baby in arms?

Read a few recommendations how to manipulate with your baby:

• Slowly and in calm way, let your baby get oriented in space and motivate it for cooperation – watch youself/husband/partner if you don’t rush too much and just slow down, it surely helps a lot.
• in symetry and baby’s axis – hands and feets are always in front of body, we don’t turn the pelvis, chest, we don’t pressure baby towards our body.
• Switch both hands while holding baby – to not cause asymetry of your baby with one side manipulation
• We don’t support and irritate head’s/body backward tilt
• we don’t touch and give pressure towards neck, we don’t pressure towards child’s spine
• we carry baby in positions which supports his psychomotoric development and are in 45 degree (klbko/yarn, tigrik/baby tiger, klokan/kangaroo)

Do you know why vertical position is not recommended for your baby?

Weight of baby’s head contrary to his body ratio overpressure yet not developed soft spine’s and neck muscles. Furthermore we hold baby under bottocks, while we carry the pressure from bottom part of body. So forth it is decreasing baby’s own effort to exercise required muscles. With correct manipulation and baby carrying we support and strenghten also postural muscle mass. Babies carried in vertical position have often their head/body in tilt, hands falling with shoulders behind the body.

In vertical position it makes phychic bond for easily gained verticalization, hence it doesn’t force him to make needed effort, just start crying. And that’s of course the situation which let him feels good.

When is baby prepared for vertical position?

• ideally when it can sit on its own with feets in front of body, while his entire spine is narrow/not tilting
• furthermore, baby’s can now climb qualitatively and cross various obstacles skillfully enough and actively during the entire day
• usually it is around 9-11. month of age

Do you know the risks of improper manipulation?

• Blockage in neck and/or hip area
• Tilting reactions and arm wrestling of baby’s hands
• Increasing muscle tension and overall anxiety
• Increased spine lordosis, kifosis or skoliosis – axis tilt which leads in asymetrical body development
• Body asymmetry – head crouching to single body side, pelvis misdirection again to single side (baby is not in axis)

Monika Majorošová

Instructor of baby psychomotor development