Babygym with Anneke

Tummy Time
Part 12

How to make tummy time fun:
3) Place a mirror in front of your baby as this encourages baby to lift the head and look in the mirror.

Tummy Time
Part 11

How to make tummy time fun:
2) Get on the floor with your baby.

Tummy Time
Part 10

How to make tummy time fun:
1) Start tummy time by laying baby on your chest. Talk and sing to baby in this position.

Tummy Time
Part 9

So how long should your baby be on his or her tummy?
"I usually recommend starting to offer tummy time at least once per day," says Scott Cohen, MD, FAAP, an attending pediatrician at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. He suggests leaving your baby on her tummy as long as she accepts it, whether that’s 15 seconds or 15 minutes. Some babies initially resist tummy time because they don't have good control and find it hard to lift their heads. But the more practice your baby gets, the better she’ll like it, says Cohen, who is also the author of Eat, Sleep, P**p. He continues to say: “Keep trying. The more exposure and practice the better. As her head and neck get stronger, she’ll enjoy it more.”

Similarly, registered nurse, Beth M. Lovinelli recommends approximately 30 minutes of tummy time a day, either all at once or broken up into short segments ranging from a few minutes to longer intervals.

Dr Melodie de Jager's latest book "1+1=3" is being printed as we speak. We are so excited about this extraordinary book! Keep an eye on the page for ordering details to follow.

In "one + one = three - the wondrous journey from conception to birth", Melodie de Jager takes us on the thought provoking journey of Zani, a modern young woman with a tad of neurosis, who wants a baby (pretty much like an item on a shopping list) - from falling pregnant, to staying pregnant, and finally, to giving birth.

With this mystical and life changing event ahead of her, Zani has to sift through the mounds of information on Google, reflect on a less than happy childhood and a poor relationship with her mother, heed the wisdom and spiritual insights of a childless coffee shop owner, Vee, and navigate her unlikely friendship with Sky, a feisty, pregnant earth child.
Zani is blessed to have Jake in her life - a man any woman dream of - mature, wise and committed. He volunteers a peek into a male’s perspective on impending fatherhood and pregnancy, as he juggles his job, and a hormone riddled Zani, while trying to figure out what’s best...

Melodie has woven her experience as a mother and student of human nature with her expertise as a Neuro-Developmental Educator, to tell this story at a time when the very fabric of humanity seems to be fraying at the edges. The nifty layout of the book provides the option of either joining Zani on her relentless pursuit of information, or skimming over her ‘scientific research’ to simply enjoy the wonder of conception and the unfolding miracle of a human baby.

Dr Melodie de Jager is the proud mother of her three muses: Ruan, Waldo and Cozette. She is the founder of the BabyGym & Mind Moves Institute and the author of ground breaking non-fiction on preconception care, birth, child development and quality of life - irrespective of age. Her books have been published in Afrikaans, English, Spanish, Danish, Italian, Hungarian and Polish but it is her heart more than her work that has touched lives in all walks of life.

Tummy Time
Part 8

At the BabyGym® Institute our goal with tummy time is to reach a point where baby has mastered head and neck control, has the strength to push up, to see further, to distribute weight to one hand while maintaining balance, and to reach for toys or objects with an open hand. That is quality movement!

Remember:
Physical development is an indicator of brain development and the better the control and quality of movement, the greater the brain development.

And here are the details for the...

PARENTING Workshop:
13 OR 15 May
09:30 – 10:30
“Milestones – Motor, Emotional, Language and Love”

Follow the link to book your spot:
http://www.mamamagic.co.za/heart-2-heart-workshops/joburg-winter/

Tummy Time
Part 7

The pull of gravity wants baby to remain lying down, supported and secure, while his innate nature wants him to fight the gravity to develop (de Jager, 2011). Dr Bettye M. Caldwell, a Professor of Pediatrics in Child Development and Education, confirms this when she says tummy time develops upper body strength and head control, and strengthens muscles in the arms and neck. All of this is needed in the next stages of physical development— rolling over, pushing up and, eventually, crawling. It also helps promote sensory development, allowing babies to see the world from a whole new perspective.

If we look at the picture we can clearly see how movement (and a baby’s range of movement) will increase with time spent on the tummy. Older babies will not necessarily enjoy tummy time more, but stronger babies will!

Tummy Time
Part 6

In her book "brain development MILESTONES and learning" Dr Melodie de Jager explains that once a baby has repeatedly fought the pull of gravity (by attempting to raise and turn his floppy head while enjoying tummy time), his muscles will have strengthened enough to want more. Once he has successfully strengthened his neck and shoulder muscles, baby is no longer satisfied to only engage through his senses so baby will want to become mobile too.

Follow the link to order your copy of "brain development MILESTONES and learning"
https://www.babygym.co.za/book-shop.php

TUMMY TIME
Part 3

From a physical development point of view Tummy Time also marks the start of building muscle tone and strength. According to Dr Melodie de Jager Developmental Specialist and Founder of the BabyGym® Institute International, the central nervous systems maps and wiring develop from head to toe, which means that the map of the head and the neck develop way before the map of the feet (cephalo-caudal). That is why baby’s neck needs to strengthen to carry his heavy head long before he can walk and why his hands always tend to be more sensitive and skilled than his feet (de Jager, 2011). So Tummy Time is not only a strength building exercise but one that determines the quality of all future milestones.

Top to bottom refers to the development of baby’s neck (that supports baby’s precious head) before the core, arms or legs.