Congratulations! You have a new baby boy or girl!

Over the next year, your baby is going to learn that they have 2 feet, 10 fingers and 10 toes, a belly button, and hair. They actually have to learn all these parts and create an image of themselves based on their sensations after birth. When you hold your baby, touch their hands, stroke their head, and exchange smiles you are helping your baby learn about their physical self. When their feet hit the end of the crib, or they push against you while being held, babies are learning about the physical world as well. Everything they know is learned. Movement is a babys first experience, and the neurological connections that they form through their experiences with movement cause their brain to grow in size and become more organized. A babys brain has to sort incoming sensations and turn them into information. This process organizes them to go become mobile, thinking, problem solving people. All of the initial movement experiences that a baby has become the foundation for future learning. It is incredibly important these learning experiences be as vast and varied as possible to create a broad and comprehensive foundation.

But this all just happens naturally, right? Well, yes and no. Learning is a very natural phenomenon. Humans are incredible learners and we have to learn a massive amount to function in our society. Cats, dogs, horses, they can move themselves around within hours of birth because so much of their brain comes pre-wired. Human babies are a different story. Our lives, which include, walking upright, talking, opposable thumbs, multiple languages, sports, business, arts, science, etc., require a huge capacity for learning. We are not born with pre-wired brains. Our babies cannot even lift their head for quite some time after birth. Nature provides human babies with a blank slate to allow room for the specific learning each individual will need in their individual lives. Every babys development during the first year of life looks similar because all have the same structure, but each baby develops into a unique individual, with their own specific skill sets, traits, and personalities.

Babies follow such similar learning trajectories that some time ago, observers began to predict milestones in development, and predicted the ages that changes would occur. The significance of this observation is that because every babys skeleton, shape and size is similar, all babies generally arrive at the same milestones of learning at approximately the same time. For example, a child puts the knowledge of this hand and that leg and moving my eyes to follow mom, together into rolling on their side. The first time a child does a new action, such as rolling over, it is spontaneous and unplanned. By the third time it is intentional and the learning is established. However, age does not create the milestone. Rather, the milestone is achieved when a baby has acquired enough experiences to put them together into a noticeable jump in development. All of the components of the next milestone are learned before arriving at that point. For example, all of the movements, relationships and parts that are needed for crawling are learned on the stomach, back, side, etc. Babies do not learn to sit, crawl, or walk by being placed in that position. There is no shortcutting the process, and progress is measured by having learned the components not by how much time has passed.

How can you be sure your baby is learning and progressing? Being around other babies can give you an idea. Remember, do not worry about the rate that your baby is acquiring skills. Make sure that they are having the opportunities they need. Some clues are that a well baby is comfortable on their back and in their car seat, likes to be held, makes eye contact, smiles, and is actively moving and experimenting with their body and environment. They do not require that everything be perfect to thrive and continue to reach basic milestones. Also, an appointment with an Anat Baniel Method for Children practitioner can confirm that your baby is on track. (More details about well baby development coming soon).

Small and non obvious limitations may impact your childs quality of movement and future ability to reach their full potential. A child who does nott experience equal ease of movement on both sides, or who feels they need to put forth effort to accomplish what should feel easy and effortless, will not have the same outcomes and opportunities in dance, sports, music, or even problem solving. At the ABM Center of San Jose our Well Baby program addresses these concerns. Our program is not essential for your babys life and learning, but it gives you a way of checking to make sure that your baby is on track and functioning as optimally as possible throughout the first year of life. In an Anat Baniel Method lesson, we make sure your baby is recognizing and using their full structure and that their brain is recognising the relationships between their parts that will lead to not just the normal milestones, but to an easy and effortless use of self that will provide your child with the foundation to fully enjoy and take advantage of all of the new things coming in the next few years.

Some babies have had additional challenges. If your baby has encountered challenges such as a difficult birth, a fall, or a medical procedure and is functioning well, a Well Baby check can help them meet their optimal potential. A healthy child is adaptable and will find ways to circumvent hurdles that are caused by during these extra challenges of life. Although their solutions may cause small limitations, generally forward progress is not interfered with and functional adaptations may not be obvious. A parent might not notice their baby is developing the use of one side more than the other, or that they are not using their lower back muscles as well as possible. One side of the neck might be tighter than the other, or it might be more difficult to twist and turn that it should be. Sometimes parents do notice, but their doctor says the baby will grow out of the issue. These small limitations become part of the babys movement foundation during a time when a child should be building the strongest foundation possible to set them up for future learning and growth.

We recommend that babies be seen at least once, and optimally, at regular intervals throughout their first year. We recommend that babies have well checks during their first month, at 3 months, at 6 months, at 9 months and at 1 year of age.