Doubts about pediatric physiotherapy for your little one
When can I put my baby in the prone position?
Since birth!
At birth, if everything goes well, the baby is placed on our chest to initiate skin-to-skin contact and encourage the start of breastfeeding. And now he is already prone!
We call it the biological parenting position and if you want to breastfeed, it is one of the best positions to start breastfeeding!
This is the best position to start putting your baby on his tummy. Lie down, put your baby on top of you and enjoy it together! It will help you relax, connect with each other and will also help the baby's development.
My baby sucks his hands a lot, should I let him or stop him?
Let him lick his hands!
From the second month of your baby's life, you will see that he starts to put his hands in his mouth. He does this because he is discovering them. Then he will take them between his hands and start to look at them.
And why first to the mouth?
Because the mouth is the most sensitive area of a newborn, so that's why they use it to explore. Later, they will complement the information with sight and touch, but while these two senses mature, the mouth is the one that provides the most information to the brain.
When you suck on any part of your body you are integrating it twice, since the brain receives information through the mouth about what the thing you are sucking is like, and the part of the body that is being sucked is being stimulated thanks to the fact that it is being touched (as we discussed in the previous post).
Knowing all this:
– Make sure your baby has his hands and feet exposed to the air as much as possible.
– Let him suck his hands and then his feet
– Don’t forbid him from sucking on things, always try to create a clean (not excessively clean) and safe environment so that your little one can suck on whatever he finds within reach.
How do I know if my child is latching on properly during feedings?
The main sign of a poor latch is pain when your baby latches on or during feeding.
For a good latch, the baby needs to open his mouth wide, extending his head slightly back and latching on not only the nipple but also a large part of the areola.
Other signs of a poor latch are a callus on the baby's upper lip and a lipstick-like and/or very white nipple at the end of the feed, with cracks appearing.
During feeding, there should be no clicking sounds, there should be no dimples in the baby's cheeks, the baby's nose and chin should be in contact with the breast, the baby's lips should be everted, and there should be an imaginary straight line connecting the baby's ear, shoulder, and hip.
Is it normal for my child to have breast pain when breastfeeding?
What is the best pacifier for my child's palate development?
How do I know if my child has dyschezia or constipation?
Dyschezia is a lack of coordination when defecating due to the baby's own immaturity.
They clench and turn very red but they cannot defecate because instead of relaxing the anus they tighten it and close it. When they manage to relax they poop and it is soft. They do not usually go many days without defecating. It occurs during the first months of life, very common during the first two months and less so from 2 to 6 months, when they already manage to coordinate.
Constipation is a delay in defecation for several days. There is no consensus on the normal number of days that a baby or child can go without defecating, but if several days go by and when they do manage to defecate, the poop is hard and causes pain, it is considered constipation. During the first 6 months, poop should not be shaped, it should always be between liquid and soft. When they start with complementary feeding, it can begin to come out with some shape but it should continue to be soft and recurrent.
I have noticed that one side of my child is flatter than the other, what should I do?
It is important that your child be evaluated by his/her pediatrician and pediatric physical therapist. At home, make sure that when he/she sleeps or spends time on his/her back, his/her head does not rest on the side where the flattening has occurred (that he/she does not look towards that side).
Encourage him to look towards the side he looks less, use a good carrying system and hold him a lot so that he does not spend a lot of time leaning on the flat side, the bones of his head will not grow in the areas that receive a lot of pressure. Avoid the use of hammocks and let him play on his stomach for a few moments a day.
My child is not pooping, can physical therapy help?
Depending on the reason why you are not pooping, physical therapy may help you more or less, but generally it does.
During the consultation we can assess and treat you and we will give you tools and exercises to do at home.
