Your infant’s life is very exciting right now! The first two years of their life are full of many changes. Chiropractic care is essential in keeping your child’s nervous system working optimally as it adjusts with all of the growth in these coming years.
Change is The One Constant: Your Chiropractor Can Help
Your newborn will go through cognitive, physical, social, and sensory changes over the course of their development. So, how often should you bring your newborn in for chiropractic check-ups? It depends. Your newborn’s development is continuous and will pose new challenges (colic, sleep disruptions, and ear infections to name a few) which can be addressed by the caring hands of a chiropractor. At a first appointment, a chiropractor will conduct a thorough analysis of your child’s history as well as your experience with pregnancy and birth/delivery.
Let’s review some of the milestones you can expect at one, three, and six month intervals. Your chiropractor knows exactly how to give the kind of care that will support healthy development for your child.
One Month Milestones
At one month, you can expect to see your child closing their fists around your finger, making eye contact, recognizing voices, and cooing and gurgling. They can see about 12 inches from their face in black and white. Their hearing is fully developed and they will start turning their heads towards sounds.
As far as things to consider for your newborn’s initial chiropractic adjustments there are various fetal positions that can complicate the labor and delivery process of your infant. Therefore, it’s important that chiropractic care focuses on your newborn’s neck and spine.
Three Month Milestones
When your baby turns three months old they are learning how to roll from their tummy to their back, using their hands to grasp and grab, and lifting their head up for brief periods. They may be sleeping less than they used to. They can recognize familiar faces, smile and laugh, self-soothe, and they are developing different cries for different needs, feelings and emotions!
As your child is learning how to roll over, the middle part of their back is an area of chiropractic to pay attention to. Soon, your baby will start teething and pushing up onto their elbows.
Six Month Milestones
Half a year, where does the time go? Six months is when you will begin to see your child rolling over completely, sitting up with support, actively grabbing objects, and clapping and hugging. This is when babies start storing memories, recognizing words, developing taste, and eating baby food rather than just formula or breast milk.
So, What Is On the Horizon?
Your baby is learning how to sit up on their own. While this is great, the lower back will experience compression throughout this learning process, so make sure to bring your baby in for an adjustment to make sure everything stays aligned well. The next phase is a big one, crawling.
Around nine months, your baby will most likely be on the move in big ways. This is a critical time for proper spinal alignment and development.
Sensory and motor development are extremely important as your little bundle of joy starts to crawl or walk and keep in mind, their physical bodies are still very delicate. This is where you need to nurture your baby’s spinal and motor development.
When babies are first born, their spines are more C-shaped, whereas the proper spinal alignment in adults resembles an elongated S-shape. It’s important to give babies an adequate amount of tummy time so they can strengthen the muscles in their necks and develop their cervical spine (upper spine). The final spinal development is the lumbar curve (lower back). This occurs as a baby is starting to crawl around and pull up.
Consistent chiropractic care assists your child’s nervous system in optimal functioning. Our body’s systems need regular attention to ensure optimum health. The variety of physical and cognitive changes in the first two years of life can be supported by consistent chiropractic care to prevent small issues from turning into larger problems.
Sources:
https://www.northshore.org/pediatrics/ages-and-milestones/infant/
http://blog.intellidance.ca/blog/2-15-2011/c-s-how-nurture-your-babys-spine-development
https://pathwaystofamilywellness.org/Chiropractic/chiropractic-care-for-children.html