Baby Om : Yoga for Mothers and Babies

The First Three Months…Your Baby

The first three months is the period that many people consider to be the fourth trimester for both mother and baby.  It’s a time of enormous growth, development, and adjustment for all concerned. During the first three months of life, your baby is working on three primary skill sets.  The most important one is the ability to bond with his caregivers.  The second is the development of vision, and third is head and neck control.  You will be astonished at how much your baby changes over these three months.

During the first weeks of life, babies often resemble little frogs, with their knees tucked way up on either side of their chests.  Their limbs are held close to their bodies and their hands curled into tight little fists.  Their movements tend to be jerky, as if startled.  Babies are born with five major innate reflexes that help them thrive and grow and gradually develop into active physical patterns. Some of the reflexes are protective, such as sucking, rooting, and grasping, and the other tow – the Moro (startle) and the Babinski (toe-stretching) reflexes – are more reactive.  We remember our husbands shrieking, pale from pain, as the babies grabbed handfuls of their chest hair and their tiny fingers had to be gently pried open.

Infants get the majority of their stimulation visually and they start life able to focus on objects eight to ten inches away,  about the distance from breast to face.  Objects with high definition, like the human face, sun-drenched windows, and brightly colored objects stand out, while things too near or in the distance remain blurry. At around eight weeks they can track moving objects with their eyes, and though they may break eye contact with people, they are able to reconnect a few moments later.  The transformation to near-adult vision occurs at about four to six months, so bear in mind that just practicing yoga near your baby during these early weeks provides a huge amount of essential stimuli and information.  You will want to maintain gentle and playful eye contact, and as your baby grows you can experiment with having him follow your hands, arms, and gaze.

At around three months babies begin to bend and stretch their arms and legs, extending their limbs in space. Their fingers can now uncurl, and they can occasionally rest a flat open palm on your chest while nursing.  They begin to bat and hold objects in their bands for short periods of time as they develop the fine motor skills that develop into the pincer grip, generally around nine months of age.  The muscles of their torso begin to develop enough so they can recline in a supported sitting position, and they can generally control head movement.

An infant’s nervous system is sensitive and easily over stimulated.  Babies like to be held, often in an upright position, and are soothed by rocking.  Your baby may not yet have a consistent daily routine and will spontaneously fall asleep at odd times, so don’t expect her always to stay awake throughout your practice.  During her home practice, Laura’s son Miles would often fall into a deep peaceful sleep midway through the asanas.  Babies in this age group are also beginning to make sounds of contentment when feeding and are starting to communicate with little barks and coos – the first signs of language.  One of the biggest developmental delights occurs when your baby begins to smile at you and actively returns your smile.

The exercises in this 0-3 month class are designed especially to engage basic motor functions.  They promote extension of the baby’s limbs through simple leg and arm movements, and relaxation of contracted muscles by gently wiggling the limbs. Through range-of-motion and simple joint rotation exercises your baby will be encouraged to move her arms and legs independently and develop gross muscular coordination.  We also suggest gentle baby massage concentrating on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, which helps bring basic sensory awareness to these areas.

Breathing Exercise for 0-3 Montes: Sounded breath

We recommend this breath not only for the pre-asana proactive but also for any time of stress.  It’s a basic breath that’s useful for slowing down and calming the nervous system.  You can do this in a sitting or reclining position, while you are nursing, or quietly on your own.

Sit in a comfortable cross-legged position on a cushion, or recline with a cushion under your chest and head.

• Let your downward gaze be softly unfocused (as if you could see inside and outside yourself at the same time) or close your eyes lightly.
• Release your jaw and the muscles of your face (your teeth should be parted.)
• Let that same sense of release move down your body, neck, shoulders, chest, etc.
• Inhale and exhale evenly through your nose, but try to draw the breath from down in your throat.  Your throat and jaw should stay relaxed.
• Continue to breathe in this way, with the sound audible only to you. The sound may be like whispered waves along the shore.
• As you inhale, be aware of the belly and chest expanding evenly in all directions at once.
• As you exhale, keep the chest open and lifted (don’t collapse).
• Allow your relaxation to slow your breath.  Repeat ten times.

The above is excerpted by permission from the authors, Laura Staton and Sarah Perron from their wonderful book, Baby Om : Yoga for Mothers and Babies.  (Order the book here under Books category Books and CD’s.)

Laura Staton, cofounder of Baby Om is a professional choreographer, dancer and yoga instructor. She has more than a decade of experience as a personal fitness trainer and yoga teacher and specialized in pre- and postnatal yoga. Laura lives in Brooklyn, NY with husband and two sons.

Sarah Perron, cofounder of Baby Om, is a long-time yoga practitioner.  In addition to being a professional dancer, she is the rehearsal director for a dance company and has been a private fitness instructor and yoga teacher for more than ten years, focusing on women’s health. Sarah lives in NYC with her husband and daughter.

Visit their website at http://www.babyom.com