uring the first month of life infants eat, sleep and observe the world around them. Some babies develop the ability to turn their head from side to side within days after their birth. By the time your baby is two to three months old he or she should be able to rotate their head from side to side while lying on their back and lift their head up off of their chest while seated with support around their trunk. In addition, your baby should be able to hold his head in line with his body as you pull him up into the seated position from lying on his back. This maneuver is called the pull to sit maneuver and there should be little or no head lag (a term used to describe how much baby's head hangs down or lags behind his trunk during movement). If your baby's head appears wobbly or he is unable to hold his head steady when you move your hands away from his head, then a visit to his pediatrician is recommended. While you are waiting to see the doctor, try these simple exercises to improve baby's head control and strengthen those little neck muscles.
Side to Side Tracking
Put your baby to lie on his back facing you and attract his attention with his favorite toy held about eight inches in front of his face.
Once he is engaged and visually tracking the toy, slowly move the toy from directly above to the right side of his face.
Move the toy all the way down to the surface of the couch so that he has to turn his head to the right side to maintain eye contact with the toy he is tracking. This movement should end with his cheek resting on the couch.
Move the toy slowly in the opposite direction towards his left side and allow him to track the toy so that his head turns all the way towards his left shoulder.
Repeat this maneuver so that he has to turn his head to both sides of his body, five times to each side.
Allow him to rest for about five minutes before moving on to the next exercise.
If he loses track of the object during the exercise, stop and allow him to take a break and refocus before starting again.
Vertical Head Control Exercise
Place your baby lying on his back facing you in a reclined position and attract his attention with a colorful toy as described above.
Once he is interested in and tracking the toy visually, slowly move the toy upwards so that he has to lift his chin up off of his chest to continue looking at the toy.
Slowly move the toy downwards as he tracks it so that he brings his head downwards until his chin rests on his chest.
Repeat this up/down movement of the toy so that baby moves his head upwards and downwards five times in each direction. Try these exercises for a week or two and look for increased strength of his neck muscles and improved control and stability of his head.
Next week's article on rolling will feature techniques you can use to help baby put this new found head control and strength to good use as you teach him how to roll from his back to his stomach.
For a more in depth article on head
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