6 month milestones – spritelypt

5 Months: Sitting

“Yesterday was a big day because Zahra sat all by herself! She is so happy! Of course, I had to put her in this position first. She can’t take her hands off her feet because she falls backwards. I keep her safe by putting soft pillows and blankets all around her and sitting with her while she plays.”

Zahra is five-months old and has attained the developmental milestone of sitting independently. Her parents are proud and it is easy to see that Zahara is proud too. What are the building blocks for independent sitting? Continue reading “5 Months: Sitting”

6 Months: Pivot Prone

“My 6-month old daughter rocks on her belly and moves her arms all around. It looks like she is swimming on land! What is going on while she is playing like that?”

This swimming motion, common during the development of 5-6 month olds, is also known as pivot prone. The first time you might see something like this would be at about 3 months of age during a Landau reaction. This emerges at as a reflex/postural reaction, allowing the baby to use their back muscles to extend against gravity while held at the stomach. However, by 5-6 months of age, the baby has developed the strength and flexibility to play with it in a variety of ways during their tummy time. These new sensations and movement often keep interest in the activity and are a delight to watch. You might see a few seconds of swimming motion followed by a push into the floor or rocking back and forth. In these actions, the baby is strengthening their postural control system to balance flexion and extension in their core muscles. Simultaneously the gluteals are learning to becoming active and the hips are beginning to fully straighten. With practice, the thighs and arms begin to come off the ground simultaneously. Ideally, even though the back muscles are working, the abdominal muscles are still active and slowly lengthening in order to control the motion, and the core is fully engaged.

During pivot prone play, the baby is strengthening and discovering:

Continue reading “6 Months: Pivot Prone”

6 Months: Sidelying With Pelvic Femoral Dissociation

Life is so exciting for the six month old; once she learns to roll to the side, it is fun to play in this position. Beyond fun for the little one, what special things are happening with development at this stage? After all, play is child’s work.

Mastering the balance of flexion and extension in the trunk: she is able to play in sidelying without falling forward or backward.
Increasing shoulder girdle control and stability- allowing propping on one arm to play.
Emergence/increasing lower extremity dissociation: one foot can prop to meet the ground and stabilize in this position. To do this, one leg must be flexed, the other extended while weight is increasingly shifted to the hip that contacts the floor.
Foot weight-bearing: bringing the foot to meet the ground and getting some weight on to different parts of the foot in order to prepare for standing.
Lateral flexibility and of the trunk/rib cage.
Lateral head righting against gravity.

From this position your little one can grab toys to mouth, providing a whole new level of independence for exploration! All of these movements build the foundation for transitions that come in later months like progressing to side sitting, getting up on all fours and pulling to stand.