Crawling, what is it good for? Absolutely everything!

Hey everybody!

I wanted to write a quick note in service to helping some parents out in answering the very important question, "How important is it for my baby to crawl?"

Here’s the short answer:  IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO CRAWL!!! So. Important.

Lately I have been seeing little ones whose parents are bringing them in because they are only "army crawling" or "scooting" on their rear ends. This is such an easy movement pattern to correct. Typically it is the sacrum that is subluxated and once adjusted the baby can effectively and gracefully crawl.

So, what exactly is the baby working on when they start crawling?

On the musculoskeletal level -  the baby is gaining strength and balance by holding their body weight on both their upper and lower limbs. Their core strength has already been developed from holding their head up and from turning over.

When the baby can get themselves around on the floor, they are developing their eyesight, convergence is developed. They are able to distinguish distance and height - how high is the couch? How much farther ‘til I get that toy in my mouth? etc. They are also getting so much proprioceptive information from their hands.

The colorful picture below is demonstrating how the vast majority of our sensory input comes from our lips, mouth, hands, and feet. We get so much information from our fingers - texture, weight, contour - and this is all developed as we are navigating around the room.

The next stage is the most important. This is the cross-crawl patterning, and it affects our mobility for the rest of our lives. In fact, there is a highly effective form of physical rehab called Dynamic Neuro Stabilization (DNS) - that I use on some adult patients to encourage basic movement patterns to support the body's highest functioning. 

The cross-crawl pattern develops when the baby crawls and both brain hemispheres must communicate and exchange information rapidly. These same neurological pathways developed during crawling are used to perform more complex tasks later in life like walking, running, and tasks that require hand-eye coordination. Basically, support your baby’s crawling as much as possible.

And please, NO WALKERS! Walkers do more harm compared to the convenience they offer because they allow the lower extremity to function without the upper. As a result, not only does the upper body miss out on gaining strength from supporting the body , but the BRAIN'S function is not given the opportunity to set some movement patterns that will support their function for the rest of their life. A good rule of thumb is to avoid putting your baby into any position that they can't get into on their own. So things like walkers, jumpers, the bumbo seat should all be avoided. 

No walkers! They are not worth the long-term development effects. 

(Note: Baby walkers have actually been outlawed in Canada for these same reasons.)

I encourage you to get your baby checked from a pediatric chiropractor at least five times in their first year - to detect and correct any subluxations that will impact their function. These five visits correspond with key developmental milestones:

1. Birth, 
   
   
2. When they can hold their heads up confidently during tummy time, 
   
   
3. Sitting,
   
   
4. Crawling, 
   
   
5. Standing and walking. 

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. It is my absolute honor to support and love your family.

Sincerely,
Dr. Maura

I wanted to say a massive thank you for all the kind work that you have done on my 8.5 month old son, Kaya. He has grown from a fragile 6 lbs 9 oz. baby who entered this world via quite a traumatic birth (face up, eyes wide opened, head vacuumed, not once, but twice by an obgyn who had gloriously ignored every single notes/requests I had on my birth plan) into a strong, happy, always smiling, determined baby.

Bringing Kaya in for monthly sessions with you has helped align his posture, improve his agility, and supported the development of his cognitive behavior. There have been tremendous physical developments - 2 days after his last session with you, he started crawling at 8 months and 6 days old! Amazing what the correct adjustments and realignments can do for the physical milestone of a baby! For weeks he was sitting up and trying to lunge forward into a crawl without success and after only one session with you, he was crawling in two days! Needless to say, he is a little tornado now, zooming around everywhere and in 2 weeks is already at cruising stage. I have no doubt that this little man will be walking soon.

I am a true believer that all babies should have the alignment work done immediately after birth. It makes total sense to do it, especially since they come out by squeezing through a small birth canal! Top that up with cranio sacral therapy, the benefits are tremendous. Kaya never had any colic problems and his initial crying spells from the traumatic birth were quickly resolved with each session with you. We travelled halfway across the globe to introduce him to my parents in Malaysia when he was 5 months old; he did 7 flights, visited 4 countries in the span of 3 weeks, had 2 teeth come in during one of the flights, without so much a flinch. This I attributed to the fact that he felt good in general, and that he was used to (and loved doing!) the daily exercises that you had advised on. His body had all the necessary spaces to grow correctly.

So THANK YOU! Having you in our lives is a game changer, I couldn’t have asked for a better pregnancy and now mommyhood!

Peace and love,
Neeza

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