Infant Developmental Movement Education
Classes and Private Lessons in Vancouver, BCNatasha Martina is an Infant Development Movement Educator based in Vancouver, seeking to support you and your baby in providing effective cues to nurture the baby’s self-perception, use of expression and efficiency in movement. This facilitation is offered through play, touch, and vocal instruction in the context of family relationships and your home environment.
A baby’s movement patterns begin forming within the womb as they explore how to yield, push, reach, and pull themselves in a fluid environment. These intrauterine explorations provide the baby with a stepping-stone in learning how to navigate the outside world: taking their first breath, lifting their head, rolling along the floor, pushing themselves into seated, crawling, standing, and walking. All the while, these movement milestones facilitate the babies independence while supporting their cognitive and social development.
Birth to 3 Months
Your baby explores:
unfurling from a C-shape to finding more extension through their entire body
lifting their head from side to side when playing in tummy time
grasping objects placed in their hands
focusing on your and other family members’ faces
communicates through sounds including cooing, laughing, and crying
visually tracking objects, pets, and people
playing with both hands and feet
4 to 6 Months
Your baby explores:
Rolling through the space discovering their head and tail (spinal patterning)
learning how to yield and push through their upper and lower body (homologous patterning) when playing in tummy time
mouthing toys and their own hand
smiling and babbling
sensing others vocal tones and physical gestures
awareness of their hands and feet and can bring them both into their mid-line when playing on their back
negotiating lying on their side (homolateral patterning)
grasping objects with their index and middle finger as they shake and bang toys
Reaching for objects helping them to establish a connection to the space around them
7 to 9 Months
Your baby explores:
pulling themselves up to their knees
moving independently to a seated position
creeping on their bellies to eventually lifting themselves up to all fours and crawling (contralateral patterning)
recognizing the sound of their own name and enjoying the company of other babies
rotating toys to perceive its three-dimensionality and they can release objects into containers
reaching, grasping, pushing, pulling and lifting themselves through space
10 to 12 Months
Your baby explores:
navigating different level changes from lying to seated to standing
grasping between their thumb and index finger and actively pointing with their index finger at objects
playing peekaboo
babbling, smacking lips, and actively using their tongue
balancing independently in standing
cruising along furniture to eventually walking independently
Natasha is a certified Infant Developmental Movement Educator through Body-Mind Centering®. She offers classes as well as private lessons in the Vancouver area.