Always thought I’d Montessori from birth, with baby lying comfortably flat on the floor gazing serenely at mobiles.
Turns out I couldn’t be more wrong.
Not just because the first 3 months is a symbiotic period where mother-child dyad spends more time together than apart…
But because reflux threw a horrible wrench into our plans, with baby crying or arching his back in pain within seconds of being put down anywhere- be it carpet, car seat or stroller.
As baby’s awake time increased, I was determined to give him a modified Montessori experience, reflux be darned.
This meant:
Placing a wedge under his topponcino instead of laying the topponcino flat. (For safety reasons, I do not recommend wedges or other sleep positioners for sleep.) In this way, I noticed that baby could observe the mobiles for longer, rather than crying within 1-2 minutes of being laid flat. It was also useful for tummy time:
I also introduced a secondhand BabyBjorn bouncer with this gorgeous rattan playgym more frequently, rather than placing baby directly on the floor/ carpet. Again this kept him in an inclined position. With physical discomfort kept at bay, he was able to concentrate longer. Another advantage? In the bouncer, he was able to view the mobiles from a different perspective.
If you’ve followed me on Instagram, you’ll know that baby’s reflux in the first 8 weeks of life was so intense (think hourly waking, excessive grunting, fussy feeding and arching/ crying inconsolably from pain after almost all feeds) that a paediatrician prescribed him medication for it.
However, no medication is without side effects, especially for babies so young, so we weaned him off it after 6 weeks, and when we noticed he was able to tolerate lying on his back longer. Here are some conservative treatments that we tried:
- Burp baby and hold him upright for 20 min (even after he had burped)
- Tummy time helps put gentle pressure on the stomach and gets out the gas
- Try different feeding positions- laidback breastfeeding was really good for ensuring a deep latch so that he did not take in as much air
- Probiotics for baby
- Many mothers swore by the difference in their babies after cutting dairy and eggs – I attempted to cut dairy and saw no discernible difference, but that could be just me
- I also bought this book on healing colic and reflux naturally. I found it to be useful, with loads of techniques for winding baby properly. I’d recommend it for expecting parents as the info can otherwise be hard to digest –pun intended– when you’re in the thick of reflux with a newborn. The book’s one weak link was the chapter on preparing siblings for baby, but we have Montessori to help with that scenario 🙂
- An infant chiropractor that we saw weekly, then fortnightly (image below; very gentle for babies, with none of the loud pops and cracks one would associate with chiropractic care for adults!) – I personally felt the bodywork helped baby to sleep better after each visit
Pssst… Need more Montessori, from someone who’s AMI-certified for 0-12yo and taught thousands of paying clients? That’s yours truly, heh.. I’ve written an ebook that teaches you how to start setting up Montessori activities + make your existing toys more Montessori!
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