My Second Child
I made so many preparations for the birth of my first child, doing everything I could in the hope of being the best parent possible. But as every parent learns, no amount of planning prepares us for the responsibility and learning that come with welcoming a firstborn.
When Emmy, my first, arrived, I remember carrying her everywhere. Having her close to me felt natural and comforting, my instinct. What I didn’t yet understand was the importance of tummy time and how essential it is for early neurological development. Months passed before I fully realized that, in my desire to hold her, she was spending more time in my arms than on her tummy exploring her world, strengthening her core and building the foundations of an integrated nervous system.
By the time Erin, my second child, was born, I had learned. She spent more time on her tummy, lifting her head, engaging with her environment, developing her strength and coordination, and benefiting from the early milestones that support lifelong neurological function.
Parenting is an evolution. We grow, we learn, and we do better with knowledge we gain. And each child teaches something about development, about ourselves and about the incredible capacity of the human nervous system to adapt and thrive.
Read More From Nancy
Like Every Mother
Like every mother, I watched my children closely. I noticed how they slept.How they nursed.How they rolled.How they cried and laughed and smiled. Sometimes things were “just a phase” and sometimes they were not. That is why our book: It’s All in the Head feels so personal to me. Over years, Marty and I have […]
Your Intuition Matters
If I could sit across from every new mother, I would tell her: Your intuition matters. In my years as both a mother and chiropractor, I’ve seen how often parents sense that something isn’t quite right, even when professionals reassure them that everything is “fine”. Fine is not the same as thriving. In our book: “It’s […]
The Reach and the Rhythm: How Movement Builds the Growing Brain
This is a photo of our firstborn daughter, Emily, learning to brachiate, those tiny hands reaching, grasping, and swinging across a simple setup we built in our home. I still remember the look on her face the first time she figured out the rhythm, reach, grip, shift, breathe. It was a small victory that felt […]
