Caregivers – Babies Project

Handling Practices: Some Historical Context

written by Sarah Barnaby on 08/15/2023

If you’re familiar at all with our approach to supporting infant movement development, you’re likely aware that a main focus of our work is teaching infant touch and handling skills to parents and other caregivers. (If you’re not familiar, read more about our Preparing for Caring project.)

We’d like to share a bit of context and history about our handling suggestions. Where did they come from? The short answer is that we didn’t make them up! There’s history behind them, though we do like to think we’ve honed, curated and elaborated upon them over the years.

The longer story … Read more

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Q&A: Tummy time on a pillow?

written by Sarah Barnaby on 05/31/2023

Question from a mother of a 4-month-old: Someone told me that it’s good to put babies on top of pillows (on the floor) so they can get perspective and help them develop. I am a bit hesitant but wanted to hear your thoughts on this.

Our response: Thanks for asking for our perspective – we’re happy to share our thoughts on the topic!

In short, we’re not huge fans of the practice of using pillows when positioning babies prone (on their belly). We don’t agree with what seem to be the reasons behind it – particularly focussing on strengthening muscles … Read more

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Update: Preparing for Caring at Early Head Start

Our project with Ellyce DiPaola, IDME and EdD candidate at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, which involves offering our Preparing for Caring: Touch, Handling & Bonding Practices (PFC) workshop to an Early Head Start community in NYC, continues.

In March 2019, we held a focus group with prospective participants and received valuable feedback about how we can best present the material to suit the population.
The three of us (Ellyce, Amy and Sarah) gave a presentation titled Preparing for Caring: Circles of Support about the project at the Body-Mind Centering Association annual conference in July 2019. We were heartened by the

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Big Picture, Little Picture

(from Fall Fundraising 2019 Newsletter #4)

…there are so many things to love besides one’s own offspring, so many things that need love, so much other work love has to do in the world.
– Rebecca Solnit, from The Mother of All Questions

We unpacked our tagline one sentence at a time in our previous letters, and in this last letter, we’ll wrap it up by adding context and perspective. (You can catch up here on “be with,” “be a witness,” and “be in relationship.”)

Why did we choose our tagline and why are … Read more

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Unpacking “Be in Relationship”

(from Fall Fundraising 2019 Newsletter #3)

I learned a great deal about how to interact and hold my baby, along with how to encourage play and curiosity. Equally as important, I feel more grounded and confident in my approach to raising my baby.
– Laura, mother of Oliver

My daughter’s confidence and curiosity has grown, and our relationship is stronger, because of the knowledge we gained at the Babies Project.
– Kimberly, mother of Laura

Each day, Olivia moves more independently and we observe that she is becoming more confident and happy. As she is blossoming, we also feel empowered

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Thoughts on Meeting a Baby

written by Sarah Barnaby on 10/21/2019

In our work at Babies Project, we meet new people every day. Many of them are babies. We’d like to share what we’ve learned from our experiences, with the support of our values, principles and ongoing conversations and questions. We offer this in the hope that it might lead to more fruitful, mutually enriching meetings between babies of all ages.

As a foundational principle and framework, we believe that babies come in as whole people with a sense of agency and the ability to make choices. The non-verbal aspects of an interpersonal interaction, which are always present, come forward … Read more

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Unpacking “Be With”

(from Fall Fundraising 2019 Newsletter #1)

I have learned to get on the floor more with him.
I have learned to observe more and entertain less. 
I have learned to be present with him.
– Hedy, mother of River

We’re hoping to persuade you to support us by unpacking our tagline:

Starting with the first sentence, what do we mean by “be with”?

“Being with” is a counter-balance to “doing to” and “doing for.” It’s an alternative to already thinking we know what is needed, to going in with an intention of fixing or of making progress … Read more

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Agency, Relationship, & “You’re OK”

Our topic here is AGENCY and RELATIONSHIP. A baby’s development is a relational process. A baby and their primary caregiver(s) are affected by and in turn affect each other. They respond to each other, they co-create their relationship, and they exist within layers and networks of other relationships.

In our work educating parents and other caregivers, we bring awareness to how they influence their baby’s development: through how they touch and handle them, how they talk to them, and how they view their role as caregivers.

We acknowledge and want to help parents navigate their choices about parenting. What we teach in terms … Read more

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Agency & Emergence

“Things are always changing, and we have agency in that change.”– Rebecca Solnit

“Developmental change is not planned but arises within a context as the product of multiple, developing elements.”– Esther Thelen

Agency is the first of our core values, and we come back to it again and again. It encapsulates many of our ideas, underlies our principles, and guides our teaching.

As we define it, agency is the ability to make choices, to have an impact, and learn from experience. We do not think agency is the same as autonomy. Rather, agency is relational, interdependent and participatory.… Read more

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Our Principles

We believe:

Babies come in as whole people, not as blank slates. Babies are fully and intensely immersed in becoming themselves – always whole, and always changing.

A baby’s experience is real and valid, though it might not be comprehensible to us. We can offer comfort without denying their experience, or our own. We can acknowledge and validate their feelings and emotions while also saying “no” to particular behavior.

Babies learn best when they’re led by their curiosity – which comes from a sense of safety and comfort. We are a baby’s environment when we hold and handle them, and … Read more

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