Becoming Balanced

21/05/2025

Dandy and I are unpacking after a fabulous morning out with the Bega meeting of Australian Breastfeeding Association.

I was stoked to share some massage techniques and lots of information with the beautiful mums, dads and bubs who came along.

Infant massage is a wonderful way to promote development and enjoy one on one time with your baby!

Thanks to my kids who accommodated the different morning routine and helped me enormously. 🙌🏼

08/03/2025

Connecting brains and bodies. WOOP!!

15/02/2025

No one has perhaps told you this before or you've never heard of primitive reflexes.

Let me explain them and the link.

Primitive reflexes are automatic movement patterns that develop in-utero and are active in the first few months of life. They help keep baby alive and train the brain in how to control the body.

Most integrate (disappear) into the nervous system by 12 months of age, by when, a child has more control over the body and can choose their movements.

But primitive reflexes can retain (or remain active) and the research into various disorders like Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and language delays highlights that reflexes are typically present in children with these diagnoses.

It makes sense if we think about what retained reflexes mean. They signal immaturity in the brain- that the brain hasn't fully completed its development.

All of those disorders also signal immaturity in the brain. Each have a criteria; presentations/symptoms that show a child hasn't developed certain functions or behaviours yet.

So retained reflexes and diagnoses tend to go hand in hand. And addressing retained reflexes (neurodevelopmental therapy or primitive reflex integration) should be part of every care plan for a child with a diagnosis.

22/01/2025

Thanks Kellie for taking the time to articulate this.
100% this is not talked about in the lead up to birth and I wish it was so that more people could make informed choices! And when C-sections occur they can be aware that their child may need extra support.

Babies who are born by C-section also will benefit from CFT, making sure their Craniosacral Fascial systems are functioning well which ALSO helps to make sure their reflexes are able to do their job!

I can help babies who are C-section with reflexes and CFT!

This post is not meant to alarm you but to educate you.

If you had a caesarean birth, I'm pretty confident that no one told you about primitive reflexes. So, I'm here to do just that!

These are automatic, involuntary, repetitive movements your baby does over the first few months of life. They are survival reflexes and play a critical role in keeping baby alive as well as helping the brain develop.

They develop in-utero and typically, 'kick off' by playing an important role in the birthing process. Unfortunately, a caesarean birth can mean that they didn't fully get to do their job.

Now, you can't change how the birth went but you can be aware that sometimes, primitive reflexes can retain or remain active when they haven't fully 'done their job'.

Typically, we see them integrate or disappear by 12 months of age. If they don't integrate on time, we can see delayed or skipped milestones or unusual patterns of movement (think odd crawling like bum shuffling) . These can be signs you watch for to ensure baby's neurodevelopment progresses as it should.

And if you ever have concerns, you can seek help from a health professional, like someone trained in primitive reflexes.

Follow me for more tips about baby's brain development and reflexes!

20/12/2024

And that’s a wrap! Work for 2024 done and dusted. This year brought so much progress for my clients and such a leap professionally for me. I am full of gratitude.
Love love love what I do! 💃🏼

Wishing everyone a safe and smooth holiday period. 🙏🏼

18/12/2024

I’m with you Kellie!

Baby containers don't grow brains!

What does foster brain development? Free movement and lots of it!

Ditch the containers that restrict movement or put your baby in positions they can't yet get into for themselves (eg sitting in a bumbo seat before they can sit) and let them move freely.

While you're at it...ditch screens too! 😆 No screens before the age of 3 if you truly care about how your baby's brain develops.

That's what I would do if I was in charge of your baby's development. They'd thank me for it. Are you with me?

09/11/2024

It has been a big day full of practising my new skill. Big thanks to all the people who trusted me and had a go. 🙏🏼
Every persons body has a different story and a different response to Craniosacral Fascial Therapy but all amazing in their own way!

05/11/2024

So many cool things happening already with the addition of CFT to my practice. Here’s just one example!

04/11/2024

25/10/2024

And that’s a wrap!

Made it home and enjoying the beautiful Bega Valley views again.

So nice to be back with my family and have the grand tour of our home of all the things that are different around the house and have grown in the garden.

Thanks for following on with this journey of mine.

I’m going to take a few days to get into the timezone and then I’m hoping I have some cool CFT stories to share! My family are all keen to have their turn 😍

24/10/2024

Dear America,

You are same same but different to Australia.

Yours is a land where:
🇺🇸 sink plugs are perplexing
🇺🇸 power-points don’t have switches
🇺🇸 Peter Pan is on a bus 🤷🏽‍♀️
🇺🇸 some of your cars have red indicators 🤯
🇺🇸 you drive on the other side of the road and your cars are opposite
🇺🇸 you have trunks not boots
🇺🇸 your school buses are infact yellow and old looking just like on the movies
🇺🇸 the squirrels are cute and novel to me the tourist but a bit of a cheeky pest to everyone else
🇺🇸 the toilets have lots of water and are much longer in shape
🇺🇸 the Aussie dollar is ‘captain lame-o’
🇺🇸 tips are a bit of a pain, if I’m honest
🇺🇸 Halloween decorations are everywhere, never seen so many pumpkins in my life
🇺🇸 American flags abound

Now that I’ve had some experience, I feel pretty prepared for a trip to America 😂 there’s so much to learn when doing something new!

24/10/2024

In the dark thismorning I said goodbye to Hollis and Nashua, NH. I am grateful for your small town vibes, they suited me well :)

Said hello and goodbye to Boston, carting out some merch for myself and my family to remember the trip by.

Got to see out the window as we came into LAX which was fun. It’s so flat and relatively tree-less and rows and rows of perfectly lined up streets. I glimpsed the Hollywood sign in the distance too. I’m now passing the time here til I set off for Sydney later tonight.

With some help from Phil, I calculated that from my accomodation in Hollis (near Nashua) to my home it will take me 41hrs. Can’t wait for the sleep torture to be over now and to be home with my fav people 😍