Hey Everyone,
Just looking for some info about what age babies are okay to be hung upside down, my partner has started hanging our 5 month old baby upside down for short periods, and she LOVES it, grins and holds her head and arms out behind her back like a diver. But my mother seems to think its not good, any advice on when its okay to start doing? Could the blood rush to her head be damaging brain cells in any way or it be not good on her hips or anything?
Any advice much appreciated!
Thanks, Natalie
I don’t see anything wrong with it for short periods. Little kids/babies love being upside down! 
It’s fine in short periods. You should start with only a few seconds and then gradually increase the amount of time the baby is upside down. Some babies like it, others don’t. It will not harm them if you do it for short periods. It is actually good for their vestibular system.
My son used to like it, but now he hates it!
My daughter started the upside down since 2 months old:
Shelly, I think they mean upside down as in feet up, head below - typically you’d be holding your baby by the feet. (Your pictures (sweet baby, btw! ) show your daughter on her belly, which is also very important.)
I too see no harm in it for short periods. I used to do it all the time, as early as a couple of months old. I still do it today (Felicity’s almost 4!). And yep, she loves it!
Here are 3 methods I have used:
1. The seated/ankles method
In the beginning the way I would do it would be to sit on a chair, place her on my lap, with her head at the end resting on my knees. I would simply hold on to her ankles (which would be near my belly), and simply stand up. As I stand up gradually, my thighs/lap will incline from horizontal to vertical, and so would Felicity. To put her back down onto horizontal position, I would simply sit back down.
This is the most gentle process I can think of to getting a baby upside down.
2. The lie down/waist method
When Felicity was older (6 months+), I found another way to put her upside down, which is probably something more for Dads (I’m not a sexist! ) as it requires greater arm strength. Often, I would be lying down on the floor or on a bed, and I would be holding Felicity under the arms above my head, with my arms stretched out. It was only natural that I also started to incline her upside down as I move her further up beyond my head. My hands would slide ‘up’ to her hips level as I hold her upside down. For anyone familiar with gym exercises, this is like a tricep press.
Later, as I’m lying down and she’s crawling on my belly/chest, I would simply grab her by her hips, lift her up, and rotate her to that upside down position. This is usually what I used to do (and still do sometimes! - it gets harder the taller she grows!).
3. The sit-on-shoulder method
From 1 year+, I had a habit of letting Felicity sit on my shoulder. One of the games I would play would be for her to sit on my shoulder but FACING ME (her feet would be on my back). I would hold her by the arms around the shoulders and armpits. She would often lean back all the way over until she’s upside down (her head would be around my belly/belt). Sometimes she would just clasp her feet around my neck and we’d walk around like that for a while, and other times she would just do a back-flip/somersault and land on her feet. If you do this, make sure you “pre-rotate” your hands as much as possible to take account of her flip rotation so that it’s more gentle on her shoulders where your hands are holding.
If I remember correctly we started hanging Laurana upside down at 3 months of age. I’d stretch my legs out while I was sitting and lean her backwards - this way she had support along her whole body and was not initially totally upside down. By about 5-6 months old she liked being held upside down and since a year if I hold her in front of me with her legs around my waist she will fling herself backwards - I just make sure my hand is behind her neck as she is a bit violent about it and I don’t want her hurting herself. From about 18 months we have also been playing an upside down pendulum with her - hold her by her ankles and swing her to and fro upside down - she is very light - I am not sure I’d like to try this with a heavier child, but she loves it.
I think from 5 months is fine.If u and ur child is comfortable than it’s fine.Point if u both njoys than go ahead and do.After all it should be fun…
My little one has been going upside down since about 8 weeks. She is almost 5 months old now and LOVES it still! One of the easiest ways for me when she was younger to be able to support the head was to lean forward on my bed or changing table with my forearms together and palms facing me,then have baby lay on my arms with her head near my stomach and my hands grasping her thighs. (Her back will be laying along your arms and her head will be nearest to your elbows.) This way you can lift your arms up to an upside down position so her face is right in front of yours and gently set her back down, keeping her head supported. Hope you can get the picture! I know it’s kinda hard to explain.
We have been doing things like this and other physical exercises with her to help her get her strength and balance, and she has been sitting up unsupported now since about 4 1/2 months!
(I’ve always been nervous to hang her by the ankles, but that’s just me… I’m sure she would be just fine!)
I was also nervous to hang my child by her ankles - it was suggested at a gross motor course we were on and she loves it but she was a LOT older when we started. She’s pretty active now and has done forward rolls by herself and even tries to stand on her head alone (I’m very nervous about this still as her arms are so short!) She’s always been pretty active and had good balance - she started pony riding once a month or so and will sit very well and hold her arms out to the sides and above her head while walking and has even managed to trot a couple of times with good balance. (This has nothing to do with hamging upside down, but its amazing what they can do as far as physical things go)