Our Story
Motor Babies, LLC was established because of the community need for motor development support. Detailed gross and fine motor development strategies are not discussed often enough with new parents and caregivers.
According to our licensed pediatric physical therapist, helping parents along this important journey is necessary for proper body development. The absence of specific instruction can leave parents feeling a lack of confidence in how to handle their babies for motor success. This can cause some children to experience avoidable developmental delays, plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome), and positional torticollis.
There is an overabundance of baby toys and products on the market. This may leave parents confused on what is best for their baby. Some questions may arise such as: Is this product useful and serve a purpose for my babies' development? How do we use it? When do we use it? Is it age appropriate? Does it benefit my child's development?
Motor Babies empowers parents with PURPOSE, through instruction and support. We will help you and your child succeed!
About Us
Lisa Giaccone – Co-Founder and Managing Director, MS/PT
My name is Lisa Giaccone and I am a physical therapist practicing in pediatric early intervention. Over my 20+ years experience, I have worked in a multitude of areas within the field of physical therapy. Pediatrics is my love, and where I have chosen to focus my career. I am privileged to give the gift of knowledge and support to parents in need. It has always been my desire to share this information with everyone.
In working with children birth to three years of age, I have noticed a specific lack of education and instruction to support motor development. This is the development of how a baby moves from reflexive (domination of reflexes for movement) to purposeful movement. At pediatric well visits, your doctor will often ask if milestone markers are met. They will stress “tummy time.” However, parents are left with really nothing to ultimately guide them through their baby’s motor milestone sequence. This appears to be causing problems for some families. Full-term, otherwise normal children are becoming delayed due to lack of education and instruction on how to support motor milestone development. Physical therapists are biomechanical movement specialists. We are well educated on how to support motor development but, unfortunately, we are called in only when there is a problem or delay. The information we have to share is beneficial to all parents, not just those of delayed children. This information is needed.
While working in early intervention, I met Melanie Serge and had the pleasure of helping her son achieve his gross motor milestones. She repeatedly said that in her preparation to become a mother, support for motor milestone development was not something she was able to figure out. In conversation, I agreed that parents-to-be and new parents do not receive enough support in this area. All families, not just families of developmentally delayed children, should have help on motor development. Especially because plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) has been on the rise since the “back to sleep” campaign was enforced to prevent SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome. With the ever-evolving toy product industry, more and more equipment is being developed to contain babies, rather than allowing them freedom of movement to develop properly. The correct implementation of tummy time is crucial for prevention of Flat Head Syndrome as well as success in gross motor development. It is from Melanie’s love as a parent and my passion as a provider that we joined together to help families with motor development of their children.
Melanie Serge – Co-Founder and Managing Director
As a pregnant, soon-to-be, new mom of twin boys, I was home on strict bed rest with plenty of time to research. What should I eat, what should my babies eat, how will I get them to sleep? Will I ever sleep again? Happily, I found many of the answers I was searching for. However, when I started exploring ways to help my children reach their milestones, I was left feeling uncertain. Which milestones are most important? How do I help my children meet these milestones? What if my children do not reach their milestones on time? What signs do I need to be aware of for developmental delays? Searching the internet was an overwhelming task.
As a new mother of twin boys, I joined multiple twin mom groups to help gain peer support. These groups often left me feeling confused and anxious. I could not understand what my role was in helping my children gain strength and mobility, amongst other things.
We found out early that my son Keaton was delayed. Luckily, my pediatrician caught it on a well visit. Keaton qualified for Early Intervention and received physical therapy twice a week, starting at the age of 5 months old. He received services for over a year from Lisa Giaccone. Lisa educated me about what milestones come next, how to put the work in to help my baby boy (both boys) succeed, what signs should I look for regarding deficiencies and delays. This is what frightened me the most, and as every parent knows, the earlier your child receives help and services, the greater their success. Most importantly Lisa provided fun and interactive ways to help boost my children's confidence as well as my own. Lisa not only helped Keaton succeed, but her instruction also helped me learn what to do for Camdyn. We noticed that Camdyn needed this development support too.
Through our weekly interactions, Lisa and I realized the need for consistent education to help parents and children flourish.