PAFT
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9093
Printed Date: 02 October 2025 at 7:55am
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Topic: PAFT
Posted By: FionaS
Subject: PAFT
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 9:33am
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I know some of you have a PAFT educator that comes to your home...can you tell me how you got onto that?
Our plunket nurse has been on sick leave for a few weeks & the paediatricians haven't been any help. As the peads say her development is fine our GP isn't any help either. Elle still HATES tummy time, isn't rolling or crawling and has been positively miserable this week! We have a child psychologist arranging neurological tests but I can't seem to find anyone to help us with her gross motor skills. I know some babies don't roll / crawl by 10.5mths but it is quite late and I would really like to be proactive and do exercises to help her in the hopes that some mobility will make her happier. I have looked on the net and am doing some exercises but would love to have someone to come in and help me to ensure I'm doing everything I can. At the moment she is plonked in front of TV and it's the only thing that keeps her happy but I feel soooooooooooooooooo guilty about doing it!!!! She's cried for about 1.5 hours this morning hence the TV...my ears had had enough! ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Replies:
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 9:43am
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Try calling your Plunket clinic? As far as I know, it is arranged via them.
I wish you lived closer and I could come around and visit some day... ah well, hopefully PAFT can help you out. -------------  |
Posted By: jack_&_charli
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 10:10am
i'm sorry i don't have any clue on what you're asking but i just wanted to give you a 
hopefully you and elle can get some help soon so you both are alot happier  ------------- http://www.alternatickers.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Skyflame
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 10:17am
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Try this http://www.parentsasteachers.org/site/apps/s/custom.asp?c=ekIRLcMZJxE&b=367865 - website Fiona.
It seems to have the PAFT contact details on it for a few areas. Be aware though there us usually a waiting list to get on to the PAFT program as they have a limited number of spots each year. Hopefully they will be able to do something to help with Elle though. Good Luck |
Posted By: Bumble
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 10:20am
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We joined PAFT thru Wai Trust out here in West Auckland. When they were bothered coming around, I found the info really useful. The only thing is they stopped!! Without telling me, so now I have a half completed info book...!!!!
So be careful who you join through ------------- formerly known as "Bee" Ethan ~ March 2003 Big 6 year old school boy! Micah ~ Aug 2008 ~ Smiley pants who loves telephones! |
Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 11:18am
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We find PAFT excellent. Our plunket nurse said she would refer us, but I didnt hear anything so presumed we hadnt been accepted,..but then the SPACE co-ordinator at Playcentre asked if I wanted to be referred, and the lady came the next week. Isla loves it cos she brings heaps of cool stuff to play with, and i find the info she gives me, and the handouts invaluable.
SPACE is a programme for babies at playcentre. Not all of the centres run the SPACE programme, but we have found it so good. The have a different topuc each week like, movement, feeding etc, as well as songs and stories and activiteis for the babies,..and its free( well is here). They also run a toddler programme too. Again I dont know if its t every placentre but would be worth ringing around. |
Posted By: Kazzle
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 11:20am
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yeah its kinda interesting, the only reason i managed to get into paft as im a first time mum, otherwise i didnt meet the criteria.
and i know one of them is that bubs has to be under 3mths old when you join, well at least it is where i am. I have to say that i have found PAFT bloody useless, i have had 4 different paft ppl in 8mths, and i am just not learning anything from them. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: KH25
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 11:46am
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My plunket nurse in Auckland referred me. The PAFT lady in Aucks was useless - was there for 15 mins, spent most of time writing and didn't interact with Ashleigh at all. The one I have now in Cambridge is much better though so it does depend who you get. I have found them more focused on playtime - ie toys and books rather than movement etc. so not sure if you would get what you are looking for from them. Ashleigh is visited every 3 months by a neurodevelopmental therapist just because of her prematurity and she does exactly what you want. Not sure how you would go about being seen by one though and not sure if it is strictly for prems. Have you tried any music and movement classes or something? Or jumping beans maybe? They might be able to give you some ideas? ------------- Kelly, mum to DD, 19Jun06 (26wks 1lb15oz) DS1, 24Oct10 (32wks 4lb11oz) and DS2, 31Dec11 (32wks, 4lb11) http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 11:56am
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I have a lady in AKL who is fantastic. We have seen here from day 1 with PAFT. I think she may do your area Fiona, I can ask her if you like? I got referred from Plunket but I have also asked her to go and see a freiends sister and she did no problems.
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Posted By: MyMinis
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 2:11pm
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i had never heard of PAFT till we moved to wellignton, the KAritane nurse we ahd in Motueka was awesome at helping us with anything we needed to know, have oyu tried your karitane nurse?
i have found plunket useless up here though ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
http://tweetytweety85.bebo.com - bebo |
Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 3:06pm
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Yes please Amy, we'd appreciate that :) ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: Kels
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 5:54pm
I found PAFT excellent too. They came to me when I had Mercedes and visited regularly till she was 3yrs when the kids go to a little graduation type thingee. It was really good. They provide excellent information and I have a whole folder of information for different ages and stages of development. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
Busy mum to Miss 15yrs, Miss 10yrs and Master 4yrs |
Posted By: Two Blondinis
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 9:16pm
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We had a PAFT rep come to an ante natal coffee group (post-baby) we signed up and have been with the same lady since (started at 4 weeks old).
We LOVE our PAFT lady! She's such a warm person and I love the way she interacts with Caitlin, she makes an effort with her and makes me/baby feel special. She is full of information about development and health and also supports me as a working mum (makes a change, usually I get the "uh huh" followed by a dissapproving look from Plunket and the Karitane lady 
Fiona, Herena (our PAFT lady) is coming to Caitlin's birthday so you can have a chat with her then (that's how much we get on with her, and she's a neighbour too lol) ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
 
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Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 9:54pm
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Wow we've been sitting here desperate for some help and support since Elle was 3 weeks old and no one ever mentioned PAFT! How ironic. Ah well, better late than never I guess. ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: pepsi
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 9:55pm
I didn't know about it either until Amy mentioned it quite recently... I would have liked to have been involved early on if only I knew.. |
FionaS wrote:Posted By: Anna
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 10:07pm
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I got on to it by phoning barnados and leaving a message on the answerphone. We just fluked a spot, they have certain criteria to meet in terms of who they visit but if they have limited people they will accept anyone... I have the number for the one on the shore if you want someone to phone?
------------- Anna http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Bombshell
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 10:38pm
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um why are u waiting for PAFT when the best one would be to gt referral to starship and see them for her developmental delay there??? I would push them harder - i have clients that get great answers and 13 page reports on their children of similar ages with similar problems and suggested options to assist.....
Push starship I say - they have the qualified people there and can refer you from there if need be |
Posted By: Anna
Date Posted: 13 July 2007 at 10:49pm
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Gotta say I agree with Bombshell, PAFT is good for helping you out along the way but my PAFT woman was not one to go to for serious problems... (don't get me wrong, she was unbelievable for support but no medical proffesional)
Harass the docs if you need to? It has taken me nine months to get a proper diagnosis for why Kaia has not stopped screaming at us? I found that phoning at harassing people was the only way to get attention... ------------- Anna http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Two Blondinis
Date Posted: 14 July 2007 at 10:00am
Can I just add here that PAFT are nothing do to with the health of bubs. They just teach parents skills to assist the childs development. I didn't know there was anything like what you are after at Starship, Fiona. I agree with BS, hound them every day if you have to! I don't think PAFT would provide what you are after ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 8:42am
We have been seen by 4 paeds at starship already and they say her development is fine and the grizzling is just temperament. I've pushed and pushed and pushed and hence am "pushing" a new route IYGWIM. We are also seeing a child psychologist on Monday to see if she can help. ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 8:51am
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ETA I mainly want some exercises I can do with Elle to help her to crawl. The docs have ruled out medical issues and things like ADHD can't be diagnosed until later so they say it's a watch and wait. The hospital say her development is well within the realms of normal and are NOT worried as her fine motor skills and language are advanced. They say she will walk / crawl in her own time. While I know that will happen I want to be proactive in doing things to help her and the hosp haven't / won't provide any help for us in that area.
Never mind...I thought PAFT might be able to help but I'll just go back to doing it on my own with the internet! :) ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: Two Blondinis
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 9:02am
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Is Elle up on all fours and rocking? This apparently is to get a sense of weight displacement and then once that is mastered they crawl.
One trick we were told to assist crawling was to put a towel under her torso to take a bit of the weight off her knees and see if she crawls then. We did it a couple of times with Caitlin and she crawled pretty soon after that. But it's hard to say if she would have crawled then anyways with or without the help. Just a thought - you could also try the same thing with her walking. Put the towel under her arms. She'll be able to walk around and it'll save your back too 
Good luck for your appointment on Monday - Let us know what they say ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 9:06am
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No she isn't on all fours as she screams blue murder if we put her on her tummy or even if we show her how to get onto all fours and then face plants. She has great arm strength and pushes right up but doesn't pull her knees in at all.
I've been doing the towel thing for a while now. She was getting better at putting up with tummy time but now is back to absolutely yelling and hence the tummy time doesn't achieve anything. ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: Bombshell
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 1:12pm
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does she like to be in the exersaucer / jolly jumper etc and weight bear on her feet?
there are so many unexplained reasons for not wanting to yet. |
Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 3:00pm
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Oh yes, she loves her exersaucer! She is totally over the jolly jumper now. She just loves to walk! She'd be on her feet all day given half the chance :) ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: Two Blondinis
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 8:11pm
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did you end up getting her a walker? ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Bombshell
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 9:00pm
| well if she is walking that is awesome...some babies just dont do the crawling thing first.... |
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 9:20pm
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Hannah only crawled for 3 weeks, then learnt to walk with us holding her hands... was still another 2 months after that before she walked by herself. You're right, a more mobile baby is usually more happy but not necessarily and I think the psychologist apmt is a good idea. Hope it goes well tomorrow
And btw you are a great mum, to do all of this for your DD ------------- |
Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 9:26pm
Yeap but it doesn't work on the carpet and our house only has very small lino areas. We do have a trolley thingy that she can walk with but she still associates walking with our hands and hence gets scared / angry if we leave her with the cart. She has managed about 10 step with it though. Will let you know how we go tomorrow :) I'm hoping for a breakthrough but also REALLY hoping she turns out to be fine...a grumpy temperament would be preferable to an attention / behavioural / neurological disorder!  ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: AlyAyde
Date Posted: 15 July 2007 at 9:48pm
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hmmm i think PAFT has a cut off of 4 months max for enrolment. ------------- Jayde 25/12/04 Alyssa 08/04/03 http://Alyayde.bebo.com |