More than Milestones
More than Milestones
Kaitlin Rickerd
44. Baby Milestones Then vs. Now: What’s Changed & Why - Perspectives from a Pediatric PT of 40+ Years
49 minutes Posted Sep 15, 2026 at 12:00 pm.
Meet the OG pediatric PT: my mom, Susan
What sleep and tummy time looked like before Back to Sleep
How the baby container industry capitalized on new parent fear
What container baby syndrome actually means
The rise in torticollis, plagiocephaly, and baby helmets
What cultural differences taught her about early movement
Screens, tablets, and losing the instinct to just play with your baby
Milestone ranges then vs. now, and why crawling quietly disappeared from screenings
Why crawling matters more than people realize
Growing up anxious in the social media era vs. her generation
Her advice for new moms and new therapists
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Bonus Episode: My Mom, the OG Pediatric PT, on What Tummy Time Really Looked Like Surprise! This one's a bonus episode, and it's personal. 🤍 I sat down with the OG pediatric PT herself, my mom, Susan Swiat, who spent 40 years in early intervention, to talk about what parenting actually looked like before the Back to Sleep campaign changed everything and before the baby container industry figured out how to profit off of new parents being scared. We get into why babies used to sleep and pl...