Infant Massage - Love Your Baby
If you have ever had the privilege of receiving a massage, then you know that the experience is heavenly! Not to mention the many benefits. Even if there were no proven benefits other than relaxation, I would highly recommend the treatment to anyone.
When I was pregnant with my 4th baby, I met a lady who offered massage appointments in your home for a very affordable price. Before I met her, I admit that I wondered about the quality of her work, but for the price she was charging for the full hour, I thought, “What the heck! Even a bad massage is a good massage!” Because I don’t not feel great at all when I am pregnant (surprise) I was excited to meet her. Turns out, she was fabulous! She was a mom of 3 herself and was really big on natural remedies for pain and healing.
We got talking about my upcoming baby and she mentioned that she would be glad to teach me a quick Infant massage routine. I wasn’t about to turn that down! I know the many benefits that massage has given to me and I knew that it would be awesome to learn some techniques that could soothe colic, digestion, constipation, earaches and teething discomforts. Especially since I had 3 babies with one or more of these symptoms. She also pointed out to me that since the baby is cramped up inside the womb for so long, a good massage makes sense.
I made an appointment with her to come back after my son was 2 weeks old, to make sure that his umbilical cord had fallen off and that he was healed from his circumcision. I watched her as she explained what she was doing and I could not wait to practice these techniques on my baby!
First, I spread a soft towel on my bed and undressed my baby. I laid him on his stomach. I made sure that the room was warm and free of drafts, so that he wouldn’t become chilled. I used regular baby lotion mixed with a small amount of baby oil. I put a small amount in my hands and rubbed them together several times to warm the lotion. Starting with the back of my son’s head, I cupped his head firmly and rubbed in a circular motion downward toward his neck. Then I moved to his neck and shoulders. My teacher taught me that you should use firm strokes on a baby, but to be sure you don’t use too much pressure, she said to close your eyes and massage your eyeballs in small circles. That is just about the right amount of pressure a baby will be comfortable with. Keep rubbing the shoulders and smoothly move down to the shoulder blades and follow along the lines of his shoulder blades.
The baby’s skin surface area isn’t large enough to require more than using two fingertips to adequately massage each little area. Move on down to the baby’s hips and cute little rear end. There a lot of muscles here and it is very relaxing to have these areas massaged. You can increase the pressure and use more of your whole hand on these areas. Using circular motions rub from the bottom of baby’s rear end upward and out in a long motion. Repeat each motion 3 to 4 times in each area. The back of the thighs are a bigger muscle group and are handled in the same motion as the rear end. Moving on down to the calves, these little muscles can be fleshy, but tender, so use care with the pressure. Cup your baby’s foot in the palm of your hand and use your thumb to gently rub in a circular motion the bottom of his little feet and just under his toes. Very gently wiggle his toes back and forth between two fingers. Carefully rotate his ankles. Before you turn him onto his back, gently go back up his body with a couple of long, gentle strokes and rub his head again. Turn him over onto his back and give him a big kiss. Make sure you have enough lotion for the front.
Beginning with your baby’s face, rub his ears and wiggle them softly a couple of times. Rub your thumbs in a circular motion upward over his cheeks, nose, forehead and around his eyes. Move down to his chest. Again, here you can use more of your hand and a little more pressure. When I massaged my son’s chest, he would arch his back a little bit and push his chest into my hand. I knew he was loving it! Use circular motions and continue from his chest out to his arms. Rub down his arms to his palms and rub the palms with your thumbs in a circular motion. Moving on to your baby’s legs, use your whole hand to massage in upward motions, gently bringing his knees up to his tummy. Carefully move your baby’s legs as if he were pedaling a bicycle. This can help to relieve gas pains and colic. Rub his feet the same way you did when he was on his tummy. When working on your baby’s tummy, you want to be careful of the pressure. Starting at his belly button, start in small clockwise circles, gradually increasing the size of the circles. Working in a clockwise direction helps in the natural digestion of baby’s food, as it is the same direction that the intestines flow.
From my own experience, I found the tummy massage to be invaluable. My little guy was gassy and constipated. It had gotten to the point that my doctor recommended that I try using glycerin suppositories. These worked, but it wasn’t a pleasant procedure for my baby or me. The second day after I began putting these infant massage techniques to use, my baby’s digestion and constipation began to lesson and by the end of the first week; we never used a suppository again!
This massage session with my babe became one of my most favorite times of the day. Not only was my son clearly enjoying and relaxing, but also we bonded in the sweetest way. When he was lying on his back, I made eye contact with him a lot and saw his first smile during his little rub down. I usually gave him his massage right after his bath at night because of his being warmed up by the water and being rubbed down with the towel.
My older daughters would love to sit on the bed and watch. At first, they talked and giggled, but I explained to them that the quieter the environment for a massage, the more relaxing it would be. So they would quietly help get the lotion ready and get his diaper and pajamas ready for after the massage. As he got a little older, the girls wanted to try giving him a massage too. They felt so proud to show their brother love like that! It was such a special bonding time for my baby and I. I had always motioned down my previous babies aver baths and diaper changes, but never knew that these simple techniques could make such a difference.
My massage baby is now 5 1/2 and in kindergarten and still loves a good rub down- though he insists on having his boxers on! He tells me that he loves me and that my hands make his back feel so good and make his eyes feel really sleepy!
To recap, here is a list of the benefits of infant massage:
*Close contact massage increases bonds between baby and parent
*Touch stimulates brain activity, including attentiveness, the nervous system, intelligence and language development.
*Massage increases oxygen and nutrient flow to cells, increasing your baby’s ability to learn
*Massage increases neurological development and muscle tone
*Massage eases colic and gas and reduces the pains associated with constipation and teething
*Massage increases productive sleep patterns and restfulness
*Touch creates feelings of security and comfort for the giver and receiver
To further the parent child bond mentioned I recommend a baby pouch to keep your baby close. Kat Hafen is a staff writer for HugaMonkey, makers of baby slings.