Infant Massage | Gentle massage for your gentle baby

Massage, applying pressure on the body through careful strokes to improve health is not only for adult. Infants, too, need a daily dose of gentle massage. Like food, giving your baby the "gentle touch" everyday provides him/her with the basic 'nutrients' for his well-being. 

Massage is an extended way of touching. It is the original art of "rubbing better", of creating ease through any or all parts of the body. A product of research conducted by the Touch Institute on Florida, massage has been proven to be very beneficial to both baby and parent.

Research showed that preterm infants massaged three times daily gained 47% more weight and became more responsive than others left alone.

A daily massage does all these and more for your baby:

• stimulates your baby's circulatory system
• benefits the heart rate, breathing and digestion
• encourages muscle coordination and suppleness
• improves mobility
• increases weight gain
• teaches baby how to relax
• reduces stress behaviors like grimacing and clenched fists
• relieves colic
• reduces/prevents sleep disorders and improves sleep patterns

Parents who massage their babies gain greater knowledge and understanding of their babies. For the mother, touching and handling her baby stimulates the secretion of proclatin, the "mothering hormone", which assists in her milk production and her ability to relax.

Infant Massage is a wonderful bonding tool for parents and babies. It is not therapy but a way to share love. It is something that a parent does with her baby in a way like no other means of interaction can.

TO GET STARTED MAKE SURE:

1. Your hands are clean and warm.
2. Your nails or jewelry cannot scratch baby's skin.
3. The room is warm and draft-free.
4. Baby is not hungry or had just eaten.
5. You will remain undisturbed for at least fifteen minutes.
6. You are sitting comfortable and relaxed.
7. Baby is lying on a soft, clean cotton surface.
8. You have assembled towels, a few extra diapers, a change of clothes and oil or lotion.

With the help of my 6-month-old daughter, Miara, we'll show you gentle massage that you can do for your little one. 

FACE

"SMILE" MASSAGE relaxes facial muscles.

Baby's face may accumulate a great deal of tension through sucking, teething, crying and generally interacting with the ever expanding world around him. With the thumbs, make a smile on the upper, then lower lip.

CHEST

"BUTTERFLY" MASSAGE tones the lungs and heart.

Both hands are at the baby's sides, at the bottom of the rib cage. Place left hand over baby's left shoulder and move down diagonally across the chest. Now do the same with the right hand over baby's right shoulder.

ARMS

"SQUEEZE AND TWIST" MASSAGE releases tension and tones the muscles.

Hold hands together around baby's arm at the shoulder (as if you were holding a baseball bat). Then move hands in opposite directions, back and forth, from the shoulder to the hand, gently squeezing as you do.

STOMACH

"SUN MOON"

Make an upside-down halfmoon with your right hand going from your left to the right. Make a full circle moving clockwise with your right hand. While the right hand is above, the left hand is below.

"I LOVE YOU" MASSAGE

"I" - Make a single I-shaped stroke with your right hand o baby's left belly (your right).

"LOVE" - Make a backward, side ways L from your left to right

"YOU" - Make an upside-down U, going from your left to right. As you go through this series of motions, say " I love you" in a warm, cooing tone.

LEGS

"MILKING"

Stroke one leg as if you were milking cow. Milk the leg with each hand, one hand following the other. One hand gently holds the foot at the ankle. The other hand should move over the buttock; the inside hand moves inside hand moves inside the thigh and up the leg to the foot.

"ROLLING" MASSAGE

Roll the leg between your hands from knee to ankle.

BACK

"BACK AND FORTH" MASSAGE develops muscles that will support the spine.

Start with both hands together at the top of the back, at the right angles to the spine. Move your hands back and forth, in opposite directions, going down the back to the buttocks, then up the shoulders, and back down once again.

IMPORTANT TIPS

DO'S:

• Maintain eye-to-eye contact with the baby.
• Sing to the baby or play soothing music to help you and the baby relax.
• Begin with a very light touch and gradually increase pressure as you become more confident and baby gets used to being massaged.
• Be sensitive to your baby's cues. If the baby cries a little, try to calm him/her down before proceeding. If he/she cries forcefully, stop messaging, the baby may want to be held or breastfed or may want to sleep.
• Give the baby a bath after massaging him/her especially when you used baby oil, to help refresh him/her.
• Keep the oil away from the baby's eyes.
• Consult a pediatrician for more details on infant massage. 

DONT'S:

• Massage the baby immediately after he is fed.
• Wake up the baby for massage.
• Massage the baby if he is not feeling well.
• Massage him/her against his/her will.
• Force the baby in a certain position when massaging him/her.

This info is not intended to replace the advice of the doctor. MHM diclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this info.