Have You Massaged Your Baby Today?

Did you know that when a baby is born, their most heightened sense is the sense of touch? Even though making eye contact with your baby is very important to developing a bond, their skin is the most highly developed organ they are born with. Now, knowing that, how could you not give your baby a massage?

Babies love massages and the benefits to them from having a massage are overwhelming. Not only can it help a baby relax, but it can help them sleep sounder and longer (something every new parent wishes for). It can be an effective way to treat colic, since it regulates digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems. Studies have also shown that premature babies that have been massaged gain weight faster and go home from the hospital sooner. All this and it is also a wonderful way to bond and communicate with your baby. Yes, it is possible to communicate with a baby. Even though my daughter has yet to say her 1st word, she communicates with me quite well. Her daily massage promotes this close bond and communication between us.

Infant massage has become almost a trendy thing to do lately as the benefits become more widely known. They now make videos, books and kits all about how to do it. In my mind, these are a waste of money. There are also lots of classes in how to do it, which is also not really necessary, but might be helpful. It is very possible to teach yourself. Some things that are nice to have for the massage:

Massage oil: I would not use regular baby oil as it is glycerin based, and even though it is not being digested, I prefer a food based oil. I personally like safflower oil, but olive oil is also good. I think vegetable oil is a bit too heavy. If you would like you can add essential oils to it for aromatherapy also. I have added a little bit of chamomile to mine to make it more soothing. But lavender is also nice. And eucalyptus can be very soothing when your baby is congested. Whatever you use is purely a personal preference, but you should use some sort of oil to cut down on the friction.

Music: My daughter loves music. Especially a womb sounds tape I bought before she was born as well as a tape of ocean sounds interwoven with lullabies. I did not originally buy these tapes for massage time, but the ocean sounds one in particular has become a nice thing to play in the background (the womb sounds is for bedtime). If you do decide to play music (definitely not a requirement) try and find soothing music to promote a sense of relaxation and calmness.

Towels: It is definitely best to massage your baby when they are naked. They feel more free and relaxed. I lay Hannah on a thick towel, as well as a waterproof mat. If you have a boy, I would lay a towel over him to prevent getting sprayed. But massages are definitely more effective when the baby is naked. (For some reason, this seems to be the hardest part for people to take).

There is a lot of debate about when to do the massage. Some people like to do it first thing in the morning, some at night, some before giving the baby a bath. Whatever...Do it whenever you and your baby are already relaxed. If your baby is already fussy and upset, a massage will probably not calm them down. However, if you know that fussy time starts at 4:00, try a massage at 3:30. At first the massage may only take 5-10 minutes. But as you and your baby get better at it, plan on half an hour. On warm sunny days, we like to do the massage in our sunroom in the nice warm sun. We usually do it after her bath (when she is already naked), as it helps to soothe her even further to get ready for bed. Many people say you should do it before her bath since the baby will be too cold after the bath to keep undressed and the bath will wash off the extra oil. That never worked for us though. I would get Hannah all nice and relaxed with a massage and then put her in the tub, and she thought it was so much fun that it was playtime and get all excited again. So now we do it afterwards as part of her night time ritual and she loves it. Whenever you do it, you should always ask your baby's "permission" before beginning. It helps prepare them for the massage and as they get used to it to even anticipate it. Now whenever I even say the word "massage" Hannah just looks at me and smiles.

So now, how do you give a baby a massage? I am not going to go through this step by step, since I am not a certified massage therapist or any expert on this at all (I just know what works for us). I would recommend that you look up this website. It gives step by step instructions on how to give infant massage:

http://www.babycenter.com/infantmassage/ Babycenter.com is a wealth of information on a variety of topics. Infant massage is just one of them, This page is sponsored by Johnson's Baby Care and gives lots of info about infant massage as well as some simple techniques. (it is a great site, but I don't use their products because they are glycerin based).

Another good resource is William and Martha Sears' "The Baby Book" I think all new parents should have this book anyway, but it does have some good step by step instructions for doing infant massage, as well as using it to cure colic.

For a sequence, we do the back first and then the legs and feet, arms and hands, chest and finally face and head. Legs and feet are far and away her favorite so I usually rub them for her whenever I change her diaper. I can see that her husband some day will be doing a lot of foot rubs! But the "I Love U" massage was an invaluable tool for gas.

It is never too late to start. Even though they call it "infant massage" it is still valuable for toddlers. I know a few people that did not start until their baby was a bit older and have still gained great benefit from it.

My daughter is an alert, happy baby. It is something that is almost always commented on. I hear things on an almost daily basis like "she never cries", "look how alert she is", and "what a happy baby". Before we mastered infant massage, she was none of those things - in fact she cried almost all the time. Finally, the time I spend giving her a massage, is a wonderful bonding time that we share, something I would not give up for anything.