Baby Massage

Congratulations on having a little baby! Its time to welcome your little bundle of
joy into this world and give her everything she needs.
As a parent, you are probably very keenly paying attention to the little aspects of
your babys wants and needs life her clothes, her food, her bath supplies etc. As
your baby starts growing, you may also need to start implementing massages to
strengthen her bones and muscles, and get her more active and energetic.
It is believed that massaging the baby yourself can help strengthen your bond
with her. There are a number of benefits of baby massagebetter sleep, relief
from colic pain, improvement in motor skills, enhanced intellectual development
and even improvement in the babys immune system.
It is very important for a mother to know about the techniques of massaging a
baby to provide its maximum benefits (and avoid unintentional injury!). This
article discusses about techniques used to massage various body parts of your
baby.

Baby Massage Essentials:

Before you start with a massage, you will need a few essentials.

Massage oil or lotion

Warm towel
Light blanket
Diaper

Tips on How To Massage A Baby:

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Before massage, always make sure that your baby is in a happy, alert
mood.
You must sit on the floor or on any flat surface, forming a diamond shape
with your legs to rest your baby comfortably.
Place a towel or a blanket over your feet and knees.
Remove clothes and diaper from your baby and place her on the blanket,
resting her head on your feet.
Begin with a tender stroke from head to feet and see if your baby enjoys
this, then continue massaging each body part, or you must stop if she is not
feeling comfortable and try another day.

1. Legs:

Beginning massage with legs would be best as they are less delicate than other
body parts.

Lift one of the legs by ankle and cheerfully tap the upper thigh.
Gently stroke from thigh down to the foot and rotating in each direction a
few times.
Grasp the leg at thigh with both your hands and slowly stroke down from
thigh to the foot, like how you would wring a towel.
Massage heels up to toes with your thumb over thumb position. Then, using
your palm, stroke the bottom and top of babys foot. Slowly, make circles
with your thumb all over the bottom of each foot.
At last, lightly squeeze and exert force over each toe.

2. Arms:
After the legs, its time to move on to the arms for a massage.

Hold babys wrist in your hand and relax it by lightly tapping on the upper
arm.
Lift your babys wrist in one of your hand; keeping your other hand around
babys upper arm, cheerfully tap the upper arm.
Gently stroke from upper arm down to the lower portion, rotating in each
direction a few times.
Grasp the upper arm with both of your hands and slowly stroke down from
upper arm to the lower arm, like you are milking. Repeat these strokes on
hands.
Hold her palms and massage with your thumbs by tracing circles.
Stroke from wrist to fingertips and then lightly squeeze and exert force over
each finger.
Wrists should be massaged while holding with your finger in encircling
form.

3. Chest:
Massaging the chest can get playful your baby will most certainly love and
enjoy it!

Set both your hands in prayer position on your babys chest and gently
stroke outwards from middle of the chest towards the shoulders.
Starting from the upper portion of the chest, trace a heart shape with your
hands while taking them up to the shoulders and then bringing them down
and back together. Repeat these steps several times.
From one side of babys hip up to the opposite shoulder, gently stroke in a
crisscross pattern.

4. Abdomen:
The abdomen should be massaged using gentle pressure- remember that the
babys stomach is very delicate and sensitive.

Tummy should be massaged with your fingertips in a clockwise, circular

motion.
Over the abdomen, I Love U stroke should be given.
Tracine the letter I down the babys left side.
Then, trace an inverted L while giving a stroke from belly to the ribs base
from right side to the left and then down.
Now, an inverted U should be traced by stroking from right side of belly up
to the navel and then bringing down to the left side.
Over the navel, walk your fingers in a clockwise manner.
Squeeze knees and feet together and lightly press them towards the
tummy and rotate babys buttocks around for a few times which helps in
expelling gas.
Hold babys abdomen while rocking your hands from side to side.
Babys tummy massage should be avoided if the cord has not healed
completely.

5. Face and Head:

And finally, its time for the face and head massage.

Hold babys head in both of your hands and massage the scalp like you
shampoo. Fontanel or the soft spot over babys head should not be pressed.
Over the babys face, place your hands and trace a heart; then, bring them
down together towards the chin.
Set your thumbs between babys eyebrows, giving stroke in outward
motion.
Give strokes from the bridge of the nose out towards the cheek.
Jaws should be massaged in small circles using the fingertips.
Ears should be massaged between your thumb and index finger.
These steps should be exercised a few times.

6. Back:
And lastly, end with the back.

Place your baby over tummy on your outstretched legs or in front of you,
with her hands in front of her, not on the sides.
With one hand, hold babys buttocks and with the other hand, stroke down
from base of the neck to the buttocks.

You should move babys hands back and forth from the base of neck to the
hips. They should be moved in opposite directions.
Do not press directly over the babys spine, instead move down your finger
tips in circle form over the spine and up the other. Repeating them several
times helps relieve the tension in the back.
Shoulders should be massaged in small circular motions and over the
buttocks with big circular motions.
Stroke down babys back while holding your fingers like a rake.

Points to Remember While Massaging Baby:

Though massages do pack in a number of health benefits, there are certain times
where you should avoid while massaging a baby.

Never massage your baby before or after meals or when baby needs sleep.
Strokes for massaging should be gentle, but firm. Light strokes will cause
tickling and hard strokes can be dangerous for the baby.

If the baby appears cranky and cries during massage, you must stop the
massage and try again the next day.

You must maintain a daily routine for baby massaging.

Keep talking to your baby during massage. Speak softly, laugh with her and
let her know what you are doing.
While keeping the above points in mind, massage your baby in gentle strokes.
Stroking, touching and caressing your baby helps promote growth hormones in a
baby as it helps stimulate the central nervous system. Happy baby massaging!!