Infant massage is an ancient tradition in many cultures that has been rediscovered in the West. Through tactile stimulation, parents are nurturing the affective contact with the baby and establishing the first bonds of the bond that will unite us forever.
Discover step by step this subtle, tender and pleasant technique that helps the baby to release his body and tone his muscles has opened a new window to many mothers. Who have been able to find as I, the key to relax and calm their babies when it Need and thus enjoy much more of the experience of being a mother.
Different Types of Baby Massages
There are many types of massage and each one is indicated for a particular moment. Relaxing massage is a very special sensory experience for the baby because it helps you to fall asleep, calms you and prepares you to sleep placidly. Both parents and baby should be relaxed to enjoy this massage in privacy and without interruptions. After bathing, before dinner or half an hour after taking it, it is the ideal time to enjoy it. Another type of massage that helps to overcome both the baby and the parents, the irritability that cause the infant’s colic during the first months of life are abdominal massages.
Gentle circular, clockwise movements over the baby’s belly while we move our legs slightly up and down, helped my baby a lot to improve his discomfort and to be less uncomfortable every day. Through the technique of abdominal massage, my baby and I learned an excellent resource to calm their discomfort. Because the cramps started always at the same time, a massage half an hour before they appeared helped him to overcome it and after a week of massage I began to notice that the time that his colic lasted was getting smaller.
Stimulating massages also liked both of us. In the morning, before dressing him up, he was encouraged to start his game session. Although there is a massage for every moment of the day, we should not abuse them. Only the parents, and more specifically the mothers, have a sixth sense to interpret what happens to our baby. To use a relaxing massage one day when we feel more nervous, to offer a stimulating massage when we see that it is somewhat fallen or to initiate the technique of abdominal massage when it has colic can be the great secret of the parents to enhance the well-being of our baby.
How to massage baby? If you wish, you can follow our orientation:
1- Concentrate on making firm movements, always from the inside out and the center for the extremities or from the bottom up. From the left to the right, at a slow and steady pace, moderating the pressure of the fingers according to the zone.
2- Start at the chest. Slide your hands from the center to the sides. First the left and then the right.
3- After the breast, massage your arms, turning the baby on his side, holding him by the shoulder and making movements (with the other hand) from the shoulder towards the pulse, always maintaining a constant rhythm.
4- Massage your hands, gently stretching each finger. And the same with the feet and their little fingers.
5- Place one of your hands at the height of your baby’s stomach and slide it down in the direction of the baby as if you were emptying it. Alternate movements with one and another hand. If your baby has gas problems, that massage will help eliminate them.
6- If your baby is not so small, you can turn your body around and massage him on the back, always from the central part to the sides. He will thank you with stammering and shouting.
Important: massage should only be avoided when the baby is with fever, flu or with an infection. And if the child begins to cry when you are giving the massage, interpret it as a NO and quit the exercise. You can consult to learn how to massage the baby. We explain to you by an expert how to do relaxing massages, to relieve colic or stimulating massages.
