Skin-to-skin contact between a parent and a baby has always been beneficial. A full-body newborn massage is one of the best ways to provide such contact. A gentle stroking for your infant can help with better sleeping, relaxation, colic relief, and weight gain. Moreover, the studies on the benefits from massaging your kid show that doing it daily significantly enhances his/her motor skills, immune system,and mental, social and physical development. It is also great for emotional well-being.
Gentle touch and light motions are a kind of communication between the parents and their offspring. It is a great way to say your newborn “I love you!”, aside from being an easy method to read your baby signaling about something and respond to his needs. Massaging brings a lot of pleasure and joy to both your child and you.
You can try the described new baby massages
- Having stripped down to a diaper, place your kid on a solid surface covered with a soft towel or blanket.
- As the legs are less sensitive, they are the best part to start with. Use a drop of oil. Set your hands around one of your baby’s thighs, squeeze lightly and pull down, one hand after the other. Change the leg and repeat.
- Rotate one foot in all directions. Then stroke the top of the foot from the ankle down to the toe with one hand, then the other. Switch a foot and repeat. Now stroke the sole of the foot from your infant’s heel to the toes. Lightly squeeze and pull each toe.
- Set your hands on one of your baby’s arms squeezing lightly and pull down from the armpit to the wrist, one hand after the other. Change the arm and repeat. After that, rotate the wrist several times in both directions. Now massage your newborn’s palm, lightly squeeze and pull each finger.
- Place your hands on your child’s chest and stroke him down from the shoulders to the thighs. Repeat the motions several times. Move both hands from the sternum to the shoulders. After that, rub the abdomen with circular motions. Walk your fingers around the navel in a clockwise motion.
- Place your baby onto the tummy horizontally in front of you. Move your hands lightly back and forth, from the neck and shoulders down to the buttocks and feet. Then massage your newborn’s shoulders with circular motions.
Basic tips on doing baby massage
- It should be a daily practice. Ideally, if it is a part of your bedtime routine.
- Never try it before or after a meal.
- Apply only natural vegetable-based oil. It would be good to test a drop of it on a small spot of your baby’s skin. Wait one day to be sure that there is no allergic reaction. The massage oil will keep the skin moist.
- A relaxed and quiet piece of music will set up your infant for rubbing.
- Talk and sing to your child to make him/her hear your voice and pleasant tones.
- The duration of massage should be between 10 to 30 minutes. If you lack time desperately, try https://ukessay.com/dissertation-proposaland get free for the whole evening.
- Your kid should be quiet but wide-eyed. Stop if he/she becomes irritable and cries. Try to learn your baby’s positive or negative feedback. A happy child will be cooing and babbling, smiling or making eye contact with you and smiling, sometimes even laughing. An uptight child will not be focusing on you. His skin will be red and pale. He/she might cry and hiccup.
- Make sure that it is warm enough and the temperature in the room is comfortable.
- Take off your jewelry not to make harm to your newborn.
- It would be great if you ask for your doctor’s advice before rubbing your newborn baby.
- Do not massage your infant if the cord area is not completely healed. This period usually lasts from two weeks to a month after birth.
If you want to give a colic-relief massage to your newborn, first stroke his belly gently. After that, bend the knees up to the tummy and hold a while before releasing. Repeat it several times.
In case you still have difficulties of doing massage for your infant, you can ask a massage therapist to help you with it.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
