It’s such a special time, those delightful minutes after bathtime when you’re feeling more relaxed and can enjoy giving your baby a lovely light massage. Baby massage is well recognized as a therapeutic opportunity to spend special time together, and it’s relaxing for both of you.

Baby massage is believed to strengthen muscles and stimulate blood circulation, muscle coordination and flexibility. Massage helps a baby’s brain development through touch and helps them learn how their body fits together. It assists with regulating breathing and activating their metabolism, and can help your baby relax by reducing the production of stress hormones. This in turn may allow your baby to fall asleep faster, sleep more deeply and be less irritable when awake. And let’s be honest, everyone loves a massage, whatever their age!

Some preparation is needed to keep your baby comfortable and receptive during the massage. Newborns can have a fairly short attention span, so up to 10 minutes is sufficient. Try to massage daily at a time when your baby is receptive, not hungry or too tired and cranky. You can increase up to about 20 minutes massage for more mature babies, but be aware that when your baby starts to crawl, they may not be as pliable and may treat the whole exercise as a game of tag!

To get the most from your massage take the time to focus completely on your baby, let go of all potentially distracting thoughts and the phone. Remove rings, watch and bracelets. Make sure the environment is pleasantly warm and cover any parts of your baby’s body that you’re not massaging to prevent your baby from getting cold. You can talk or sing softly and gently to your baby but remember that your baby may enjoy peace and calm during their massage.

Massage can be done without oil, but a thin coating of oil or lotion will reduce friction to your baby’s skin. Use just enough oil for your hands to glide comfortably over your baby’s body as this is a unique bonding experience. Warm the massage oil in your hands before you begin.

Baby oils are generally fast absorbing so the skin can still breathe naturally and all are colour free. Avoid heavy oils or those with strong scents as they tend not to sink into the skin and can clog babies pores and affect clothes if not wiped off.

Some baby oils are enhanced by relaxing and light soothing fragrances. Others have aloe vera added to soothe skin, as well as vitamin E which is an antioxidant that helps protect against skin damage caused by free radicals. In this case it acts as a skin conditioner.

If you want to find out more about baby massage, Parents Centre run a class called ‘Baby and You’ which covers the importance of touch to babies. Click here for details of your nearest centre.

Whichever massage oil and technique you choose, remember that an oily baby is a slippery baby so always have everything you need at hand. Then relax and enjoy the moment.

Proudly Partnering with Parents Centre

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