The ultimate baby massage guide for new parents
Massaging your baby makes your bond grow stronger, make sure to follow this baby massage guide and use your gentle touch to help your baby grow stronger and feel less anxiety.
Touch being our first language of expression has a huge impact on babies’ well being. Following a good baby massage guide may soothe your baby and make them feel less irritated, stop their crying, help with digestion, gas and constipation, enhance weight gain, improve their night sleep, help build a good muscle tone, coordination and improve their skin texture.
Make sure you use clinically proven gentle products to massage your baby. Using a lotion or baby oil is best. Baby lotions that are specifically gentle on skin, free of parabens, phthalates, scents and dyes, should be preferred.
A good baby massage guide will help calm both you and your baby and also aid them hugely in their early developmental years. Committing to it will actually save you many doctor appointments in the future. Here are some baby massage tips and tricks:
Make sure you massage your baby when they are awake and alert. They shouldn’t be too hungry or too full. Wait at least 45 minutes after a feeding or else the baby might vomit.
Try to make the room warm and quiet with soft lighting.
Ensure that you’ve washed your hands and don’t have jewels that can hurt the baby’s skin.
Keep diapers, towels and napkins ready.
Try to relax your baby before you begin, taking a few deep breaths might help.
Sometimes babies might feel more comfortable if they are close to their parents and can directly see their faces.
Ensure that you’ve read the instructions and directions to use the baby lotion correctly.
Watch how the baby responds. Jiggling arms is a sign that the baby enjoys the massage but if they turn their head away maybe try again later.
Try to keep a gentle touch and avoid tickling your baby. It might irritate the baby.
After you’re done, keep the products away from the baby to avoid any accidental drinking and inhalation.
Starting a massaging routine shortly after birth is not a bad idea. In fact, it leads to healthy and happy development in your baby while making the bond between you stronger. For a massaging routine for newborns, make sure you start with a gentle touch and a resting hand to make sure your baby is at ease. At this stage, you can massage their head, feet, legs and back. You can also start massaging their tummy after their umbilical cord is healed.
Using gentle rhythmic strokes with alternative hands can really help your baby enjoy their massage time. When it comes to feet, you can gently squeeze and roll each toe between your thumb and index finger and use alternate thumbs strokes on the top of the foot from toes to the ankles.
Massaging becomes even better when your baby starts engaging with you. This usually happens around the sixth or seventh week. Now you can massage the face, especially the jaw with your fingertips to help relieve the baby of the tension caused by crying, sucking and teething. A gentle massage on the chest can help solve congestion problems.
To help strengthen your baby’s spine, shoulders, neck and arms, a back massage is recommended. Move your hands back and forth at right angles to the spine going down to the buttocks and up to the shoulders.
A back and tummy massage can also help the baby relax and feel more secure. Following a good tummy massage routine will make the baby feel less anxious and also help with tummy troubles.
It might take a few tries before your baby gets used to the baby massage routine. With patience and practice, this will become a healthy time for you and your baby to relax and bond!
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed/shared in the blog above are personal thoughts of the writer. Berrytree recommends you consult with your doctor/pediatrician/family before instinctively following any suggested steps.