Massage For Babies – Part I

There are a dozen things to take care of after a baby’s birth. According to me, the most trivial of all is a massage. Your baby has been in the womb for nine months and for him/her, the biggest challenge is to survive this sudden change of atmosphere. A massage can be a very good way to make your child feel secure and close to you.

A baby massage is nothing but the gentle, rhythmic stroking of your baby’s body with your hands. A lot of people use massage oils to soothe the baby and to make the gliding movements easier. I used oils on Riaan during every massage session. In India, many families hire a lady who specializes in baby massages. And I must say, these women know their job really well. Riaan used to sleep for two to three hours straight after every session.

I wanted to experience the feeling of massaging my own baby so, when Riaan turned three I took over. I wouldn’t lie, I used to literally pray to god before beginning each session but, I gradually got the hang of it and eventually, we both started enjoying it. Riaan seemed very happy and relaxed when I used to massage him so that made the learning process easier.

Research shows that the soothing strokes of your hands stimulate a hormone known as oxytocin (the feel-good hormone) in both your baby and you. This hormone starts working overtime when you cuddle your baby or breastfeed him/her.

Benefits of baby massage

A massage helps both your baby and you in innumerable ways.

• Helps in the overall physical, social and mental development of your baby.
• Helps to soothe the baby and surely helps him/her to feel relaxed and sleep better.
• It also aids new mothers suffering from postnatal depression to overcome these feelings and to develop a beautiful bond with their child.
• It is a boon for the fathers! A mother invariably gets to spend a lot of time with her baby but, the dad may not get that much of time. A massage is a fantastic way for the father to connect with the child.
• It has a host of benefits for premature babies as well as weight gain, to stabilize the heart rate and brain activity. For a premature child, the more physical touch and comfort is given, the better will be their temperament. As these babies need more attention and cuddles of their parents for their development.

I thoroughly enjoyed the days when I used to massage Riaan and he will turn three but, we still massage him sometimes. The house bursts with chatter and laughter during those moments. My husband too, loves to pamper him with a soothing massage and he used to voluntarily and religiously massage Riaan every weekend and still continues with it.

I have a lot more information on this topic so, stay tuned for the second part of this post.

Disclaimer: All photographs in this article are original and belong to the author. Reproducing them in any form without the permission of the author will not be allowed.

Like what you read and want to connect with me?

Connect with me on my Website

#babycare