Tag: massage

Give Your Baby a Massage

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I’ve fallen out of the habit of giving Veronika a massage in the evenings, which I tried to do when she was tiny. This prompt from my baby activity book was a nice reminder, and you can take more time with it now that your baby is older – and perhaps even has sore muscles from all the practice rolling and sitting!

I used olive oil, but any edible baby-safe oil will work.

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To give her the full spa treatment, I laid Veronika down on a soft blanket in a warm room, and started with her face. Stroke the head with your hands, then rub your thumbs gently along baby’s forehead.

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I moved down to the eyebrows and cheeks and along the sides of her face with my thumbs. Continue down to the chest, spreading your hands out around the ribs.

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Now it was time for legs! Rub first down one leg, gently squeezing as you go. I named the parts of the leg as I moved from thigh to knee to shin. Finish with the feet; press your thumbs gently into the soles, then lightly pull each toe. I know this is my favorite part at the spa, ha!

 

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Repeat a similar process along the arms: rub down the arm, then finish with thumbs gently pressing into the palm and tugging on each finger.

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She looked so relaxed by the end! If it feels like this won’t fit into a hectic nighttime routine, consider it before a nap, or even after an afternoon bath.

Give Baby a Hand Massage

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Last week, I treated Veronika to a full-body infant massage, a great way to stretch out tiny limbs… but not an easy activity to squeeze into a day with a busy preschooler brother! This simple hand massage, on the other hand, was such a quick, nice pause for the two of us, and takes almost no time or effort.

After nursing, I set out a little dish of olive oil so I could dab into it for the tiniest amount of oil.

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Rub this small amount of olive oil (or another edible oil) onto your baby’s palm, and work out gently to the edges of the fingertips.

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Veronika looked like she was having a day at the spa!

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And also seemed to enjoy the way the olive oil smelled. Not only will this feel nice on little hands, but it’s also great for dry skin (a common newborn woe) or cracked skin near the fingernails.

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Another great use for olive oil? Getting rid of any cradle cap you might see on your baby’s head (or as I like to call it, cradle crap). Rub on a small amount of olive oil and let sit for 10 minutes. Brush out with a soft bristle brush and you’ll see that flaky dandruff come right off. Finish with a gentle baby shampoo.

Diaper Time Massage

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Following in the heels of yesterday’s suggestion to enhance diaper time with a newborn, here’s another great way to use diaper-table-time as bonding time: Gently massage the baby’s body parts, pausing if they are not too fussy or too cold to pay attention to specific areas. Feet, hands, tummies, backs, and faces are great for this game.

Little baby feet and hands come out so wrinkled and curled up, and a hand massage in particular can help unclench those little fingers.

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Don’t forget to point out the names of the fingers – Thumbkin and Tall Man! – or count as you touch each “little piggie.”

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Likewise talk about what you’re touching as you gently massage forehead, cheeks, nose, tummy, and back. Body parts are some of the first words that little ones learn, and it’s never too early to start!

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If your baby is just too fussy during a change, consider doing similar massages while nursing, or just cuddling.