Baby massage is worth learning.
Although I wasn’t really convinced at first – that was until I did a 5 week course at my local Children’s Centre. It was useful learning how to correctly massage your baby after bath time or before bed to achieve the best results.
Learning the correct stokes and movements ensures you don’t do them any harm (as the knees are a particularly sensitive spot.) I knew massage could relax baby, aid sleep and help with bonding but, I really didn’t realise baby massage could help relieve wind, tummy upsets, eczema and teething too. See, totally worth learning for this alone.
My only mistake was doing it a bit too late. I started it when Miss Marnie was about 6 months old and she was constantly rolling around, wiggling and trying to sit up.
Looking around the class I think the mamas with the 3-4 month olds had a easier time as the babies were less active and seemed to respond to the overall stillness better. Really though doing it at all is better than not – it’s a skill that’s great to have under your mama-knows-best-belt.
We used a plain oil in class but you can use a light flavourless olive oil (I tried this and was sure I could still smell a ‘food’ like aroma!) or, a specially formulated baby massage oil which tend to be pricey – but a little really goes a long way.
These are my current faves that I rotate depending on Miss M’s mood:
Hello Mellow Organic Massage Oil £12 for 125ml Organic Monkey
Kind & Calming Massage Oil £12.99 for 100ml Love Boo
Baby Bee Nourishing Baby Oil £9.99 for 118ml Burt’s Bees
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| BEFORE CLASS… |
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| AND AFTER! zzzzzzzzz |
