Infant Massage

When I massage my infant, he calms down noticeably in about a minute. His arms and legs stop flaying and he makes eye contact with me. It is amazing. He especially likes having his head and face massaged. I also can rub his legs while he is breastfeeding and that also calms him.

Infant massage is very easy to do. In fact, many of the benefits of massage can come from just making skin contact with your child (You can gently rub or caress your child's skin without oil).

For massage, you don't need any special oil. You can use any natural vegetable oil (avoid petroleum based oils and also using oil on the face). Vimala Schneider McClure, author of one of the best infant massage books (see below), recommends that the oil have vitamin E added (to preserve it) and that the extraction method used be cold-pressed. I found some at my local health food store.

Benefits can infant massage include:

• Strong parent/baby bond. The bond is established through touch, through the act of spending quality time together, and through the eye-to-eye contact that occurs while massaging your infant.
• According to book "Infant Massage", babies who are massaged handle stress better when they get older because relaxation is natural for them from a young age.
• Massage can help release the gas that some colicky babies experience.
• Babies are massaged in the womb (through the amniotic fluid and through contractions) so massaging them outside of the womb is natural. Babies find it calming and enjoyable.
• Although they are babies, they can still have tension. Infant massage help release that tension for a happier baby.

• How to baby your baby: With a massage
  Dicusses the differences between adult and baby massage. Also gives detailed information on different infant massage moves.
• Infant Massage
  Talks primarily about massage and the premature baby.
• This is a Question/Answer page on Infant Massage Techniques.
• Hands-on Parenting
  This page discusses infant massage and specifically talks about a class offered in the San Francisco Bay area. However if you are interested in infant massage they have useful general information.
• Infant Massage: Try a Rub After the Tub
  Talks about the benefits of infant massage, give resources for more info, and gives a quick how-to on infant massage.
• Chinese Infant Massage
  This site offers a video you can buy as well as general information and the history of Chinese Massage.
• Baby Your Little Baby: With the tender touch of infant massage
  Good short article on massage.

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