Infant Massage
A tool I will teach you that can improve the quality of parenting and family life and promote well-being for the baby
Note: available only if you live in S. Lake Tahoe
Of all the senses, touch is the first to become functional. The skin is actually an organ, like the heart, and very nearly as important. Touch is first stimulated in the uterus as the little one rocks and floats gently through 9 months. During birth, the rhythmical strong contractions of labor provide massive stimulation to the infant’s skin and other organs. Infant massage is a program designed to perpetuate the stimulation of the skin which was started before and during birth. Massaging will nourish a baby emotionally, enhancing communication and bonding between the parent and child. The infant’s respiratory, circulatory and gastro-intestinal functions will be regulated and strengthened. You might ask , why would an infant have tension? Being born means leaving the soft, warm, moist and soothing environment that is familiar and entering into this cold, bright world and all its unknown experiences. This can be quite distressing, even for a baby without specific problems. Massage helps to make this transition a more loving and caring one for both baby and parents. It is an excellent way to foster bonding as well as instilling confidence in first-time, adoptive and foster parents. Infants continue to hold stress in their limbs as they grow, as literally, every moment becomes a learning session. Massage initially helps the baby to relax and to release accumulated tension. As they grow it helps them to know how to do that for themselves in stressful situations.
Infant massage instruction is a primary care-giver course - for parents, grandparents, adoptive or foster parents that includes
Relaxation techniques for the care-giver
Simple meditations to do with the baby
Theory and practice of infant massage
How to adapt massage as the child grows older
How to use massage with babies that are colicky, premature or ill