Thursday, November 17, 2011

3 Steps to a Successful Nighttime Baby Massage


There's nothing better than a baby who sleeps through the night, but as many of you know, getting your baby ready for bed begins long before bedtime comes.

I've always had babies that slept well & straight through the night early on. I would give them a nice, warm bath, followed by a good massage, some warm jammies, some snuggle time mixed with a full feeding, & off to bed they'd go. Ahhh, makes me ready for bed just thinking about it.

For me, the massage was key. Babies play all day, kicking & squirming, & by giving them a relaxing massage after a nice calming bath always helped to settle mine down quickly.

So today, I want to give you instructions on how to relax your little one with a bedtime massage.

1. Get your supplies ready

Put a blanket or towel under your baby & have your massage oil nearby. Make sure it's warm in the room. You don't want your little nudist to get too cold!

2. Start at the top & work your way down
  • Start by rubbing a little oil on your finger tips & gently rubbing it over babies forehead, nose, cheeks, & chin. Work your way down to her neck next making sure to focus on the back of it especially if she's learning to hold her head up.
  • Next move down to her shoulders & arms using a gentle but firm downward rub all the way to her fingertips. Make sure you have enough oil so that your hands slid across her skin.
  • Now go back to her chest & work your way down to her belly using small circles. Roll her over onto her tummy if she'll tolerate it & do the same thing to her back before rolling her back over. If she doesn't like being on her belly, now is not the time for tummy training. The point of the massage is to relax her.
  • Lastly you're going to start at the top of her legs & work your way down to her toes using the same downward rub you used on her arms. If you want you can stop & focus on her feet using small circles on her soles, it's totally up to her.
3. Finishing touches

Now all that's left is to get her dressed & finish up her bedtime routine.

Not only will this massage help relax your baby, but using the oil will be beneficial to her skin by providing it with nutrients & making it super soft.

So I hope you give this a try with your baby. These are the instructions that come with my Herbal Baby Oil in my shop & it would make a great baby shower gift or stocking stuffer!

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