Infant Massage

There is no question that touch, and massage in particular, provides the opportunity for parents to spend some close, relaxing time with their baby. Here are some tips on how to give your baby a massage.

1. After a bath and right before sleep is a good time to gently stroke your baby.
2. Use the pads of your fingers and apply pressure to avoid tickling. (Tickling is unpleasant to the very young infant.)
3. Begin the massage with your baby lying on her back with you positioned in front of her.
4. Start with gentle strokes to the face and head, being careful to avoid the fontanel (the two soft spots on the top of your baby's head).
5. Move down the torso and rub the arms and legs.
6. You can also turn your baby on his stomach to give a back massage. Move from broad, sweeping strokes to fine finger movements. End with an easy rocking motion.
7. About 10 minutes of massage, two to three times each day is enough.
8. Continue giving your infant massages for at least 2 or 3 weeks. There's no reason why you can't continue to massage your baby for a year or two.