From "The New Book of Baby & Child Massage" by Robert Toporek
For a newborn baby, your massage should take no more than 5-10 minutes. A great way for child to begin life is with a massage right after birth. What better way for parents to bond with their baby than to have the experience of loving contact immediately?
Here's how to proceed. Take a bottle of
mineral oil into the delivery area. Then, after
all that needs to be done for your baby from
an obstetric point of view is completed, find a
warm and somewhat quiet area, and sit down
in a comfortable chair. Put your baby on your
lap, unwrap him and then put some oil on your
hands, rub your hands together to warm them
and the oil.
Next, gently put one
hand on your baby's
abdomen just above the
belly button and just let
it sit there for a moment,
allowing yourself to
become one with your
baby's rhythm.
Gently begin to move
your hand up the abdomen toward the heart
area, then to the shoulder. Do the same thing
on the left side with your left hand. Repeat this
process but this time reach around towards
the shoulder and down the arm. You will be
very gently stimulating blood flow into all parts
of their upper body.
With more oil on your hands, put them on
one of the legs, palms down. Allow yourself to
feel your baby's muscles. Then gently begin
stroking down the leg, first on the thigh, then
the knees, then the lower leg. Next cup the
ankle and foot in your hands and then let go.
Repeat the same procedure on the other leg.
All the while you should be talking to your
baby, reassuring him and welcoming him to
the world.
Next, put a little oil on your fingertips and
very gently, with your thumbs, massage the
face by gently stroking and ever so lightly
stretching. To finish, put one hand on your
baby's abdomen and the other under his
bottom and ease him down gently.
Give him a huge hug and kiss and
congratulate him out loud for finishing his first
massage. He'll start to associate the sound
of your voice with what was just a loving
experience.
Like what you're reading?
Download the full preview here!
To learn more about the author, visit http://www.newbabymassage.com