photo by beemermom

After I bathe my baby, I usually give her a little rubdown with Burt's Bees Baby Bee Apricot Baby Oil to keep her skin soft and smooth and smelling nice. I've been doing it ever since she was born and she really seems to like it. I wasn't aware of the real benefits of massaging her until I came across an interesting article about Irma Sanic, a woman who teaches parents how to massage their babies.

Sanic says the benefits of baby massage are many and include:

  1. Relaxation (it reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol)
  2. Relief from discomfort caused by constipation, gas, and colic
  3. Improved blood circulation
  4. Stimulation of brain development and sensory awareness
  5. Improved sleeping pattern

Wow! I had no idea our little post-bath ritual was doing such wonders for my little one. According to the International Loving Touch Foundation, which offers a training program in infant massage, it's never to late to begin massaging your child, whether he or she is a newborn or several years old. And it's easy to do. You can find step-by-step instructions on how to massage your baby's front and back at 101lifestye.com or you can check out one of Loving Touch's instructional baby massage videos and DVDs. Just keep the massage between 20 and 30 minutes and use natural cold-pressed or organic oils. (Avoid mineral oil-based lotions, peanut oil and baby powder because babies put their hands in their mouths.)

Do you massage your baby?