Who doesn't love a massage? My fellow doula Christine, that's who!
Most people do though, and babies are no exception.
Environment: The room should be warm and quiet, with very few distractions. We always massaged our babies right after bath, before bedtime.
Materials: We used lavender or grapeseed oils. They are soothing and have a calming scent.
Method: Touch should be gentle (but not light and ticklish). Use your fingertips to gently stroke upwards over her cheeks, forehead and chin, gently circling her eyes, ears, nose and mouth.
Next, massage your baby's arms. Start by circling them at the shoulder, before moving down his arms to his wrists. Gently use your fingertips on his palms.
Moving on to your baby's legs, use your whole hand to massage in an upward direction, gently bringing your child's knees up to her tummy (this can help to relieve colic and gas pains). Use your fingertips to massage circles on your baby's feet.
At your baby's tummy, use gentle circles in a clockwise direction starting at his belly button, and gradually increase the size of the circles.
Finally, use your palms to sweep slowly and gently along your baby's back up to her shoulders. Do not massage her spine.
Once you have finished your infant massage session, dress your baby and make sure he is comfortable. If your baby seems distressed at any time, or does not appear to be enjoying his massage, stop and comfort him, and try infant massage again another time.
Here is a great picture of some massage points on your baby's foot. Try it...your baby will probably love it :)
We are going to have TONS of awesome breastfeeding posts here, so we will break them down into nice small chunks and we'll start with milk supply.
At times, mommies are unnecessarily alarmed about their milk supply. At first your girls are big and hard and constantly dripping milk. After a week or two, these things more or less level out, and Mommy is freaking a bit, thinking she's lost her milk...not to worry! Soft, non-leaky breasts are more productive in the milk supply and let down department.
That being said...if you know you have a milk supply issue, here are some tips:
- Pump 30 minutes after every nursing session
- Let baby meet all of his sucking needs at the breast. Avoid bottles or pacifiers.
- If you had milk supply problems with your past babies, consider having your placenta encapsulated. Studies show that taking in minerals and nutrients from your placenta improves mlk production and quality. See our facebook page for more placenta benefits http://www.facebook.com/PinkLotusBirthServices
- Make sure baby is latched properly---BIG open mouth with nipple WAY in the back..almost at the throat!
- Switch nurse. Switch sides 3 or more times during each feeding, every time that baby falls asleep, switches to “comfort” sucking, or loses interest.
- And most important: Take care of Mom. Rest, hydration and relaxation are HUGE!
We are Christine and Ashley.....two doula's that want to help support families, and empower women so they can truly take control of their pregnancy and births! With this blog, we will share what we do (because we love it), update you with some pregnancy and early mommyhood tips and tricks, and talk about everything baby!!
