My first ever blog, on my first ever website, for my first ever business. What could possibly go wrong?!
If you don’t mind, I’ll ease myself in gently, talking about how Baby Massage helped us navigate those first few months. The early days of being a new parent were all that I had imagined; cuddles, naps and oh so much love, but they could also be a bit fuzzy, tiring and sometimes lonely – even with a lot of people around me.
Now of course baby massage is full of amazing benefits for your baby, but I’m going to start with the benefits I experienced and hopefully you; the parent, reading this will too. You’ve put in the hours, you’ve cleaned up the ever-changing spectrum of poops, you’ve spent nights watching a full rotation of QVC and you know what? You deserve some benefits too! People say it over and again; if we don’t look after ourselves, how can we look after our children? If I’m honest it’s not something I’d even thought about and I very much hold my hands up in saying that giving myself permission for self-care is something I am still learning to do. I found baby massage a great place to start, it provided a calm environment (even when babies were crying – no, really!) with parents going through the same thing. I had the time to take a deep breath and relax and even though I didn’t know them to begin with, I met some great people who became friends. Having a weekly class to go to really helped when I didn’t know what day it was, and knowing that turning up late wasn’t a problem was hugely reassuring (and in reality, was to be expected when those poo explosions happen!). What I’m trying to say is the courses led to a calm mummy and happy baby.
For me, one of the most important things was finding a way to communicate with Teddy. Touch really is our first form of communication (Leboyer) and what a lovely way to do it. With baby massage you’re learning a routine while also looking at, and interacting with your baby for the whole time; sharing smiles and songs and knowing, for that half hour, it’s time for just you and them. It created such a special bond and, in this I have no doubt, helped Teddy and I figure each other out! Seeing his little smiles whilst having his legs massaged (his favourite bit incidentally!) brought us both so much joy and provided memories that will stay with me forever.
For Teddy baby massage had a major physical impact, it brought relief from the dreaded trapped wind. This was huge for all of us as his poor tummy would cause all sorts of issues, not least the consistent night waking. Don’t get me wrong, Baby Massage isn’t your golden ticket to a full 12 hour stretch but it definitely helped. Parents I have worked with have found baby massage to be great for the bed time routine leading to calm, relaxed and ultimately snoozy babies, which is all we can ask for in that age-old battle of Parent vs. Sleep. I continue to use relaxing massage with Teddy now, adapting the routines to fit a very mobile toddler!
All in all I can’t recommend baby massage highly enough. Yes, I may be biased but I hope to be able to help other parents find the benefits for them and their baby.
Plus if it might help them to sleep… well it’s a no brainer right?!
Sian x
If you’d like more information on the benefits of baby massage or on how the classes work please contact me on sian@bristolbabymassage.com