How to massage baby to relieve him and help him sleep better?

Performing massages regularly on your baby has many advantages, both for the well-being of the child and that of his parents. The small massages allow you to relax your muscles, stimulate your blood circulation, your immune system, promote your intestinal transit and help him fall asleep better. More peaceful, the child then feels less pain and can finally relax. Swithout forgetting contact with mum and dad, which is essential for toddlers. So many benefits to put into practice with the advice of Sophie Dumoutet, author of Baby massage guide (Larousse editions).

When to massage baby?

The baby massage is to be done when the child is relaxed and in an active phase, such as after the bath or before going to bed, for example. “It will be all the easier for you, but also for him, who will then associate the massage with serenity. If you massage him only when he is feeling bad, he will assimilate the massage to his discomfort. It is therefore also necessary to massage him when he is well, so that he understands that this is beneficial”explains Sophie Dumoutet.

Prioritize short sessions of 5 to 10 minutes, but regular, “especially when the baby is very small and increase with age, 5 additional minutes per month and not to exceed 20 minutes.”

“You have to massage baby when he is relaxed and well, so that he understands that it is beneficial.”

Before you start massaging baby, remove jewelry that could hurt baby and wash your hands. The room where the massage will take place must be well heated and quiet. Install your baby comfortably on a changing table, a bed or on the floor. When you massage baby, be sure to put a hand on him all the time. The gesture must be at the same time present, fluid and slow, as if in slow motion. During your movements, do not hesitate to sing or talk to him during this moment, it will reassure him. Here are some gestures to do according to the areas of the body:

• Legs : massage each leg with the inside of your hands. Go from groin to ankle while alternating hands. This relieves tension and promotes blood circulation.
• The feet : slide your thumbs one after the other on the ball of the foot, from the heel to the toes. Also massage each toe and then the heel with both thumbs. The feet are rich in nerve endings, so this massage is particularly beneficial.
• The belly : place your hands flat on the baby’s belly then bring them towards you, very gently, one hand after the other. This helps regulate transit, but also relieve gas and constipation.
• Arms : massage the arms with the palms of your hands without insisting too much if baby keeps them closed against him. You can also apply light pressure here and there.
• Hands : massage the fingers and the inside of the hands using your thumbs.
• The back : place baby flat on his stomach over a cushion or on your bent legs then massage him one hand after the other, gently, going down from the neck to the lower back. Then start again, this time going up towards the neck.

With which oil can we massage baby?

To massage baby, you can use natural oils, which have a relatively neutral smell, such as organic avocado oil, organic sesame oil. The top being camelina oil. Avoid sweet almond oil because of allergy risks. You can also use your usual moisturizer, without perfume or parabens, if it is the first massages.

When baby is constipated, his stools are hard and something is clogging up his digestive system. You can gently twist massage : “the baby is lying facing the parent, on his back. We will slide a hand under the back. We then slide it on the waist, then on the belly with the entire palm of the hand, pressing lightly, which makes it turn the baby’s pelvis, which turns a little to the side. We do the same thing with the other hand several times, alternating. Then we do the same thing on the other side”, she tells us. The twists promote digestion and stimulation of the intestines.

THE colic are common in toddlers. For massage, keeping the diaper, “ohnot fold your legs over your stomach, cross-legged, a bit like when the baby was in its mother’s womb: ankles crossed, knees drawn up. By holding the knees and the shins of the child, we make circles on the belly in the direction of clockwise, which will allow to massage his digestive sphere and to release any tensions “, says the specialist. You can also do it with your hands, or apply your warm hands to the child’s canister, to obtain a hot water bottle effect.

To help baby fall asleep, there’s nothing like a relaxing massage. The first massage that can be done is on the feet: “massaging the feet is quite simple. You just press and slide your fingers on the soles of your feet“. Then grab her thighs and run your fingers down her legs to her calves. Repeat these gestures several times until his legs are relaxed. The specialist also recommends back massageand in particular to caress him while carrying his baby against you.

Thanks to Sophie Dumoutet, author of Baby massage guide (Larousse editions) and How to soothe baby (Hatier editions).