In the small areas use your fingertips. In bigger
areas use the palm of your hand. "Little strokes" mean to touch your
baby's skin gently and "massage" is to softly move the
muscles under the skin.
Step by Step Description |
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The head
- Touch the forehead, temples and the
base of the cranium
- Eyebrows and eyelids
- Nose
- Cheeks
- The area around the mouth
- Ears and surrounding area
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Jaws
- The frontal part of the neck
(Remember doing this very gently)
- Make small strokes and massage the posterior part of
the neck with slow movements down to the shoulders.
- Softly put both hands on his/her shoulders. Caress
the baby from the neck to the shoulders in the direction
of his chest.
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Shoulders and arms
- Form a ring with your fingers and thumb around your child's
arm. Begin to caress around the armpit and then go down
along the arm. Be very careful when you arrive at the elbow,
it
is a very sensitive region.
- In the wrist you can gently
practice turning motions using.
- Remember to take great
care with all
these motions.
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Stomach & Legs
- Massage the stomach in a circular way
(the genitalia area is excluded from the massage).
- Caress
the abdomen moving your
hands clockwise beginning below the ribs.
- Caress each leg with your whole hand, press gently on the
thighs.
- Slightly flex the legs and knees pressing the
thighs gently against the body.
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Heels and feet
- A foot massage is very relaxing. Begin by putting a soft
pressure on each toe, then the foot and return to the toes
again.
- Sometimes a foot massage can help reduce stomach pain.
- Caress gently all the toes. Apply circular movements
at the heels.
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Back
Turn your baby around.
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Begin with large and slow movements
that include head, neck, back and legs always in one direction.
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Give
your baby soft strokes on the shoulders and back and
massaging with your fingertips with circular movements.
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Do not massage
the spinal cord, only put your hands over it and
let the baby feel the warm sensation.
-
You can even make
small
circular
movements
on your baby's back.
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Put your hands at the top of the legs and begin
gently caressing while working your way down
towards the
foot.
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- When you arrive to the feet start again from the top. With
soft and slow movements finish the massage starting once again
at the head and back to the toes.
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REMEMBER
- Repeat these exercises when you want to have
a few special moments with your baby.
- Do them when you
have adequate time for you and your child.
- Do not feel
impatient if the baby does not cooperate...simply try
again later.
Finally: There are many ways to express your love, this
is ONLY ONE of them...
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