The goal of baby massage is to make your little one feel comfortable and familiar with your touch. Generally, infant massage is suitable from birth, but most parents prefer to attend classes when their baby is between 4 and 6 weeks old. This is because before this age, although babies love the nourishing touch, being in a class can be overwhelming for them. That said, there are some cases where babies aged 2-3 weeks have attended sessions.
It's also important to keep in mind that first-time parents may find it difficult to commit to a set weekly event. The earliest age for classes is 4 weeks, and many babies start around 6 weeks. During these classes, you will learn children's rhymes, stretching exercises and a game to play with your little one. All of these activities are taught by a certified infant massage instructor and the class welcomes newborns up to 5 months of age.
Many parents choose to attend massage classes for their babies when they are only a few weeks old. This is because touch is the first sense that your baby develops (McClure, 201), so parents know that babies will be able to participate in massage classes unlike other sensory sessions. Studies have also shown that nutritive contact in infants younger than 6 weeks can reduce crying. The relaxed atmosphere and emphasis on supporting parents also mean that these classes are an easy introduction to the world of baby activities.
Some parents find the oil used during massage too messy, while other parents use it to help reduce friction from the skin during massage. However, if your little one hasn't started crawling yet, taking an older baby to class can have many benefits. Parents who attend the class with a newborn will continue to learn all the smooth movements and go home with diagrams to help them remember everything, so they can offer the massage at home when the baby is awake, alert and ready for it. It met all my expectations, from knowing nothing about baby massage to where I am now more than confident and full of the knowledge I need to teach baby massage. Babies have a very powerful sense of smell, so perfumed or essential oils may be too strong for them and will simply annoy them.
Baby massage groups can easily bring the fun to a cafe or restaurant after class to continue the conversation and enjoy lunch together. Massages can also help relieve muscle tension, growing pains and teething discomfort, as well as stimulate the growth of premature babies. Babies who are very young will definitely have a very short attention span for massage and are less likely to get a lot of massage during the class session, as they will sleep and feed much of the day. A baby massage class should make you feel more relaxed, more confident that you can trust your own heart, and more confident that you will learn everything you need to know about your own baby. Parents are their own child's experts and your baby will teach you what he likes, so you can adapt strokes, how much pressure, how many times you repeat them, the order in which you go, the parts of the body to start and finish with or focus on, and all that to what suits your baby and you.
