massage for connection

Baby Massage for constipation, wind and gas

Baby Massage is extremely popular for relieving babies common digestive issues. The audible benefits of learning these simple strokes are often met with cries of surprise in my classes! I have witnessed countless successes with babies who have been constipated for days/weeks on end and the joy for parent and baby alike to be met with such sweet relief from painful trapped gas and wind.

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Try this short but effective massage routine in the video and please do let me know how you get on ♡ 


How does Baby Massage help?

♡ When babies cry or feed they can take in a lot of air. This air can become congested and stuck within the bowel. Once you have a few air bubbles in there they can form one large pocket of air that gives babies that uncomfortable hard tummy and tummy ache, characterised often by babies drawing their legs up towards their tummy to try and expel and move that air around. Our hands are trying to do the job of peristalsis, or the movement of food through babies bowel. So, mechanically we are moving air out of babies body with the massage strokes such as ‘I love you’ as demonstrated in the video.

♡ All babies have different development of the muscle in their gut wall that helps with the process of peristalsis. This may explain why some babies tend to suffer more from wind than others. When we massage we’re helping to bring all the blood to that muscle inside the gut wall, helping to bring nutrients and oxygen which it needs to strengthen and develop and therefore make the process of peristalsis more efficient.

♡ Massage helps to stimulate a main nerve called the ‘Vagus’ nerve which helps to control the rate of digestion. This nerve is not yet fully developed so with the massage we’re helping to encourage really good communication between the brain and the gut, so hopefully again, the process of peristalsis will be much smoother and much more efficient and therefore baby will get much less issues relating to wind becoming trapped within the tummy.


Before you start

♡ Imagine where the stomach and the intestines are on your babies tummy. Prepare to always be working in a clockwise direction. The main principles of tummy massage are to:

1. Move everything down.

2. Move everything towards the babies left hand side towards the end of the bowel.

♡  Please make sure you have waited around 45 minutes after your babies last feed to massage your babies tummy.

♡ Find a comfortable space on the floor, turn off the TV, your phone and feel free from any distractions.

♡  Feel confident that your baby is happy, well enough and ready to participate.

Practicing the strokes

♡  Make sure that you also feel happy and not stressed! Take a few deep breaths before you start. Shake out your arms and hands. Ask your baby if they would like a massage to soothe and relax them.

♡  Bring baby close to you so they can see you and feel safe.

♡ Use a sing-song voice with lots of encouragement and praise.

♡ Start slowly and gently on the tummy, see how babies tummy feels, it is hard or soft? If you feel you can, sink your fingers gradually in a little deeper. Always watch for babies signals to see if you need to stop.

When to practice and how often

♡ As a preventative to make sure those air bubbles aren’t having the opportunity to stick together and form those hard pockets of air - twice a day is very good if you can! This might be once in the morning (remember to leave 45 mins between feeds) and once in the afternoon. This will really help to get those air bubbles moving through the bowel as much as they possibly can throughout the day.

Essential oil use

If you feel you would like to and feel confident using Essential Oils, they can be very relieving for digestive issues and wonderfully supportive emotionally as well as physically. Essential oils must be used with caution, sparingly and never ingested.. Safe oils for babies are Lavender Lavandula angustifolia, Roman Chamomile Anthemis nobilis and Mandarin Citrus reticulata. Lavender in particular is amazing for calming and relaxing.. Roman Chamomile for relieving stomach cramps and pain and Mandarin for ‘fractious babies’. Oils must always be very high quality and organic if possible. Here in the UK, I recommend Neals Yard to ensure safety and quality. Electric steam diffusers are also a fantastic way to diffuse the oils into a room safely. If you would like advice on essential oil use please consult a qualified aromatherapist.

Research from the Touch Institute Miami into Lavender Oil for Babies:

Lavender bath oil reduces stress and crying and enhances sleep in very young infants.

Very young infants were given a bath with or without lavender-scented bath oil. The mothers in the lavender bath oil group were more relaxed, smiled and touched their infants more during the bath. Their infants looked at them a greater percentage of the bath time and cried less and spent more time in deep sleep after the bath. The cortisol levels of this group of mothers and infants significantly decreased, confirming the behavioral data showing increased relaxation of the mothers and their infants. These findings support a body of research showing the relaxing and sleep-inducing properties of lavender aroma*

Field, T., Cullen, C., Largie, S., Diego, M., Schanberg, S. & Kuhn, C. (2008).  Early Human Development, 84, 399-401.

*I have included this research out of interest but please be aware that Lavender Essential Oil in the bath could be ingested by your baby and must be monitored with caution. If you would like to try a bath with lavender oil - One or two drops maximum of Lavender EO must be mixed into a tablespoon of milk before adding into the bath. The fat in the milk disperses the oil so that the Lavender oil doesn’t ‘sit’ on the top of the bath water.

I really hope this helps. Please leave a comment if this video has been helpful or if you have had any success. Good luck!

Love Lucy ♡

Baby Massage for calming, soothing and sleep

Sleep is so different for everyone. What works for one baby won’t for another, but massage universally has a very calming, soothing effect and promotes a deeper, more quality sleep.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Try this short wind down routine in the video and I would love to know how you get on ♡ 


Research from the Touch Institute in Miami on Sleep:

Sleep problems in infants decrease following massage therapy. 

Infants and toddlers with sleep onset problems were given daily massages by their parents for 15 minutes prior to bedtime for one month. Based on parent diaries the massaged versus the control children (who were read bedtime stories) showed fewer sleep delay behaviors and had a shorter latency to sleep onset by the end of the study. Forty-five minute behavior observations by an independent observer also revealed more time awake, alert and active and more positive affect in the massaged children by the end of the study.

Field, T., & Hernandez-Reif, M., (2001). Early Child Development and Care, 168, 95-104.


How does Baby Massage help?

When babies are being massaged, they release oxytocin, the feel good ‘love’ hormone which calms, soothes and promotes sleep. Melatonin and serotonin, the sleep regulating hormones are increased, and cortisol the stress hormone is decreased. Massage also stimulates the vagus nerve which is responsible for all the resting and relaxation responses in the body.

Before you start

♡  Please make sure you have waited around 45 minutes after your babies last feed.

♡ Find a comfortable space on the floor, turn off the TV, your phone and feel free from any distractions.

♡  Feel confident that your baby is happy, well enough and ready to participate.

Practicing the strokes

♡  Make sure that you also feel happy and not stressed! Take a few deep breaths before you start. Shake out your arms and hands. Ask your baby if they would like a massage to soothe and relax them.

♡  Bring them close to you so they can see you and feel safe.

♡ Use a sing-song voice with lots of encouragement and praise.

♡ The slower and deeper* your massage stroke, the more calming and sleep inducing. A light and fast stroke will be stimulating.

*We never use deep strokes on babies. Start softly, gently and gradually sink your hands in a little deeper if you feel baby is allowing.

Essential oil use

If you feel you would like to and feel confident using Essential Oils, they can be very relieving for coldy symptoms and wonderfully supportive emotionally as well as physically. Essential oils must be used with caution, sparingly and never ingested.. Safe oils for babies are Lavender Lavandula angustifolia, Roman Chamomile Anthemis nobilis and Mandarin Citrus reticulata. Lavender in particular is amazing for encouraging and promoting sleep. Roman Chamomile for relieving pain and Mandarin for ‘fractious babies’. Oils must always be very high quality and organic if possible. Here in the UK, I recommend Neals Yard to ensure safety and quality. Electric steam diffusers are also a fantastic way to diffuse the oils into a room safely. If you would like advice on essential oil use please consult a qualified aromatherapist.

Research from the Touch Institute Miami into Lavender Oil for Babies:

Lavender bath oil reduces stress and crying and enhances sleep in very young infants.

Very young infants were given a bath with or without lavender-scented bath oil. The mothers in the lavender bath oil group were more relaxed, smiled and touched their infants more during the bath. Their infants looked at them a greater percentage of the bath time and cried less and spent more time in deep sleep after the bath. The cortisol levels of this group of mothers and infants significantly decreased, confirming the behavioral data showing increased relaxation of the mothers and their infants. These findings support a body of research showing the relaxing and sleep-inducing properties of lavender aroma*

Field, T., Cullen, C., Largie, S., Diego, M., Schanberg, S. & Kuhn, C. (2008).  Early Human Development, 84, 399-401.

*I have included this research out of interest but please be aware that Lavender Essential Oil in the bath could be ingested by your baby and must be monitored with caution. If you would like to try a bath with lavender oil - One or two drops maximum of Lavender EO must be mixed into a tablespoon of milk before adding into the bath. The fat in the milk disperses the oil so that the Lavender oil doesn’t ‘sit’ on the top of the bath water.

I really hope this helps. Please leave a comment if this video has helped or if you have had any success. Thank your so much and good luck!

Love Lucy ♡





Baby Yoga for colic, constipation, gas and wind

Babies suffering with colic and painful trapped gas and wind will find relief through the combination of stretches and movements in Baby Yoga. Babies with tummy pain often prefer the Yoga movements over the massage as they find it less intense.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Have a go with this short video tutorial and I would love to know how you get on ♡ 


How does Baby Yoga help?

 Babies take in a lot of air when they feed or cry and the air can get trapped in the bowel. Once you have a few air bubbles stuck in the bowels, they tend to form large pockets of air that gives babies that uncomfortable hard tummy, characterised often by babies drawing their legs up towards their tummy to try and expel the gas. Doing these movements with them, we are mechanically moving the air out of babies body.

Precautions

♡  Please consider waiting for your babies 6 week check before practicing baby yoga.

♡  If you have any concerns with your babies hips please clear with your GP before trying these stretches.

Before you start

♡  Please make sure you have waited around 45 minutes after your babies last feed to practice this sequence of movements.

♡ Find a comfortable space on the floor, turn off the TV, your phone and feel free from any distractions.

♡  Feel confident that your baby is happy, well and ready to participate. Things to consider: Are they making eye-contact, making happy cooing noises, do they seem playful?

Practicing the movements

♡  Make sure that you also feel happy and not stressed! Take a few deep breaths before you start. Shake out your arms and hands. Ask your baby if they are ready to try some fun yoga moves to help them feel better.

♡  Bring them close to you so they can see you and feel safe.

♡ Use a sing-song voice with lots of encouragement and praise. Try the song! They love to hear you singing.

♡  Only take the movements as far as baby wants to. If you come up against resistance, bounce the legs gently saying ‘relax’ and try again. All babies have different flexibility, if at any time they are uncomfortable please stop and try again another day!

When to practice and how often

♡ As a preventative to make sure those air bubbles aren’t having the opportunity to stick together and form those hard pockets of air - twice a day is very good if you can! This might be once in the morning (remember to leave 45 mins between feeds) and once in the afternoon. This will really help to get those air bubbles moving through the bowel as much as they possibly can throughout the day.

I really hope this helps. Please let me know if you have had any success. Good luck!

Love Lucy ♡