Baby massage

By no means solely used on babies, baby massage relies on especially gentle strokes for promoting general health and happiness. 

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Have a prenatal massage if your baby happens to take a nap directly on your sciatic nerve. 

Fifteen minutes later I was lying on a massage table as a tribal elder named Papa Joe, an enormous man with a thick dark beard and bad teeth, pushed and prodded at my belly, assisted by a woman named Anna, who said she was a former nurse at high-risk births. Eventually Papa Joe placed my hand on the baby s head, which I previously had felt somewhere to the right of my navel. It was now underneath my sternum—on its way somewhere, but where I burst into tears. 

Pure carrier oils or fixed vegetable oils should always be used for aromatherapy massage. Baby oils, which are mineral oils, are not suitable they act as skin protectors and moisturizers, holding water in the skin. This makes it more difficult for the essential oil to enter the body by this route. 

When applying eye ointment to a child it is best to either wrap the child tightly in a blanket to minimise wriggling or ask someone else to hold the child. If the child is cooperative, either tilt the child s head back or lie the child flat on its back. Then continue as above. If the child refuses to blink, the ointment can be distributed by gently massaging the lower lid. Anecdotally, some parents have found that they can successfully apply the ointment while a baby is sleeping and find this is the easiest method. 

Human studies suggest that oxytocin levels are elevated by massage and by close intimacy, whether cuddling or by intercourse. Oxytocin is implicated in the mother-baby relationships, and in the very action of falling in love. You might say that it adds a whole new meaning to the phrase chemical bonding . For this reason it s often referred to as the love hormone . 

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