Infant Massage

Today, Braylon and I went to our first baby massage class. The hospital where I delivered him, UNMH, conducts the class for free every other Wednesday. My friend Carmen had told me how much her daughter loves to be massaged and then now that she is older she will tell you how she likes it and even brings the lotion to you. I have also read that they are great for calming the baby down, helping with digestive issues, colds and so much more. I could not pass the opportunity up to learn how to do this. I am glad that the hospitals here have so many resources available. The class was an hour long and when over the different types of oils to use, when to massage and when not to and how to know if your baby is not enjoying the massage. An hour is a long time for Braylon's attention span and so we took a few breaks to keep him calm. Most of it he seemed to enjoy. We were told upon leaving that the babies might sleep longer today as massages help them relax and sooth. Well, let me say I can already see this working for us. Braylon fell asleep in the carseat on the ride home and is currently still asleep in the seat right now! No, no, no that was not a type-o. He was not screaming and crying on the drive home, he was SLEEPING! I cannot believe it! For those who do not know, Braylon hates his carseat and screams bloody murder the entire time in it. I have feeling that for long car rides it will now being with a massage and a feed and fingers crossed that he will sleep once again in the seat. All in all, the class was great. They gave us a nice cute new blanket and a bunch of hand outs to remember when we learned. Plus I can go back whenever I want, as many times as needed, to get more help with it. The ladies leading it even said that when they are there a second time the babies do much better with it all. I am looking forward to giving him a mini massage tonight to help him sleep a little longer for me.