How to massage my newborn baby

Hello! My newborn baby—he’s two months old now—has cramps frequently in stomach… and therefore he’s crying all the time. I don’t know what to do, so I’ve started reading here on the internet and I found several websites saying that there exist also massages for babies —something like “infant massages”—, so I was wondering if you could give be further info on this matter. Cramps start especially when I nurse him, is this normal? In case all this was true, please how could I massage my baby carefully?

Thanks!!

Hello C. Kimbrough,

It has been proved that massaging your newborn is highly beneficial for them. Among the many positive side effects, I’d like to highlight the following: increase in baby’s weight gain, improvement of baby neurological development, diminished amount of necessary hospitalization days, it can be a wonderful way to bond, massages produce an analgesic effect and eases the process of digestion.

Thus, by massaging your baby, it is true that you can prevent those cramps produced by breastfeeding you are mentioning. An example of infant massage is that type in which you put light pressure while massaging his stomach in circular movements, in a clockwise direction. Back or neck massages may be also beneficial for the baby, as well as placing a temperate-warm towel onto his abdominal area.

Hope this helps and your baby feels way better soon 🙂

My dear, ‘infant massages’ do really work. It helped my baby to get over the back issue and pain when she was 2 months old. If I were in your shoes, I would not do it myself, but let the professionals do their work. The infant’s body is so vulnerable and easy to hurt. You can harm the baby’s body with no intention to do so… There are so many services nowadays, just give it a try and ask Google. But be careful and never do it yourself at that early age.

Hello C. Kimbrough,

Massage is an art that intact you and your baby. Two months baby will generally have soft skin and organs. Massaging works outs well in digestion, circulation, weight gain. You told that he has often abdominal cramps after nursing. It may be due to the abdominal muscle weakness. You may massage on the abdominal muscle with a gentle strokes up and down. The smooth strokes from your hands manipulate the relaxing hormone Oxytocin that gives your baby a warm, good feel. Do start your gentle massage when your baby is awake and in a good mood. Do not initiate before nap. It is suggested to do massage after a bath and before a bedtime feed. Try to apply some baby moisturizers, vegetable oil, which is rich in Linoleic acid in your hand so that the baby may not feel hardness. If you are still skeptical in the massaging method, better consult a pediatric massage therapist, learn the technique and do yourself.