Right from birth, our instincts crave contact, the warmth and security of a mother's arms, or a father's protective embrace. Most people's reaction to a baby is to want to touch it, or kiss it, to stroke its soft cheek. We all feel the need for reaching out to others, and for others to reach out to us.
Babies and children can derive special benefits from massage, and other healthy and appropriate physical contact. Premature babies who receive several short massages daily do better than their counterparts who do not. They gain weight faster, develop faster, and are ready to go home sooner. Full term babies also benefit from regular massage. Babies are very active little people, as busy in their own way as any athlete. They wave their arms and kick their feet, constantly exercising and working their muscles. And, like any athlete, they benefit from a soothing massage after all their strenuous working out. A good time for massage for your baby or young child is right after bath time. For infants and toddlers, the massage doesn't have to be longer than ten minutes or so. You can dust your hands with baby powder or cornstarch so your hands don't stick to baby's tender skin, and just stroke firmly, but gently. Start with baby lying on her tummy and use your whole palm to stroke from the top of the shoulders down the back, and across the buttocks. Those little muscles work hard moving the legs, and need to be addressed. Do this several times, even continuing the stroke all the way down to the feet.
Now turn baby over to lie on his back and begin at the chest and move down across the belly several times, then move into a clockwise movement over the belly. This is following the natural movement through the large intestine, and can help to relieve gas pains associated with colic.
After the chest and abdomen are done, hold one of baby's arms in your hand, and use your fingers to knead the muscles for a few seconds, then use your free hand to stroke lightly from wrist to shoulder a couple of times. Repeat this for the other arm. Now you can do the same for the leg, although you might want to hold the leg in one hand and knead and stroke with the
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