Knowing your baby is in pain is a stressful and heart-wrenching situation that all parents find themselves in at some point. Having the tools to identify what is wrong and how to help, through baby massage, for example, is so powerful, as Anna discovered when her newborn suffered from the excruciating wind.
I love to teach baby massage; I especially love when I see first-hand how families benefit from practising massage regularly. Now it isn’t all butterflies and fairies in class and there are often times when the babies are particularly unsettled and prone to tears. One family who experienced this first-hand but managed to come out much better on the other side shared their story with me.
Anna and Nhyira’s Baby Massage Journey
Here’s a little background detail. Anna and her baby Nhyira (pronounced En-Shra) started coming to baby massage in January 2018. Anna was desperate to find a solution to Nhyira’s agonising wind. She did one public class and then dropped out of the 5-week course. Nhyira seemed very uncomfortable with her wind and began to cry halfway through the class.
Overwhelmed with emotions as a first-time mother the pressure became too much for Anna in the group environment. I invited them to come back for the following term and advised them to practise little and often at home between the courses. I interviewed them a few months after they completed their second five-week course with me and the transformation was incredible!
I thought it was definitely worth sharing this interview to help others discover the benefits of baby massage.
Ten questions with a sleep-deprived, anxious mother about her baby massage experience
What made you want to try baby massage?
‘When we first brought her home from hospital she was all scrunched up in a little ball all the time and looked red. I couldn’t work out what was wrong. I noticed she would be this way especially when she needed the toilet, so I looked online for solutions. I didn’t want to give her medicine and much preferred the idea of helping naturally. Then I found baby massage and it seemed like a really good way to do that as well as bonding. I hadn’t heard of it before I looked online.’
How old was your baby at the time?
‘She must have been just about five or six weeks at the time I started the first course. Then when we started again she was around ten weeks.’
Did you have any expectations for the course?
‘More just HOPE rather than expectations that it would help her a little bit.’
Did it meet your expectations?
‘Far excelled not only with her gas, which was a nice by-product but also (baby massage) became such a big thing of what we do together now. Massage has given her body awareness. If she has a tummy ache, she will now rub her tummy so I know it is hurting and it is generally less red these days.
It’s been amazing for both connections, the way she looks at me melts my heart. It’s also really built my confidence. You would think it would be instinctual how to help or touch your baby but it didn’t come naturally to me. The love part was but the practical touching wasn’t. I was so scared I would break her. After seeing in class what you do (how you can move your baby) you realise you won’t break them. She is now more confident with me touching her.’
What did you enjoy the most?
‘As soon as I had done it, it removed the panic from me when she was hurting, it gave me something I could do to make her feel better, she became a different child, it was magical really. I went from having a really unhappy baby where nothing I was doing could make it better and suddenly I did!
When unhappy she wouldn’t rest, she kept waking and would only sleep on me or her dad, which meant that we weren’t functioning properly.
It wasn’t instantaneous but after a few hours later. She’s so much better now. Sleeps for longer, all gas out.’
Do you know what would give her an upset stomach?
‘She’s greedy, she would guzzle and make a funny little piggy sound as she drank, wanting to eat so quickly. She didn’t eat well at first so once she learned how to latch, she guzzled.
If I don’t massage each night or not properly, or if dad does it and misses a bit out, she won’t sleep so well. The gas will wake her up. She has around a 30-minute massage every night.
I used to wake at 3am every morning to give her a massage in anticipation of her strain. I don’t need to do it now as her stomach is good enough with one before bed.
When we do massage she will fart A LOT. When I turn her around to do her back it all comes out like clockwork. Before massage, it could have been days before she could pass wind or poo.’
Who would you say the course is for (people who want to make friends, want to learn a skill, those with a poorly baby, sleep troubles)?
‘If you haven’t heard of baby massage before and think it sounds all airy-fairy and silly, with a bunch of hippies lighting candles, in reality, it is not. We’ve had so much fun and it’s been great for our bonding. I’d recommend, even if you’re sceptical it is worth giving it a go as you can get so much out of the classes.’
When was the best time of day for you to massage?
‘We always do it as part of the bedtime routine because of her wind and constipation. It was two a day for a while (7pm and 3am).’
How often would you do it?
‘Every night.’
Do you still massage now?
‘YES!’
What do you rate the course?
‘5 out of 5. If I could start over and do it again, without a doubt I would. I wouldn’t have stopped the first time either. I felt uncomfortable as she was upset and in pain.’
Casey - ‘maybe it was okay to wait because she may have been so bunged up and congested with poop that it would have made you feel more anxious each time you were in class trying to massage, uncertain if she would become upset again. It’s great that you kept up practising at home in her happy and safe space and did it little and often until she felt well enough to have more of a massage.
It is better to do one minute of massage with a baby when they’re happy and want to be massaged than the whole routine with a baby that is too uncomfortable or has other needs that they need to be met at that time. You know your baby best and you made the right decision for you both. I am so pleased you kept at it and what a beautiful result you have had!’
The Benefits of Baby Massage
It was so amazing to see how, in such a short time, Anna could help ease her baby’s wind and constipation without the need for medicine. However, she got so much more out of the course than just helping Nhyia’s tummy. If your little one suffers from tummy upsets and you’d like to try massage, make sure you contact me today to discuss your needs.
