Birth, Baby!

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Welcome, this is Birth, Baby.

Your hosts are Ciarra Morgan and Samantha Kelly.

Ciarra is a birth doula, hypnobirthing educator and pediatric sleep consultant.

Samantha is a birth doula, childbirth educator and lactation counselor.

Join us as we guide you through your options for your pregnancy, birth and postpartum journey.

Today, we're talking with Melanie of Baby Strokes Infant, Child Massage.

She's going to help us understand the benefits of infant and child massage, and she's a registered nurse, certified infant massage instructor, and certified pediatric massage therapist.

She offers both parent and professional education in infant massage and newborn care, and she also offers in-home massage for children over one year of age.

So that's really cool.

Thanks so much for being here with us today, Melanie.

Thank you very much for having me.

I'm so excited to be here.

So tell us, what is Baby Strokes and how did it come to be?

Great question.

Baby Strokes is the name I gave to my company, which actually I started, believe it or not, in the year 2000.

I'll tell you how it came to be first, then it'll make more sense.

But my background is in pediatric and neonatal nursing.

And for my continuing education credits, I did a course in infant massage back in 2000.

And I absolutely fell in love with the practice of infant massage.

I hadn't known anything about it beforehand.

So after I'd been through this course, I thought, well, I'm going to put this into practice and start teaching families.

But honestly, I was so busy with my nursing career, I didn't really get time to put my energy into it.

So we kind of fast forward almost how many years.

And I had my own son, James, quite late in life.

And as an older mother, I stopped working full time.

And I still wanted to do something to keep that connection with mothers, fathers, babies.

And so then I thought, well, this is the perfect time to start building baby strokes.

So that's kind of how, you know, in a nutshell, how I came about doing that.

And what Baby Strokes really is, it's a small company.

And I offer classes, a different range of classes in infant massage.

And the real goal, my mission, my philosophy is really to teach parents and professionals how beneficial baby massage, infant massage, even pediatric, obviously, as our babies grow and develop, how beneficial it is for our children as well as for ourselves.

So it's a big, really part of what I do is teaching, is education.

And then, of course, I teach parents how to offer the massage to their own babies and children.

Just in a lot of different learning styles are covered within Baby Strokes.

But that's kind of what my mission is and what I do with the company.

You know, when I had my daughter 13 years ago now, 13 and a half years ago, I was living in a military town and her father is retired military.

And when we were there, they had all these classes that they offered for free to military personnel and their families.

And so when I was, you know, having a newborn at home and I wasn't working and kind of had time to kind of do these little classes and things, one of the ones they had available to us was Infant Massage class.

And I really enjoyed it because you brought your baby there.

It was such a connection opportunity.

You know, when we do so many things around the day where we're just like walking around and going through the motions.

But when you're sitting there and massaging your baby, you're looking at your baby and you're making eye contact and doing all these things.

And the biggest takeaway from it, and I still use it to this day, even with clients, is it really can help so much with gas.

And my daughter, every time I did this one little I love you stroke that they taught us, it worked every time.

And so I use that with client babies all the time.

So can you tell us a little bit about what the benefits of infant and child massage are and kind of what types of situations it can help with?

Yes.

I actually think that the best benefit of all is just having that one on one connection with your baby or growing child.

So you've got bonding, connecting, communicating with your babies and children.

And just really, sometimes we're all so busy and we're caught up in social media and the news and everything else.

And it kind of gives us permission to take a break and just have, just like you mentioned, that one on one time.

So for me, that is just a given, is bonding, connection, communication.

But massage has actually been shown to offer some other benefits.

For example, relaxation.

And that might sound a little funny with babies, but it's actually shown that when you massage your baby, there's a drop in cortisol, which is our stress hormone, not only in the babies, but also in the parents during the massage.

So that's a lovely benefit.

Sleep massage also can help babies sleep deeper and longer with fewer wake periods.

So a lot of times if babies are really exhausted after a massage, they'll fall asleep and have a really nice deep sleep.

And then another benefit, which is what you were talking about, is really using massage to help with pain release, discomfort.

For example, a tummy massage is really helpful and there are a lot of different strokes you can do.

I must mention the I Love You is my favorite stroke, so it's interesting you bring that one up, but that are really helpful in supporting your baby's digestive system and actually helping them to kind of expel gas.

If baby's are colicky, it can help with that and also constipation too, so some simple strokes around the tummy are very helpful for that.

But also I teach parents massage for help with nasal congestion, you know, often babies get a bit stuffy, stuffy nose, chest congestion, there's massage to help with that and then teething too, some simple strokes to help with teething.

So a lot of different benefits, but pain relief and discomfort relief, that's a big one.

A lot of parents will use massage for that too.

One of my favorite things about these interviews we do with people is we learn so much.

So that is so cool that it not only helps the baby when they're getting a massage, but also helps the parent giving it to them.

I didn't know that.

That's really, really cool.

And I also think massages is wonderful for parents, but also sometimes grandparents will get involved.

It's really helpful for a partner, you know, father or a partner, or the person maybe in the family who's out at work and comes home or who's away a lot.

It's a great way to kind of reconnect with a baby or child as well.

Something very gentle, very simple that you can do and just build that connection.

Siblings as well.

I don't know.

Some of your listeners may have babies and siblings and massage is a lovely way to introduce a new baby into kind of the home, into the family dynamic.

Everybody can kind of learn to massage and sometimes siblings may massage, you know, a teddy or a doll or a dog, you know, or, you know, dad may massage the other child.

So it's a lovely sort of family activity too.

And when you say that, you know, doing this helps, you know, them fall asleep or helps their cortisol levels and all of these things, what is the typical time length that you should be giving a baby a massage?

Right.

And that is really going to depend on the baby.

One of the really important things in infant massage is making sure that the baby is ready and receptive to having a massage.

Your younger babies aren't really going to fit through typically kind of like a head to toe full body massage that you and I might enjoy.

So it may be just a few minutes.

Oftentimes I'll tell parents, massage whenever you can, so periodically during the day.

For an example, some parents may do tummy massage during diaper changes, a couple of strokes every other or two or three times a day with diaper changes.

Sometimes parents may do a little face massage when they're actually holding their baby.

So you don't have to have a set time every day to do massage.

You can kind of build it into your baby or child's routine during the day.

Having said that, a lot of times parents will say, you know, before a bath or after a bath, before bed, that's the time I do nice back massage or chest massage.

So it's very flexible and it all depends on the baby.

And I kind of say to my parents, if your baby's enjoying it and you have the time and you're both relaxed and able to do massage, you can keep going.

There's no right or wrong.

But parents will often know if the little one gets over tired or maybe hungry, and they'll give you the cues that maybe it's time to stop the massage.

So there isn't kind of a cookie cutter number, but just knowing your baby and working with your baby day to day is kind of the best way to judge that.

Interesting.

So how young do you suggest people start to massage their children and until they're like how old?

Yeah, another great question.

Actually, you can start infant massage when your baby is born.

So, you know, massage is something in a lot of cultures other than my own culture.

It has been passed down from generation to generation.

And you can start massage with a newborn baby.

Actually starting kind of a little bit more slowly and not doing it for as long.

Some parents will choose to kind of wait until their baby is around four to six weeks, when the little one is a little bit more alert and aware and has more weight periods.

But you can start from day one and just build up.

So and as I sort of said before, because you are sort of when we teach massage, it's different sort of body parts, if you like.

So you could do a little face massage or a little foot massage.

So you can really just start to gradually build up doing the massage.

Sometimes I will say with tummy massage, because you're sort of massaging that whole abdominal area, it might be better to wait till the cord drops off, just so you don't kind of make that as you're doing your massage strokes.

But really, you can start from day one, definitely.

It's so cool how you mentioned the culture differences, because I actually did some daytime postpartum work a couple of years ago for a couple, where the father was Indian and the mother was, I believe, Colombian.

And the mother was like, okay, my mother-in-law in India wants to FaceTime us because there are certain things we need to be doing on certain days culturally with her grandbaby.

And she's very serious about it.

I was like, okay.

And one of the things she wanted was us to be massaging the baby, I believe, with almond oil.

And I think this baby was about a week old.

There was a certain day she wanted us to do it on.

And she was watching.

She wanted me to do it because the dad was working.

And for some reason, maybe the mom was going to take a nap or something.

And the mother-in-law, grandma wanted me on video to do it.

And she was like telling me, no, it needs to be harder.

She can barely feel that.

You need to do more.

She was so serious about how it needed to be done.

So it is really beautiful how cultures have integrated this into just their practice.

Yes.

And I have seen that as well.

I remember a few years ago, I was working with a Russian family and the little girl was two.

And I went to her home every day for 11 days and did kind of like a head to toe type full body massage.

And this little two-year-old sat for 60 minutes every day.

I was so excited when I got there and it was just, and they too preferred I did it really much harder than we're actually, we like to do here in the States.

So I followed our practices here, but it was very different to kind of, you know, my culture and how I learned.

But this little girl was just absolutely loving it.

And she sat patiently.

And I just thought, gosh, my son at two would never have sat for 60 minutes.

My son is almost six and about a year ago, well, actually, no, this time, well, a long time ago, he was like, chiropractor is not touching me, right?

And we have a chiropractor that does soft tissue work as well.

And so at the beginning of this school year, I was, he was going to go into kindergarten and I took him in for a chiropractic appointment.

He was open to it and she did soft tissue work.

And he had some really tight spots from all of his swimming and jumping all summer.

And he loved it so much.

Like all of the soft tissue work, it's like a massage.

He was just lying there.

And afterward he, I dropped him off at grandma and grandpa's house, cause I had some work to do.

And he, my mom texted me and she was like, Ciarra, he's telling us all about how he went and just got a massage.

That's wonderful.

He kept asking.

He wants to go back.

He wants to go back.

That's fantastic.

No, that's great.

It's an expensive habit.

Yes.

Yes.

It can be, definitely.

So do you have a technique that would be easy to kind of teach us and something that we could do with our clients and our babies?

Probably my favorite technique is a stroke you guys have mentioned is the I Love You tummy massage stroke.

I like this one because it's very gentle and it's very interactive and it's a three-part stroke.

What I was saying is it's quite, do you want me to kind of demonstrate now or I can talk you through it and maybe do a little demo video that I will send to you guys and you can post on social media.

Yeah, let's give us a quick rundown.

Yeah, like rundown of what the three strokes are and then if you want to post it, that would be awesome.

Yes, let's do that.

So the I love you stroke, if you were doing the stroke, you would have your little one facing you.

So you're making that eye to eye contact.

You're going to have that tummy.

I always say as well, when you're doing massage, some babies don't want to be completely naked.

Some love being naked.

Some don't like that temperature change.

So if you need to kind of clothe your baby in the top half and a little blanket over the legs and just expose the tummy, that's fine.

Then it's a three part stroke.

You're going to kind of go over, when you're facing your baby, it'll be your right side, but your little one's left.

So you'll kind of go up to the tummy button or the belly button area, never pressing on it, but just going a little bit above it and then over to the right, this is your right, and you make a straight down I, and then you'll go over to the left and make an upside down L and then back over to the left to make an upside down U.

And it'll make more sense when I show you this on the video.

So it's an I love U.

When we do the massage, we make the U as baby friendly and you can use whatever voice you're comfortable using.

But it is so nice because it really engages the babies and they usually love this stroke.

And whenever I teach any kind of tummy massage or gastro-and-collic classes, parents always email me and say, this is the stroke that worked.

She passed gas all afternoon or she's pooped two times or whatever it is, it's positive.

And I think the reason is not that the stroke is that magical, but because people enjoy doing it, they do it more often.

And with tummy massage, the more you do, the more results you get, as you will know from your experience with doing this stroke.

So it is a sweet little stroke and you really can engage your babies with that.

So I love you, the I love you is a nice.

I also, when I do it at client's houses, I'll do that I, the L and then the big U.

And then I kind of take their little ankles and feet and I just move their legs up and around to the left, from the left to the right in the same direction.

I was kind of moving that.

And then you kind of push their knees up when you're doing that.

And sometimes you're leaving it to right away when you're, because you just worked everything through.

Exactly, exactly.

So that's a really helpful stroke and it seems to be a parent's favorite.

Definitely, definitely.

It's always nice when you can find something that you're getting results like that from.

And it gives parents so much confidence that they're able to kind of quote unquote, fix their baby.

You know, their baby had something that needed to be solved and now you can.

And I think that that was what I enjoyed so much when my little girl was a baby.

And you know, I was fairly young.

I was 24 when I had her.

So feeling like I had the magic ticket of something that I could do to help her was really empowering.

So is it safe to use these massage techniques on all infants and children?

Or are there situations where it's not advised, like premature babies or anything like that?

Right.

I always say with tummy massage, especially if anyone does have a preemie or if a baby has been in the hospital with hernia or any kind of, I'd sort of say, gastrointestinal medical issue to check with a pediatrician.

You know, any of the massage is very gentle and typically very safe, but every baby is unique.

And so any sort of medical conditions, it's always sensible just to check with the pediatrician or your specialist prior to doing it.

Most of the massage strokes, if your baby is receptive to massage, we have a term in the baby massage world called asking permission of the baby, which is where you just basically check in with your baby, you make sure it's a good time to do massage.

So if all of that is looking good, it's usually fine to do the massage.

There are a couple of strokes I teach that it's best not to do if your baby has fever or it's just feeling unwell.

But for the most part, sometimes you may have a baby who does have a fever, but a bit of gentle, safe massage or just stroking on the back may be really helpful.

So it's really, parents will know their baby's best.

And if it's a medical issue, just to double check with the pediatrician.

And I will just mention to with Nicky, creamies as well, there are some strokes that are a little lighter, less intense, but you can still do any of the strokes that we teach in just general baby massage and just do maybe not as frequent, you know, as often and just using a slightly lighter touch.

So, but that's a great question there, yes.

That's really helpful, thank you.

So how can people find you if they want to learn more or get services with you?

Great.

My website is just babystrokes.com and the website kind of has a lot of information about me, how to book classes, how to reach me, if you have more information.

And I also have an Instagram account where I post a lot of kind of videos and where I'll definitely post this video and send it to your accounts too.

And that is babystrokes underscore infant underscore massage.

Awesome.

And we'll make sure we link all of those in the show notes so you can all get access to them easily.

And everybody make sure you look there because she gave us a little discount code, I think that you can use for any of her classes.

So make sure you go check that out in the show notes too.

Thank you so much for being here with us today, Melanie.

This was really informative.

Thank you.

Thank you ladies for inviting me.

I really enjoyed chatting to you.

Yeah, this was great.

Thank you so much for coming on.

We'll talk soon.

Thank you for joining us on Birth, Baby!

Thanks again to Longing for Orpheus for our music.

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