Can I learn infant massage from a book?
 There are some great baby massage books around which will give you some good background and ideas as to what infant massage is all about.
However, massaging a baby is not like putting together a piece of furniture. You cannot learn to massage your baby from a set of instructions, any more than you can fall in love from reading about it! This is because your baby has their own unique personality, and each parent/ baby relationship is also unique.
A step by step guide can’t allow for the human element. It doesn’t predict how your baby will respond to being massaged and touched. As an experienced and certified Infant Massage Instructor, I will take the time to talk with you about your baby before beginning a class, and will carefully observe your baby’s interaction and reactions during massage. I will then guide and support you as you develop confidence in massaging your baby, and will help you adapt the massage strokes, rhythms and routines to your own baby’s preferences and needs. These are all things that you can't gain from a book!
What do I learn in your baby massage classes?
The workshops that I run are typically held once a week, for 5-6 weeks. During this time you will learn the full range of baby massage routines for all parts of the body. You will also learn about special massage routines – for example to help relieve colic or unexplained crying, how to use massage to settle your baby, and other techniques that can be used when your baby is sick and unwell. You will learn about the various benefits of each of the strokes, and how to adapt the strokes to suit your baby’s preferences and as he or she grows. All of this happens in a relaxed, friendly class where you get to meet and share experiences with other parents.
We learned infant massage in my ante-natal class/ parents’ group. Is it the same as the workshop you offer?
As a Certified Infant Massage Instructor with the International Association of Infant Massage, I offer a comprehensive infant massage program that reflects international standards and the most up-to-date knowledge in baby massage.
Therefore, while you might have been taught some of the basic baby massage strokes in your antenatal or parents’ group, it is unlikely that you were given the full IAIM infant massage program unless the person teaching the class was also Certified IAIM Infant Massage Instructor.
This means you may have missed out on important information and practical skills – such as safety precautions, how to prepare your baby for their massage, how to massage babies who don’t appear to like touch, or how to massage your baby when they are sick, unwell or they grow and develop.
I’ve tried massage at home, and my baby doesn’t seem to like being touched. Is a massage course right for us?
It is not unusual for parents say they have tried massaging their babies only to find their baby "didn’t like it”.
There are good reasons why a parent may feel this way. Even though touch is the first sense to develop in a human embryo, and is one of the most advanced senses at the time of birth, it is not at all fully developed by birth. A baby’s birth experiences, health, and the family dynamic all effect a baby’s reception to touch and massage. For this reason, many babies respond differently to being touched and some babies are particularly sensitive.
It is understandable that when a baby is “touch sensitive”, some parents avoid touching altogether, to avoid discomfort in their baby. However, touch is equally important for sensitive babies because our earliest experiences with touch, of touching and being touched can shape our future sensitivity, our motor skills, our health and emotional well-being, our understanding of our world and our position in it. Therefore, massage is particularly important for babies who seem unable to enjoy safe and nurturing touch.
In my infant massage class you will learn how to use touch to help reduce your baby’s sensitivity – without distress, force or discomfort – and to give them all of the developmental benefits that come from caring and sensitive touch.
Some other infant massage workshops only go for three weeks. Why do your classes run for five weeks?
It is possible to learn the "mechanics" of the infant massage strokes in only a few hours. However, using infant massage with your little one involves so much more than doing strokes "on" them. Using massage with your baby (as opposed to doing massage to them) involves building a new aspect to your relationship with each other. When it is taught in a rushed and hurried manner, infant massage can simply become another "job" on your list of things to do as a parent. This takes away the chance for you and your baby to learn about each other, and to enjoy, appreciate and benefit from spending quality and unhurried time together.
As a fully certified infant massage instructor with the International Association of Infant Massage, and as a qualified Registered Nurse, my abolsute commitment is on providing you with the best possible service, care and support whilst you attend my classes. For this reason, my baby massage classes are delivered in a relaxed and supportive environment, where the focus is on your needs and the needs of your baby - not simply giving you a list of instructions about how do do strokes "on" your baby. This means that my classes extend for a few weeks longer than some others.
Our baby is having sleep problems. Can your "Gentle Sleep Workshop" help?
Our gentle sleep workshops are for parents (or primary carers) of babies who are not sleeping well.
It is normal for some babies to only sleep for short periods of time before needing contact with mum or dad. It is also normal for babies to change the length of their sleep time at various stages of development and growth ~ for example, when they are teething or unwell they may sleep for shorter periods of time. In these sorts of situations, our Gentle Sleep Workshops may not be useful for parents.
However, some babies clearly have some sensitivities or difficulties when it comes to sleeping. These can include regular difficulties with:
~ settling down to sleep, even when clearly tired;
~ waking up before completing a sleep cycle (approx 40-60 minutes);
~ sleep difficulties at particular times of the day (or night);
~ "colic", or unexplained, persistent crying;
~ the appearance of wind or other pains associated with sleeping;
~ general distress associated with going to sleep;
~ amongst others.
Our gentle sleep workshops are for parents whose babies are showing these sorts of difficulties. The technqiues we teach are generally most suited to babies from birth through to about 6 months old. In many instances, parents find that attending our general infant massage workshop ~ and practicing the massage routines at home ~ provides good improvements. However, if your baby has significant sleep issues then our one-on-one gentle sleep workshop may be more useful, as we not only cover the entire infant massage program but a range of other techniques that can contribute to helping resolve these sorts of sleep issues.
We also recommend this workshop for parents who have tried controlled crying, and are concerned about any effects this has had on their baby ~ such as loss of eye contact, disinterest or "withdrawing" from interaction, loss of crying, or increased distress associated with sleeping.
If you are uncertain about whether this workshop is "right" for you and your baby, please contact me, to discuss your needs.
What are "Gentle Sleep Techniques"?
Gentle sleep technqiues are ones which:
~ support your baby's healthy development by recognising their phsyiological need for certain types of physical supports to sleep well. These supports include the need for movement, sucking, touch and smell.
~ support you to understand what your baby is trying to tell you with their crying or sleep difficulties;
~ encourage you to respond to your baby's needs in whatever way works for you both...without undermining your confidence, or making you feel guilty or fearful of doing the "wrong" thing.
~ support the natural development of your baby's individual sleep/awake cycle...at your baby's own pace, and without force or distress to either of you.
What sorts of things will I learn in this workshop?
All of our gentle sleep workshops include the full infant massage program certified by the International Association of Infant Massage in which we cover special routines for babies who are unsettled, overstimulated or very sensitive.
Other types of technqiues that we may explore and practice in a Gentle Sleep Workshop (depending on the needs of you & your baby) may include:
~ different styles and approaches to wrapping/ swaddling;
~ how to use different types of movement to help your baby sleep;
~ how different positions can influence sleep and comfort;
~ your baby's cues, states, signals and communication;
~ room-sharing and co-sleeping;
~ food sensitivies (if you are breastfeeding);
~ sensory preferences and reflex development;
~ amongst other techniques.
Can you help my baby sleep through the night?
Our sleep workshops are not focussed on helping your baby sleep through the night, but instead on helping you & your baby find a natural, healthy and appropriate sleep pattern.
There are good reasons why we don't focus on getting your baby to "sleep through the night".
While some well-meaning experts still hold the belief that a baby should sleep through the night, up-to date and extensive studies conducted in sleep labs have conclusively shown that babies rarely sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Indeed, all human beings have "sleep cycles" - which means we all naturally go through periods of deep sleep, and then periods of much lighter sleep where we may even wake up. You may be able to relate to this yourself, with many adults having periods in the night where we "wake up" (even if only in a drowsy state) and become aware, and then go back to sleep.
As adults, we are able to go back to sleep because our brains have developed the ability to "self-settle". However, our brains are not born with this ability. Sleep studies with babies have shown that some babies begin to develop this ability to "self-settle" (sometimes between 4-6 months old, but every baby is different). These babies are sometimes able to get themselves back to sleep without waking their parents ~ creating the illusion that they have "slept through the night". In actual fact, studies on babies brains have shown that children do not finish developing the "self settling" parts of the brain until they are around 4 years of age.
This brain development cannot be forced to happen more quickly. In fact, there is now some evidence that by trying to force the development of "self-settling" can actually have some unwanted and even harmful effects on your baby. Nevertheless, the ability to self-settle can be supported through the use of gentle techniques which help meet the biological and psychological needs of your baby.
Rather than getting your baby to "sleep through the night", our sleep workshops are for babies who seem to find sleep uncomfortable, uneasy, distressing, or who only seem to sleep in very short bursts. The techniques we use are focussed on helping your baby settle (or return to deep sleep) more easily, to sleep more comfortably and, in some cases, to sleep for a little longer when they need to.
What is controlled crying?
Up until relatively recently, it was believed that the best way to get a baby to sleep was to let them "cry it out", and for parents to have less contact (cuddles, rocking, etc.) with their baby. Techniques known as "controlled crying", "controlled comforting" and "sleep training" are all based on this belief. Typically, these sorts of technqiues involve leaving a baby to cry for increasing periods of time ~ either on their own, or with minimal contact from their parent.
Do you teach controlled crying?
No. Our gentle sleep workshops do not use any technqiues which require you to ignore your baby's cries for any period of time. Nor do we use any techniques which restrict or limit you from responding to your baby or meeting their needs in the way that you feel is most effective for the both of you.
|
