I think people don’t believe me when I tell them that you can still massage your rolling, crawling and even walking baby. “They won’t even stay still for a diaper change!” is the comment I hear most often. Trust me, I know all about wiggly babies. After diapering hundreds of babies as a pediatric nurse, my 10 month old son has just recently allowed me to develop a new skill: diaper changes with baby standing up. Yes, even the poopy ones. Proud to say I’m impressed with myself actually. So he certainly does not just lie still and allow me to give him a massage. He’s on the move, every minute exploring his amazing world of new sights, sounds, textures and tastes! He wants to use ALL his senses now! But he still loves to be touched and I love to massage him and so I appeal to his desire for stimulation and learning.
With the massage oil close by, I get him down to his diaper and we start by singing a lively song. Just a song first with some clapping and arm stretches. “Rolly polly….rolly polly…up, up, up! Up, up, up! Rolly rolly polly…..rolly rolly polly…down, down, down. Down, down, down.” This gets his attention and introduces touch slowly without going straight into the massage.
Ok, now that I have his attention, let’s get some massage strokes in there. I rub some oil into my hands and ask “do you want some massage?” I’ve been massaging him since he was a few weeks old, so he knows this cue. I get a big smile. Do you know the Wheels on the Bus? Lots of great massage strokes can be incorporated into this song! “the wheels on the bus go round and round…” (round and round on the tummy) “…the horn on the bus goes beep beep beep…” (give toes and fingers a little squeeze) “the wipers on the bus go swish swish swish….(cross my heart on the chest). His eye catches a bright green block across the floor. I know we’re done. I start to give a soothing stroke down his body but before I can, he flips over and is off! “All done!” I say. Not even half as long as our massage sessions when he was an infant, but it doesn’t matter. We spent some time engaging with each other, I got to communicate my immense love for him through touch and he received some great massage!
You can do it too! Would you like to learn more? Join my Massage for Your Growing Child class! Brush up on your nursery rhymes and bring your singing voices!
Have you massaged your older baby? What songs/rhymes do you use?
