PHYSICAL BENEFITS

Strengthens Body Systems
Regular massage and yoga may help to strengthen your baby's immune system and increase their resistance to infection. It may also improve blood circulation and help to drain the lymphatic system as well as improving the overall condition of their skin (provided a non-contaminated, organic vegetable oil is applied).

Massaging your baby's face can alleviate nasal congestion and help drain mucus from the nasal passages, which is extremely helpful for when your baby has a snuffle. Also,, the Toe Rolling exercise (see later post) is excellent for helping to alleviate the symptoms of a cold and teething niggles, as this exercise is based around the traditional art of reflexology and the toes represent the face, including the nose, mouth, eyes and sinuses. Not only does massaging your baby's toes alleviate these symptoms, but it also has an immediate effect on their nervous system and encourages general well-being.

Colic
It can be a most upsetting experience for a parent to watch a young baby screaming in agony with, what looks like, severe tummy pains. It often lasts for many hours and usually starts around the same time each day. The condition is harmless, although it can be distressing for a baby to experience and for the parents to observe. This distressing condition often creates stress and anxiety within the home. Parents and other family members may find it difficult to cope with the constant crying, so it is important to seek support and if possible to take a break occasionally.

What Is Colic?
Colic is uncontrollable, extended crying in a baby who is otherwise healthy and well-fed. Every baby cries, but babies who cry for more than three hours a day, three to four days a week, may have colic. It can start when a baby is around two to four weeks of age and may last for three months, or possibly longer. There are some practitioners who believe that colic does not exist, but for those parents that experience the early evening bouts of screaming and obvious distress with their babies it is definitely real enough! However, colic is not a serious condition.

What Causes Colic?
The cause of colic is not really known. It is often thought to be related to the digestive system. Another possible cause is a combination of a baby's temperament and an immature nervous system. A baby's temperament may make them highly sensitive to the environment, and they may react to normal stimulation, changes to the environment or pick up on parental stress by crying. A baby is unable to regulate crying once they start because of their immature nervous system.

What Are The Symptoms?
The main symptoms is continuous crying for long periods of time. A baby may look uncomfortable or appear to be in pain and may lift their head, draw their legs up to their tummy, become red in the face and pass wind. Some babies refuse to eat during a colicky bout, though research shows that babies with colic generally continue to eat and gain weight normally.

Although this crying can occur at any time, it usually worsens between 4pm and 8pm - often a time when there is a lot of external stimulation in the home; perhaps older siblings are arriving home from school, the television goes on, the telephone may ring, other family members are arriving home from work, the evening meal is being prepared and the baby, very often, is in the middle of this commotion. Some babies will love the hustle and bustle, but others may hate it, especially those that are sensitive and suffering from colic. It might be expedient to reduce as much of the external stimulations for the baby as possible.

When To See A Doctor
Colic does not need medical treatment. However, if you are worried about your baby's crying, you may want to seek advice form a healthcare professional to make sure there is no serious underlying problem. Before visiting a doctor, all other possible causes of crying should be eliminated. These include the following:

• Hunger
• Tiredness
• Lack of contact - some babies want to be cuddled all the time.
• Startling eg. due to a jerky movement or sudden noise.
• Undressing - some babies do not like to be naked.
• Temperature - is your baby too hot or too cold?
• Pain - is there an identifiable source of pain, eg. a nappy rash or some irritation in clothing?

Using Massage And Yoga To Alleviate Colic
Massaging your baby tummy's is a fantastic way to help regulate and strengthen the digestive system and alleviate wind, constipation and colic. It is very important to follow the guide in this post and massage their tummy in a clock-wise direction as this is the direction in which the contents of the bowel move. By doing this you can help to move wind and faeces in the right direction. Furthermore, as massage and yoga can be relaxing, a stressed baby may find they are less anxious.

However, it is extremely important that you do not massage your baby whilst they are crying with pain. Firstly, crying is a 'negative cue' and a parent would not be listening to their baby if they ignored this and started to massage their tummy, regardless. Secondly, the best way to alleviate the problem is to catch it early before the baby is in real pain. Parents with a colicky baby will know the signs and the usual time that their baby will begin to suffer with colic - which is so often around tea time.

Using The Colic Routine

• A simple colic routine has been included in the later post and when followed and repeated preferably three or four times an hour before the time the colic begins, you should see a marked difference in your baby.
• After the colic routine, allow your baby to rest quietly.
• Your baby may find it particularly calming when facing a blank wall for a little while (especially if there is much commotion in the home).
• The Lazy Lion Containment Hold (see later post) is extremely good for alleviating the discomfort of stomach ache and colic.

Other Treatments For Colic
There is no single cure for colic, but there are several measures that can be taken that may help. Individual babies have different needs, and parents should try various methods to see what works.

Parents who bottle-feed their babies may want to try a different formula. For mothers who breastfeed, it is a good idea to continue this because weaning the baby from breast milk may make the colic worse. Some nursing mothers find that certain foods in their diet seem to worsen the effects of colic so cutting these foods out can help. These might include cruciferous vegetables (eg. cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts and parsnip), beans, onions, garlic, apricots, melon, spicy foods, caffeine and alcohol.

If there is a family history of milk sugar (lactose) intolerance, breastfeeding mothers could try eliminating cows milk from their diet (however, seek advice before making major changes to any diet). Sometimes babies are not able to digest lactose well - this improves as they get older.

If your baby seems to have a lot of wind, make sure they are winded after each feed. Babies who are bottle-fed may swallow air from the bottle; try feeding your baby in different position, or use a bottle and teat designed to reduce the amount of air your baby swallows during a feed.

Restful Sleep
One of the issues, which every new partner has to cope with, is not getting enough sleep. If your baby is finding it difficult to get to sleep, or is waking several times in the night, you will be suffering all the more.

Try not to be drawn into comparison with other babies. Babies do not know the difference between night and day at first and most babies less than six months wake up regularly during the night. For the first three or four months, babies find it difficult to go more than six hours at night without a feed and this is even truer for breast-feed babies. However, babies may not always wake for hunger. They are emotionally dependent on their parents and will learn from experience that if needed their parent will respond.

A baby does not have the capacity to understand anyone else's feelings and if they seem to be very demanding it is not because they are 'trying' it on'. A baby that has a feeling of being loved during its first year is more likely to know that a parent will come to them if really needed and not to fret if the attention is not immediate. If the parent responds, the baby's confidence will grow, and eventually they will learn to settle or entertain themselves.

How Massage And Yoga May Help Your Baby Sleep
Many babies find massage very soothing, and may even fall asleep immediately afterwards. You may find that your baby will sleep deeper and longer after a massage. If massage is introduced after their bath and as part of your baby's going-to-bed routine, it can help to release the tension in your baby, not to mention you!

The massage and yoga improves a baby's circulation, deepens and regulates the breathing, and increases the levels of oxygen in the bloodstream, which can lead to deeper sleep. Massage can help to make sleep-time more peaceful with a familiar pattern to it, which is very beneficial for fussy babies.

Other Tips To Help Your Baby Sleep
In addition to using the massage and yoga techniques, try the following:

• Carrying your baby in a front sling or back pack.
• Swaddling your baby to help them feel secure.
• Placing your baby facing a blank wall, away from distractions.
• Placing your baby near continuous noise or vibrations from household appliances like the washing machine, dishwasher or vacuum cleaner.
• Helping your baby to practise their self-calming techniques.

If your baby does not fall asleep in the evening, wakes during the night or early in the morning or cries excessively, then try some of the following:

Sleeping Without A Teat Cue
Your baby will learn very quickly that sleep follows a feed. To help your baby fall asleep without the need for a teat or breast in their mouth, it may be worth rousing them a little as you finally put them down to sleep so they feel themselves dozing off without something in their mouth.

Time To Settle
Give your baby time to settle, but do not leave him/her crying and distressed for too long. The same applies if your baby wakes in the night.

Sleepy Atmosphere
Whisper to your baby very quietly and soothingly so as to create a sleepy atmosphere. This gives them the opportunity to learn that this is different from daytime.

Toys
A lot of older babies become fond of a cuddly toy that has been introduced to them in the cot at an early stage. They will use this to cuddle before falling sleep. From about five months old, babies often like to play with a small toy during massage. The toy they cuddle at bedtime could be used for this purpose. It is common for children to hang onto this toy when they are ill or visiting new and strange places - it is know as a 'transitional object'. A transitional object is one that your baby associates with you and their lovely massage, from which they can take comfort in your absence.

Warmth
Babies sleep better when they are warm. Babygros can keep them warm when they kick off blankets, but if your baby is very restless then a fitted sleeping blanket might. For safe sleeping, babies should not overheat either.

Light
When attending to your baby in the night, do this in the dark so that your baby does not associate 'lights on' with visits from mummy or daddy! Night lights can help children drift off to sleep (for safety reasons switch these off when you go to bed). Black-out blinds can be useful in summer to cut out the early morning sun.

Noise
A certain amount of low level noise can be comforting for your baby. However, sudden,loud noise can disturb their sleep. If possible, move your baby to another room away from noise. Central heating noise can be a real problem for disturbing sleep. One helpful idea could be to delay the onset in the morning by half an hour so that your baby gets more sleep.

Music
Some babies respond to the rhythmic sounds of music. This works best when the baby is rocked from head to toe (rather than from side to side). Soothing music, or music that was played whilst the baby was still in the womb ( in the third trimester) can be have a calming effect once the baby is born.

Natural Pain Relief
Generally, massage stimulates the production of Oxytocin (a hormone secreted by both sexes), which is a natural pain reliever and induces a calming effect for your baby.

Putting Your Baby In Prone Position During The Day
A number of weeks prior to learning the back massage strokes, it is advisable that you lay your baby on their tummy for a short period each day. This helps your baby to feel comfortable and gain confidence in this position. Also, it can help with the crawl response and encourages your baby to lift its head. Your baby may resist initially as they may find it strange, so it is always best if you try this for short periods of time to avoid your baby getting tired or irritable.

In the week leading up to learning the back massage, place your baby on their front for five minutes, a couple of times a day. It is important that this activity is only carried out when you are able to stay with them to reassure them. Remember that this is new to them, and also, from a safety point of view, your baby should never be left alone at this time.

The Benefits Of The Prone Position
Lying your baby on their tummy is a great way to help with their muscle development and to increase strength. It also helps your baby to be able to:

• feel confident being on their front
• lift their head, to turn and look
• lift their upper body with support from their forearms
• push their arms into a rigid position. This may cause your baby to roll over so never leave your baby alone on a raised surface, changing platform or bed.
• move their weight on to one hand enabling them to reach for a toy
• practise the crawl movement by drawing their knees towards their hips
• push up with their hands when on their knees so they can rock.

Since it has become more popular to put babies on their backs to sleep, this practice has now become an 'all day routine'. This has led to an increase of babies with 'flat head syndrome' or an abnormal shaped head. So, during supervised play time, it will be helpful for your baby's development if they spend time on their tummy.