How to massage a baby in 2-3 months?

The age of 2-3 months is amazing, full of discoveries and a new experience for both the baby and his parents. It is at this age that the baby needs a lot of strength to study the world around it, to master new movements and skills. Of course, the little one needs the help of adults. One way to help the baby is a general massage. How to make him a two-month-three-month baby, we will tell in this article.

Yesterday the baby peacefully snuffled in the crib after feeding. But now he is already 2-3 months old - this is the age of discoveries, the baby is awake more than in the neonatal period, and this time of activity should be used for the general strengthening and recovery of the baby.

The physiological muscle tone, characteristic of all newborns, has not yet passed, even if the parents have been diligently giving the baby a massage since the first month of his life. Consequences of fetal posture and muscle tension associated with it, will affect about half a year.

But the baby has already learned to hold the head, and the “fastest” are already trying to roll on its side or back from lying on its stomach. The baby perfectly manages to follow the moving toy or mom's mimicry, he actively responds to her presence, he revives and smiles.

At 2 months, babies often straighten their palms, they no longer hold fingers constantly clenched into cams, arms and legs become better to unbend, in 2-3 and 3-4 months the child gradually begins to lift the shoulder girdle and chest when lying on his stomach. All this gives additional opportunities for planning massage procedures - be sure to use the new skills and abilities of your son or daughter.

Some parents firmly believe that a healthy child does not need a massage. In their understanding, massage is the lot of sick children. It's not like that at all. Even a healthy child at this age should be helped in relieving the symptoms of physiological muscle tone, this will give him more freedom of movement, which means that the physical development of the baby will not slow down.

Massage improves the well-being of the child, it activates blood circulation, has a beneficial effect on the state of the nervous system, improves the appetite and strengthens sleep. Impact on the muscles, skin, ligaments is important for hypertonicity, distortion, with increased intracranial pressure in infants.

Even in perfectly healthy babies, massage movements cause activation of nerve endings and receptors, thanks to which the brain develops better, coordination of movements improves. By themselves, massage techniques develop baby perception of the world through tactile sensations.

As a rule, up to 3 months, the child still fails to overcome the typical “trouble” of an early age - infant colic. And this helps massage. By the age of three months, the innate maternal immunity, which the child inherits at birth, is noticeably weakened. Massage allows you to effectively improve your baby’s immunity, contributes to its formation and development.

It is no secret that from birth, babies have quite a lot of physiological problems with the musculoskeletal system: a completely natural flat foot is characteristic of all infants, clubfoot - 70% of babies. Competent massage at this age effectively corrects many conditions, including physiological, which themselves will disappear over time. Only with massage it will go much faster.

Massage is different. In addition to the treatment, the task of which is to correct the existing disorders, diseases, conditions, there is a general classical massage. Its task is to strengthen and promote the development of the child’s body. General massage, in turn, is relaxing and toning. Relaxing children spend hyperactive, capricious, who sleep and eat poorly, and tonic is recommended for babies who, on the contrary, sleep a lot, stay awake and generally do not show much enthusiasm in learning new skills, including motor skills.

A tonic massage is recommended for a child at 2-3 months at home. Also, a mother can well master acupressure from a children's cold, a foot massage, a neck-collar area, as well as a percussion (vibration) massage, which helps with bronchitis and a wet cough.

Preventive massage may well hold mom. Therapeutic and prophylactic - too, but under the supervision of a professional massage therapist, but therapeutic massage is the prerogative of professionals, because its inept implementation can worsen the child's condition, aggravate the disease. At home, massage for infants, it is desirable to combine with gymnastics, exercises, games. In addition to the obvious physical benefits of such a set of exercises will bring a lot of benefits for the mental and emotional development of the toddler.

It is forbidden to massage the child at home in the following conditions and ailments:

• fever, fever for any reason;
• acute viral diseases;
• infectious diseases with a rash, abscesses, vesicles on the skin;
• allergic rash, diaper rash, prickly heat in the area of ​​physical tactile exposure;
• Congenital heart defect;
• hydrocephalus;
• predisposition to convulsions and epilepsy;
• severe damage to the central nervous system;
• vascular and blood diseases;
• large hernia, including umbilical hernia.

If a child has a certain discomfort, his tooth is cut, his stomach hurts, he has not slept much or has eaten badly, massage is also not recommended. Only when the pipsqueak is completely healthy, cheerful and cheerful, in the mood for communication, should one proceed to the manipulations.

For a tonic or relaxing massage at home, you should prepare a massage place. It should be a hard and flat surface that is covered with diaper and oilcloth. If there is a changing table, this is good, it is quite suitable for this purpose. If such a table is not available, use the usual table, for example, the dining room, covering it with a diaper and oilcloth.

Next to the table in close proximity, at a distance of her mother's hand, you should arrange massage oil or baby cream, a pack of wet wipes in case you need to immediately wipe the described child.

If the table and all the necessary tools are prepared, pay attention to the air temperature and its humidity in the room where the manipulation is to be. A naked baby will be comfortable and wonderful if the mother makes sure that the apartment is not hotter than 22 degrees and the humidity of the air is 50-70%. If this condition is fulfilled, it's time to prepare the working tools of the masseur - hands.Mom should cut her nails short, remove rings, bracelets, watches, wash hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap and moisturize them with baby massage oil or baby cream.

Hands must be warm. Cold touches scare the baby, he is unlikely to accept such a massage with delight. If your hands are naturally cold, you need to hold them in warm water for a few minutes. Only then can you prepare for a baby massage. Preparation consists in choosing the right and reasonable time for the procedure. After the meal or just before the feeding, there is no need to do the massage - the baby can burp the freshly eaten or act up from hunger. It is best to carry out the procedure in 45-50 minutes after feeding or one hour before the next feeding. If the massage is relaxing, then it should be done before evening bathing. If the tonic is in the morning, otherwise the over-excited child will not be able to sleep properly.

The most common massage in 2-3 months is tonic. It should be started with gentle and delicate stroking with the palms of the baby’s entire body. Consider a sequential procedure.

• Massage pens - begins with palms and fingers and ends with the upper part of the forearm. Includes alternate stroking of the limbs, kneading the fingers, stroking the palms, wrists. Try to avoid intense kneading of the muscles. All movements of my mother's hands obey one important rule - the direction must be from bottom to top.
• Foot massage - starts with fingers, feet and heels. Easily stroke and slightly knead the muscles of the leg. The kneecap cannot be touched and massaged, as is the popliteal space. The inner thigh is also not worth touch.
• Belly massaging - held in a circular motion around the navel. It is impossible to press on the area of ​​the navel itself and act otherwise.
• Neck massaging spend turning the child on his stomach. Avoid crushing touches in the cervical vertebrae area. Manipulations should be limited to stroking the neck fold.
• Backrest Massage without affecting the spinal column. It is advisable to gently rub and stroke the straight and oblique muscles with the palms and ribs of the palms.
• Buttocks lightly tingling with fingertips.
• Back of shin and thigh slightly smooth without kneading upwards.
• Massage is completed by stroking, turning the child back. After that, you can start the exercises - let the child grab your fingers with the handles and lift the child slightly, then lower it back. Move the legs in turns ("bicycle"), turn the child on the right and left side, stimulating the development of oblique abdominal muscles.

Relaxing massage before evening bathing has the same procedure and technique, but all kneading should be excluded. It is based on calm and affectionate stroking of the whole body, limbs, hairy part of the child’s head.

Drainage massage when coughing 2-3 months old baby perform, putting the child to his lap. With her fingertips, the mother gently taps the ribs and chest area, after which the baby is raised to the vertical position. A sign of successful exposure is the appearance of cough - such a massage accelerates the discharge of sputum from the bronchi.

Massage for rhinitis do acupressure technology. It is also allowed at the age of 2-3 months. Pre-mom should be familiar with the location of acupuncture points that are "responsible" for the work of the nose. Points should be sought on the tip of the nose, on the wings of the nose, between the baby’s eyebrows, above the first cervical vertebra, in the center of the heel and on the wrists. Massaged in a circular motion.

A massage session, whatever its intended purpose, for a child of this age group lasts no more than 15 minutes. Moreover, you should gradually increase the time - spend the first session for 2-3 minutes, increase the second one for a minute or two. The duration of exposure for each exercise and admission is also increased in stages.

The famous pediatrician Evgeny Komarovsky argues that no one will do a better massage than a mother to a healthy baby. It is with her that the child is seeking tactile contact. This fact explains why most babies cry and scream in the hands of professional massage therapists. According to Komarovsky, only a mother can turn a massage into a game, into communication, into pleasure for all participants in the process.

Therefore, Evgeny Olegovich recommends mothers to learn simple massages on their own. You can learn from the videos that are on the Internet, ask a pediatrician or nursery nurse to show tricks, you can read smart books for young parents, written by doctors. There is no problem with information today.

Home maternal massage gives the child pleasure and peace of mind, brings maximum benefit, and also saves the family budget, because the services of a massage therapist are quite expensive.

In the next video you will receive training in massage and developmental gymnastics for babies from 1 to 3 months.