Baby Massage (part III) / Masajul la bebelusi (Partea a-III-a)

THE CHEST
1.CIRCLES AROUND THE NIPPLES Place the first two fingers of each hand in the centre of your baby’s
chest, between the nipples. Move both sets of fingers simultaneously, stroking upwards and outwards, around the outsides of the nipples and back to the centre. Repeat several times. As you massage the chest, increase and decrease the size of the circles you make around the nipples, so that you touch as large an area of the chest as possible.


THE ABDOMEN
1.EFFLEURAGE STROKES DOWN THE ABDOMEN Place one hand horizontally across the abdomen, just below the chest, and stroke firmly down to the base of the abdomen, then lift off gently. Just before this hand loses contact with your baby’s body, place the other hand across the top of the abdomen as before, and stroke down. Repeat several times, with one hand always in contact with your baby’s body.
2.LITTLE CIRCLES AROUND THE NAVEL Place the first two fingers of one hand next to the navel. Press gently, making a circular movement. Release the pressure, slide your fingers around the navel slightly and repeat.Work in a clockwise direction, slowly spiralling outwards until you reach just inside the right hip.

3.LARGE CIRCLES AROUND THE ABDOMEN Starting just inside your baby’s right hip, move the flat of your fingers upwards until they reach the right side of the rib cage, then across to the same point on the left side. Now stroke down to just inside the left hip and across the base of the abdomen back to the right hip. Repeat several times.


LEGS AND FEET
1.EFFLEURAGE STROKES ON THE UPPER LEGS Hold your baby’s ankle in one hand. Place the other hand horizontally across the top of her thigh, with your fingers pointing inwards. Rotate your wrist outwards
and fan your fingers across the thigh, around to the back of the leg, so that you are holding the thigh with your
thumb on top and fingers underneath. Move directly on to step 2.
2. EFFLEURAGE STROKES ON THE LOWER LEGS Massage down the outside of the leg to the ankle. Keep holding the ankle and place your free hand back in the starting position, with fingers pointing outwards. Rotate your wrist inwards and stroke down, massaging the inside of the leg in the same way. Repeat steps 1 and 2 several times on each leg.