Ok, so let’s talk about teething!

 Ok, so let’s talk about teething! 


Can baby massage help teething pains? Yes! 


For those of you in the thick of dealing with a fussy, feverish, red cheeked, sleepless, snotty, drooling, chewing anything and everything in sight teething baby…… read on. I hope I can help.


There are many reasons baby massage can help your teething baby. In the full body routine I teach there is a series of face massage strokes I show you that caress the face and massage along the upper and lower jaw lines. These strokes can help to alleviate some of the pain teething babies are experiencing. 


One thing I would like all you adults to hear in mind if/when you choose to massage your baby’s face. We use VERY light pressure when massaging baby’s face.  By light, I mean LIGHT. When people come to my classes I teach them an important rule as to baby massage pressure. Please your index finger on your eyelid. Gradually put pressure on your eyelid until you feel slight discomfort. Then let off the pressure slightly. THIS is the pressure you use when massaging your baby. However, when we are doing a face massage on our babies we use EVEN LESS pressure than this. Why? Babies skin is so very sensitive to begin with. The skin on their face is even more sensitive. 


Why do I say baby skin, especially their facial skin, is so much more sensitive? Baby skin has the same number of layers as adult skin but each layer is considerably thinner. Overall baby skin is between 20-30% thinner than in adults. So imagine, they have that much less protection on their nerve endings. We have 12 pairs of nerve endings on our face. Perhaps partly due to this, face massage on babies is called the “marmite massage”, they either love it or they hate it! So be extra gentle when you are giving your baby a face massage. 


Their skin also looses moisture more quickly than adult skin…..but that will be the subject of another blog entry 😉 


If you are interested in learning a series of massage strokes especially designed to help you baby deal with teething pains, stay tuned on my socials! I will soon be selling a short workshop video to teach you this teething series. 


Stay safe. Stay healthy. See you soon ☺️ 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Are Baby Milestones, and Why Are They Important?

Image
  Most new mums will spend ages reading book and researching online what their baby should be doing and when.  I bet lots of mums could tell you what age their baby is meant to hold their head up, what age they are expected to roll over or sit up, and when they should watch out for their baby's first steps. I'm not here to debunk these ages.  In fact they are often fairly accurate.  BUT.....  Every baby develops at a slightly different pace.  Some babies reach their milestones early, others might delay slightly.  Some babies might reach one milestone early and the next one late, or vice versa.  Some babies might reach a milestone very early, for example roll over for the first time at only 3 months, but then not roll over again til 7 months!  I have seen all of these variations in my classes and my career as a nanny and maternity nurse and also in my Hartbeeps and Baby Massage and Baby Yoga classes. Why am I sharing this information?  I'...
Read more

What is baby yoga??

Image
What is Baby Yoga??     I am excited to share this first post with all of you! For those of you who do not know me yet, let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Carly Snyders. I currently live and teach in London UK. I teach baby massage and baby yoga classes in person here. I also teach a baby and toddler multi-sensory class called Hartbeeps. I have been working with babies and children for more than 20 years now. It all started with babysitting in my early days. Then I graduated to working as a Teacher's Assistant in an international school in Mexico. Later when I moved to London I began working as a nanny and a Maternity nurse, specialising in new born care. I have also worked as an ESL teacher with children aged 2-10. Then I became involved with Hartbeeps about 5 years ago. And most recently I have been qualified and started teaching baby massage and baby yoga. I think nowadays most people know what baby massage is. For more information, please see m...
Read more

The Importance of Consent

Image
  So maybe you're thinking "Why do I need my baby's consent to massage them or practise baby yoga with them?"   Well, ask yourself, "Would I want someone to ask permission to touch me and move my body around?" Think back to when you were pregnant and so many random strangers came up to you and touched your belly.  Was that enjoyable to you? Of course not.   Now I understand you are their parent, and perhaps we take it for granted that our babies and children consent to our touch.  And yes it is true that you are responsible to grant their consent in certain situation.  So why are we talking about parents/carers seeking consent from their baby/child?  Put simply, the world we live in has made it imperative to create a culture of consent in our homes, families, schools, classes, lives.  I repeat, the world we live in has made it IMPERATIVE to create a culture of consent. Teaching children to give consent, even as an infant, teaches empowerment. ...
Read more