Wendy Turner: Everyone loves the good relaxing massage, I know I certainly do, and your little baby is no different. Baby massage is a wonderful way of bonding and relaxing with your child while still so enhancing your baby's growth and development.
Here is Alice Lim and the expert in baby massage will tell you the list of positive benefits of baby massage is absolutely endless.
So Alice, hello! And welcome here today.
Alice Lim: Hi!
Wendy Turner: And just introduce this darling girl.
Alice Lim: This is baby Neola.
Wendy Turner: Hello! Neola, and how old is Neola?
Alice Lim: She is about five-and-a-half months old.
Wendy Turner: Now she is been incredibly calm all the time she is been in the studio.
Should we attribute that to baby massage?
Alice Lim: I hope so.
Wendy Turner: Oh! No, right confusion, she is going to wiggle, aren't you darling? So baby massage, how long is it been around for? Is it a current trend at the moment?
Alice Lim: Well, it's very popular at the moment, but it has actually traditionally been around from many hundreds of years in India or Asia and where that babies are actually massaged from birth everyday.
Wendy Turner: And you actually teach baby massage, don't you?
Alice Lim: I teach mothers how to massage their babies, so I don't actually massage to babies.
Wendy Turner: And fathers, do they get involved into this?
Alice Lim: Fathers as well. One of the good things about baby massage is that it's some, wonderful for bonding with both parents and indeed grandparents or anybody else who wants to do it, they are involved.
Wendy Turner: Yes! What are the major benefits for the baby of baby massage?
Alice Lim: Well, that the baby massage I teach is developmental baby massage which is a technique which is developed by Peter Walker. It has all the benefits of normal massage, and he uses the massage, the muscles and the joints. Particularly for babies, it helps for them to develop at each stage with movement, so from birth to standing or different stages of movement and development in baby massage enhances and [Voice Overlap].
Wendy Turner: And there are all kinds of claims as well, aren't there to do with sort of a baby sort of total wellbeing and their general psyche and their calmness.
Alice Lim: It's definitely helps with their wellbeing and after massage they are calm, relaxed, it should be fine.
Wendy Turner: Is the mother there or the father?
Alice Lim: Basically, in order to have your baby relaxed, you should be relaxed while you are massaging a baby, because the baby will pick up sort of any anxiety something like that. So as long as you're calm and relaxed, your baby should enjoy the massage in the same way that you will.
Wendy Turner: Is baby massage something you can do from literally newborn and to what age would you do it?
Alice Lim: Well, that the massage that's taught in the class is more sort of fits like every like routine of things that you can do. You can massage your baby from birth, but obviously you wouldn't do such vigorous things as you gradually sort of build in more things as they develop. As they are able to like hold their neck up, support their own necks, then you'll do things which will encourage them to maybe go the next stage further.
Wendy Turner: And even I had my second baby, Freddie. When he was tiny, I did think about the subject of baby massage and I think I was quite hesitant, because I always didn't want to hurt him and I felt, because if I had a massage, one of the those big tissue ones, and I was thinking whether it could surely by quite dangerous kind of in a way to do it wrongly.
Alice Lim: In terms of massage, I mean without knowing you are massaging your baby every time you touch your baby and if they, you give them a little a rub here, so from birth, you do very gentle things. You can even massage them with their clothes on, until they get used to the idea of being naked and stretched out. So you wouldn't ever do anything to harm your baby.
Wendy Turner: No, I see, Okay. So my fears were unfounded. Sorry, Freddie, you missed out there.
Alice Lim: The important thing to remember about baby massage is that you always massage with your baby or led by your baby, so if there is any discomfort, you would immediately stop. Also, if there are fears about sort of hurting a baby, that's one good way to get over them is to actually massage them and then you will confident about handling your baby.
Wendy Turner: Yes, yes, because obviously they appear so delicate, but now we know they are quite robust really. In terms of perhaps day time what's the best time to massage a baby?
Alice Lim: Well, anytime really, that the baby is awake usually in between feeds, not on a full stomach. A lot of people like to do it just before bed, maybe after a bath to relax them before sleeping.
Wendy Turner: It'll help have a goodnight sleep?
Alice Lim: Yeah.
Wendy Turner: It can only be encouraged. And what kind of clothes would the baby wear or you just said, it could be naked or clothes on?
Alice Lim: Well, usually, you massage depending on what age and everything, but usually, the baby is totally naked when you massage them, give them a good full-body massage. But you can also do things while they are dressed as well.
Wendy Turner: Well, it sounds wonderful. Can we have a little look at what it's practically all about?
Alice Lim: Okay!
Wendy Turner: Come on, it's your turn, Niola (ph).
Alice Lim: Well, so what I could do is, I could show you something colder and a tailor pose swing which is very good. This is something that you could do at the beginning of a class where you are warming up and they still got their clothes on. You sit your baby on your lap or usually actually I'll go down to the floor.
Wendy Turner: Yeah, fine.
Alice Lim: This is very good for the hips and also it can be done up until they are toddlers, as long as you can hold them and it maintains their flexibility. So you sit the baby on your lap, you can bring your arms underneath your baby's arms and holding the feet together, but the knees apart. So she is sitting in a tailor pose which is the first sitting position and then I just lift her onto my knees. Bring the chest towards her feet and just swing her from side to side.
Wendy Turner: Oh wow!
Alice Lim: Babies love. This is one thing which some mothers feel a bit nervous about doing to begin with but as long as you are holding them securely as you would be instructed to, there's no way that she can fall out of my arms.
Wendy Turner: Yes, presumably, you can feel the weight distribution that you know that you are not going to drop her.
Alice Lim: As long as you are holding her securely with your forearms that your hands are holding her ankles and most babies really love this. And if you see that it's good for that sitting posture because if you put them down on the ground like that, she is in the first sitting position and her arms are free to reach out for any toys and actually she is more or less sitting now.
Wendy Turner: Look at that flexibility, it's marvelous.
Alice Lim: You can also put like a little cushion or something that's here to lift her. So this would be encouraging her to sit and you can massage down the back like that to ground or into this position.
Wendy Turner: And that's literally you are stroking.
Alice Lim: The stroking, yeah. And she is sitting on the backs of her thighs and not on her spine.
Wendy Turner: I see, yes, yes.
Alice Lim: So I think good for the rest of her life, really.
Wendy Turner: Absolutely. And then do you generally start at the top or the bottom?
Alice Lim: Well, you generally, after maybe a little warm-up, it's nice to sort of getting her ready for the massage, so you can give them a belly-to-belly hug. This is another hip actually where you just generally open up the legs around your waist. Give them a nice hug and a kiss.
Wendy Turner: You like that.
Alice Lim: And then after sort of you can slowly get them undressed. Lay them on the ground. Shall I?
Wendy Turner: Yes, you carry on.
Alice Lim: Okay, well, I take off her trousers to begin with.
Wendy Turner: If, say, at this point the baby is really restless and sort of crying, would you recommend somebody to continue.
Alice Lim: Oh no! As I said earlier on, the most important thing is that you are led by your baby. So if at any point, the baby wants to be picked up, he needs a feed, needs to go to -- needs a nappy change but the nappy would be off anyway, then you just stop and you carry on when you are both ready.
Wendy Turner: So explain to me what you are doing now?
Alice Lim: Oh, I was just -- well, usually, you might with the feet because it's kind of more non-invasive and then move up to the body. So I will just get a little bit of oil, I'll just start with the feet.
Wendy Turner: Now what kind of oil would one use?
Alice Lim: With young babies, you'd use the purest and organic where possible and like a sunflower or grapeseed because they are light, easily absorbed into the skin and obviously, pure with any kind of toxins.
Wendy Turner: When I came out of the hospital the last time after having a second baby, I still remember they said olive oil was very good.
Alice Lim: Olive oil is good.
Wendy Turner: Almond oil is the other one they mentioned.
Alice Lim: Almond oil is also good, yeah.
Wendy Turner: But presumably, actually you don't want to start putting essential oils just like in aroma therapy.
Alice Lim: No. You should talk to an aroma therapist really before using essential oils, and certainly before they are about -- when they are very-very young. You don't want to be introducing any other scent which is going to interfere with the mother's smell. So if I can just put her back, she is actually -- one question people say is when do you stop massaging? And it's basically when they want to stay still. So you could stop by just rubbing up and down the feet like that.
Wendy Turner: And you are not putting much pressure on there, are you?
Alice Lim: No.
Wendy Turner: It's nothing deep tissue at all presumably.
Alice Lim: No, this isn't deep tissue. You can use some pressure sometimes, but at the beginning, it's best to just be gentle, and then you can increase depending on the baby. But generally, it's not. Like certainly, for the belly and the spine and places like that you wouldn't put a lot of pressure. So then you can start just by doing a rub on the outside and then you can go to just twiddling the toes and --
Wendy Turner: Oh, that's going down well.
Alice Lim: And then, to help to spread out the feet, you can put -- just rub in between the toes with your thumb or finger. And this will be good for the -- when they stand, they want to stand with a firm foot. So it's helping to spread out the toes. And then eventually, you can give the base of the foot a little rub. And you can extend the heel by just gently pressing underneath the toes, and then just giving the calf a little more massage as you do this, and by extending the heels also giving -- preparing the foot for standing.
Wendy Turner: So do you make sure that they are always on a pretty hard surface, like a carpeted floor, and not a sort of soft cushion underneath them, or doesn't it particularly matter?
Alice Lim: At some places there will be -- in some classes, you will have a big cushions to lay them down, but I think it's better to be on the floor.
Wendy Turner: Something firm.
Alice Lim: It just so that if they were to roll or anything they wouldn't roll of anything
high, and also it is better for their back to be on something firm. So just off of the feet you could just like --
Wendy Turner: Stretch those legs.
Alice Lim: That's right. And then you might move on to the legs. So I will just get her --
Wendy Turner: Generally, how long would you sort of sit here massaging your baby for?
Alice Lim: That already depends on the baby but I would say with her, a good 20 minutes, half-an-hour.
Wendy Turner: Oh, really that long.
Alice Lim: Yeah.
Wendy Turner: But she is very personal, isn't it? Because presumably some babies after 10 minutes would -
Alice Lim: Yeah. If that's the case, you can always get back to the things that like best, massaging for a while and do the other bits later or -- just take it some off here. Okay.
Wendy Turner: Now, presumably, of course, with them being naked, it's important to get the room temperature.
Alice Lim: That's right. Before you start massaging, basically, you want to have everything that you need, so you can just concentrate and focus on the baby. So yes, making sure that the room is warm, that there are no cold drafts.
Wendy Turner: Now it's warm in here. No problem for you there. Oh, we have got to smile. Right, what's next? More oil.
Alice Lim: Yeah. Always make sure that you have lots of oil on your hands because the baby's skin should be gliding with your skin, so there should be no friction.
Wendy Turner: Yes, no friction there at all.
Alice Lim: So if we do the legs, this is one of the movements, this is hand-over-hand while you are just pulling the baby's leg through your well oiled palms. And then you can hold and then to the top of a thighs, like that.
Wendy Turner: How popular are your classes, I mean, have you noticed an increase in popularity?
Alice Lim: The classes are always pretty popular, because there are always new mothers coming in and if it's something -- some people come back regularly, every week and others.
Wendy Turner: So they see the benefits, presumably.
Alice Lim: Yes. And then -
Wendy Turner: So we are moving up now?
Alice Lim: So we can move up to the belly and at this point, it's always advisable to have an extra towel ready, because obviously you are putting your hand on where the bladder is. So with the belly you never put any pressure on, you just use the weight of your relaxed hand.
Wendy Turner: So that's really more of a comforting move or technique, isn't it, around the stomach area?
Alice Lim: It's also good for relieving trapped wind.
Wendy Turner: Yes, there is that.
Alice Lim: Yeah. You would -- just to get them started, because the belly, if you have a calm belly, you have a calm baby. So you want to make sure the baby's belly is always nice and soft. So you just -- placing the hand on the hip bone, finger stretched and then you can just gently -- you go around in a clockwise direction because that's inline with the baby's digestive system.
And then the other belly one you can do is you take your cupped hand, place it horizontally between the hips and the lower ribs and then here you can just give it a gentle meeting, so pushing in and pulling back. She has got a quite relaxed belly. So there are other things you can do on the belly, but we can move on to the chest. And it's also important to play -- it's a very playful thing as well. So you can kiss and coo and talk to your baby as you are massaging. So the hands are just moving over the shoulders and round in a circle here.
Wendy Turner: I said earlier, how relaxed she had been this morning. Now, I can see why, she loves pampering.
Alice Lim: She loves it.
Wendy Turner: I can see, and I can really tell that.
Alice Lim: And they like a good pat on the -- a little pat on the chest as well. Sometimes it really makes me love - this one. And then we can go over the shoulders and then bring the arms down inline with the body and this generally gets her a relaxed chest.
Wendy Turner: Because I can see the obvious advantage of doing this before bedtime, obviously to encourage a good night sleep. But, if you did this sort of first thing in the morning, you would be pretty much set up for the day, wouldn't you? Happy relaxed baby.
Alice Lim: Happy relaxed baby, yes. Well, they also stimulate the appetite as well. So it quite often after a massage, they will want to eat.
Wendy Turner: Want a big feed after this, don't you?
Alice Lim: Yes. Okay, so we can move on to the back and spine which is putting her on her belly and then - now, it's very, very important for babies to spend time on their bellies.
Wendy Turner: Why is that?
Alice Lim: It's because it prepares them for -- well, you see, it basically you put through her forearms, full hand and hands forward. It encourages them to lift up their heads and that's preparing them for sort of sitting and crawling. So she is now able to lift up her head. So you could just go hand-over-hand down the back to also -- with a smaller baby, this can encourage them to lift their heads as well.
Wendy Turner: Oh, that's always the best, isn't it, having your butt muscle --
Alice Lim: And just making sure that you don't sort of massage the actual spine, but if you have your hands cupped like this it's fine, or some people would like to do like this, stroking kind. And then eventually when they are in this belly position, you can bring one shoulder back, just bring the arm back in line with the body, like that. And then change into the other side, just bring your arm like that. It's always important to make sure that the arm stays inline with the body, bring it back.
And then we can do both arms and she should let go -
Wendy Turner: You let go of the towel for a minute.
Alice Lim: She is lifting herself up basically there. You can feel the strength -- and she is doing what she'll get into this swimming position where she will eventually lift up her feet as well. And then they like a good clap on the back. And a nice little circular rub down the lower back.
Wendy Turner: Just at the base of the spine.
Alice Lim: The base of the spine, yeah.
Wendy Turner: Do you get involved in doing anything on the head or face, you just leave the area alone?
Alice Lim: Yeah. We do do the head little bit towards the end, like when you are sitting. Did you have enough of that? The other thing you can do on the belly is just bending the thighs back, the feet back a little bit.
Wendy Turner: Yes. Well, there are so many things you can do.
Alice Lim: Yes, I am sure we could spend all day. So after that, you could, she isn't sitting -- so you sit her down in the tailor pose position again, and this time she is on the floor, so I am supporting her by holding my arm underneath her arm, and here is when you can do the head.
Wendy Turner: So again, it's a very general movement from you, isn't it?
Alice Lim: Yes.
Wendy Turner: Never putting any pressure on any specific point.
Alice Lim: If you do do the head, it's important to make sure that the oil doesn't run to the forehead and into the eyes. If the baby has cradle cap, that's where olive oil is good, actually where you put - massage the olive oil into the head.
Wendy Turner: Gosh! Is that it?
Alice Lim: That's where you can do some --
Wendy Turner: That's pretty much the basics though.
Alice Lim: Yes. It's working sort of through the body, and just encouraging the baby to develop in the way that it would - to sit, stand and crawl, and just making sure that they have a good posture when they do that.
Wendy Turner: So you said, you do it from practically day one, you can do it from day one?
Alice Lim: You can do it from - I mean you wouldn't do a massage like that on day one. It would be more kind of just stroking and comforting.
Wendy Turner: But what age generally would you go up to?
Alice Lim: Well, a massage like that, up until they don't want it. So when she crawls away and just won't lie still, won't let me do it, then that would be when I would stop. And then you could go on to doing soft gymnastics with them, which is more like the tailor pose swing, more kind of active.
Wendy Turner: We've got a little dummy over there and that's to when - that was just to demonstrate on a newborn.
Alice Lim: Yes. Like for example, if -- some babies might be uncomfortable to begin with on their bellies, so you can start them off in that position but on your lap. I am not sure if I can - I will just pull her down, see if I can demonstrate that. Can you just lie down for a minute little sweetie?
Wendy Turner: You have a rest.
Alice Lim: So this is our newborn and sort of -- you would sit comfortably like so, and then you can have them in the sort of belly position, making sure that the feet are together so that they are not going to propel themselves of you.
Wendy Turner: Right, yes, they have got the strength.
Alice Lim: And just kind of massage in this position and then gradually bring your knees lower and lower to the ground, as the baby feels more comfortable to go. So that's something you could do if your baby doesn't like being on their belly immediately, and then the other thing you can do is, to start them off, is to have a little prop like, you can roll up a towel, and gently place it underneath the arms.
Wendy Turner: Just a little bit chest here.
Alice Lim: Yes. So you can do the belly stuff like that.
Wendy Turner: Okay. Excellent! I think - how do you think your life and your baby's life would be different if you didn't do this baby massage? It must be really part of your day, isn't it?
Alice Lim: It's difficult too imagine what it would be like, because it's such a sort of natural thing to do, I can't imagine not doing it.
Wendy Turner: Yes. But you do it very well and you have told us all the great deal. You have definitely encouraged me. So if I do have another baby. I would definitely be encouraged to do that. Alice, Thank you very much.
Alice Lim: You're welcome.
Wendy Turner: Excellent, finding out all that. And Neola, you are the star of the show. Thank you very much too.
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