Emma and baby Leo joined two Sunflower Baby Massage five-week courses, starting when Leo was three months old.  Emma shares her beautiful story of how the warm interactions of Baby Massage not only relaxed and calmed Leo during a challenging time, but also empowered her as parent to know what is best for Leo and his treatment. 

​The massage course not only provided this opportunity, but it also gave me a sense of being ‘away from it all’ in a ‘safe’ bubble, alongside other parents who were also going through those new baby days with me.  What I had not appreciated was just how relaxed I would also feel, which of course, had an impact on Leo, both during the massage and afterwards.  So as well as developing and enhancing the connection between us, through nurturing touch, it was also a really calming, restorative experience for us both.  

​Leo also suffered with (initially undiagnosed) allergies and was so uncomfortable, as he was suffering with eczema from head to toe.  The massage really calmed him down and enabled him to relax – he was tense and uncomfortable all the time with his skin – so this was a way I could help him through nurture.  To see how much he relaxed into the massage each week was incredible!  

​It made me feel so much better to be able to do something that helped him feel so much better.  The look of grateful relief on his face after every massage was very rewarding and it empowered me to know that I did know what was best for my baby.  As such I was able to push for diagnosis and ultimately we were referred to the correct specialists, his allergies were diagnosed and we were given the right creams to get his eczema under control.  The benefits of massage are therefore so wide reaching, spanning the physical, mental and emotional, and go much further than just the massage room itself.

​Our IAIM baby massage practitioner deeply understood all of this, which she communicated gently throughout the course.  It was clear that she was an expert in her field and that she cares deeply about the benefits massage can bring to both parent and child.   Her nature meant that she was easy to talk to and, as a Mum herself, was able to understand how it feels to be in your shoes as a parent.  She was patient and considered, and really took the time to think about your needs as a parent – even bringing dairy, egg and soya free brownies for me so I could have a little treat (as I was on a very controlled diet while my son’s allergies were being identified!)  Little extras like that can make such a difference when you are coping with the early sleep-deprived days of new motherhood!

"It’s really important to stress just what a powerful experience baby massage actually is.  It’s so much more than  ‘just massage’ – it’s a very special, unique way to re-centre with your child and establish a calm connection in an environment away from the stresses and strains of everyday life.  I just can’t recommend it highly enough.”

Huge thanks to Emma and Baby Leo for taking the time to share their Infant Massage journey so beautifully with us, as part of Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2018. I absolutely loved sharing the wonders of this gentle parenting practice with them and is so heart warming to hear how much this special time connecting together has benefited both Emma and Leo. Big Thanks extends to the lovely Sarah Egerton at the International Association of Infant Massage for putting this wonderful case study together.  
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Brought to you by the International Association of Infant Massage and Emma Lindell, Infant Massage Lead for Dorset Parent Infant Partnership and owner of Sunflower Baby Massage
​www.iaimbabymassage.co.uk
www.dorpip.org.uk
​www.sunflowerbabymassage.org.uk
It's Infant Mental Health Awareness Week
​10th - 16th of June 2018

​Join the conversation using #IMHAW18
@IAIM  Baby Massage @UK_IAIM
@Dorset Parent Infant Partnership @Dor_pip
@Sunflower Baby Massage @Sunflower_BM

Shelley, Martin and baby Willow completed a one-to-one Sunflower Baby Massage course, in May 2017 when Willow was just 36 weeks. Find out how their positive nurturing touch and gentle massage strokes helped to support and enhance Willow's social, emotional and physical development and what this very special one-to-one time together has meant for Shelley, Martin and Willow as a family.

​But when Willow came along six weeks early, she was so tiny, and we were aware of the risk (albeit it very low) of developmental problems, because she’d arrived before her brain and other organs had developed to full term.  

Martin and I both spent individual one-on-one time with Willow and our IAIM baby massage practitioner, as well as together as a family.  It became part of our family routine, time we looked forward to every week, and was the most special time and beautiful experience, which Willow responded to amazingly.  We noticed how much it relaxed her and chilled her out, as we practised the different strokes on her with relaxation breathing techniques, and spent mindful time communicating together as a family through eye contact, loving touch and talk.  Not only that but it also helped with physiological issues, such as wind and silent reflux.  It also helped to calm and relax us!

I would strongly recommend that all new parents embrace infant massage, especially if their baby is premature.  This was the best start we could’ve given little Willow and our family, and which I have no doubt has put really positive foundations in place for healthy development”.

“As a Dad, it was really important to me to find ways to get involved with Willow as much as I could.  I wanted to spend quality time with her, so that we could bond, and so that I could help her as much as possible in her development.  The baby massage sessions took place on a Saturday, which meant that I could have this special dedicated time with Willow, completely focused on her - and on us as a family, with no interruptions or distractions.  It helped us all to connect, chill out and relax, and it taught Shelley and I a range of non-invasive techniques, which we took away with us and have continued to use in practise with Willow, which often serve as a brilliant way of transitioning her between bath and bedtime.  

The great thing about the private sessions we had with our IAIM-practitioner, was that she came to us:  all of the sessions took place in Willow’s nursery, and so she has come to associate this space with feeling calm and safe. 

Willow turns One!

A great big Thank you to Shelley, Martin and Baby Willow for taking the time to share their Infant Massage journey so beautifully with us, as part of Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2018, and big Thanks to the lovely Sarah Egerton at the International Association of Infant Massage for putting this wonderful case study together.  
💛💛💛

Brought to you by the International Association of Infant Massage and Emma Lindell, Infant Massage Lead for Dorset Parent Infant Partnership and owner of Sunflower Baby Massage
​www.iaimbabymassage.co.uk
www.dorpip.org.uk
​www.sunflowerbabymassage.org.uk