Welcome to Zen Babies, I'm Francesca and I'm delighted to be able to share with you my Baby Massage course that I deliver to face to face classes and have used with my own children.

Baby Massage is a wonderful bonding activity to do together, the videos on this course will talk about creating a space in your home for massaging your baby, oil advice, when not to massage your baby, individual body parts in shorter videos and a longer full body massage that you can follow in real time and stop and start as you wish.

You can massage your baby from birth but you may find they are better from after 4-6 weeks. The NHS guidlines are that we don't use oil until after 4-6 weeks and always patch test a small amount on the inside of your baby's wrist the day before and keep checking the area for any changes like redness. Always speak to your healthcare professionals with any questions.

Baby Massage benefits: massaging your baby helps support your baby's natural growth and development, research has shown baby massage has helped premature babies put on weight, however all these benefits apply to all babies, including, increased muscle tone, improved sleep, aids digestion, helps alleviate colic and reflux symptoms, soothe teething pain and clear stuffy headaches, along with increasing your bond while enjoying this time in the here and now with your baby you are communicating through baby's first language of touch, builiding trust and respect between you. Enjoy the massage together and stop if your baby becomes upset, uncomfortable or shows you clear signs they don't want to be massaged. You can try again the next day. Leave 48 hours after their vaccinations and use your judgement on how well they feel if they are happy for a masssage after this time. If your baby is under the weather they may not want the extra stimulation.

I hope you enjoy this course and thank you for choosing Zen Babies.

Francesca