The age of 2-3 months is amazing, full of discoveries and new experiences for both the baby and his parents. It is at this age that the baby needs a lot of strength to study the world around him, to master new movements and skills. Of course, the baby needs the help of adults. One of the ways to help a baby is a general massage. How to make it for a two-month-old baby, we will tell you in this article.
Age features - physical development
Yesterday, the baby peacefully snuffled in the crib after feeding. But now he has already turned 2-3 months old - this is the age of discoveries, the baby is awake more than during the neonatal period, and this time of activity must be used for the general strengthening and improvement of the baby.
The physiological muscle tone characteristic of all newborns has not yet passed, even if the parents diligently massage the baby from the first month of his life. The consequences of intrauterine posture and muscle tension associated with it will affect up to about six months.
But the baby has already learned to hold his head, and the "fastest" ones are already trying to roll over onto their side or onto their back from a prone position. The baby perfectly manages to follow a moving toy or the facial expressions of her mother, he actively reacts to her presence, revives and smiles.
At 2 months, babies are more likely to unbend their palms, they no longer keep their fingers constantly clenched into fists, arms and legs began to unbend better, at 2-3 and 3-4 months, the child gradually begins to raise the shoulder girdle and chest when lying on his stomach. All this provides additional opportunities for planning massage procedures - be sure to use the new skills and abilities of your son or daughter.
When is a massage needed?
Some parents firmly believe that a healthy child does not need massage. In their understanding, massage is the lot of sick children. It's not like that at all. Even a healthy child at this age needs help in relieving symptoms of physiological muscle tone, this will give him more freedom of movement, which means that the physical development of the baby will not slow down.
Massage improves the well-being of the child, it activates blood circulation, has a beneficial effect on the state of the nervous system, improves appetite and strengthens sleep. The impact on muscles, skin, ligaments is important for hypertonicity, torticollis, with increased intracranial pressure in infants.
Even in a perfectly healthy baby, massage movements activate nerve endings and receptors, due to which the brain develops better, and coordination of movements improves. By themselves, massage techniques develop the baby's perception of the world through tactile sensations.
As a rule, up to 3 months, the child is still unable to overcome the typical "trouble" of early age - infant colic. And massage helps in this. By the age of three months, the innate maternal immunity, which the child inherits at birth, noticeably weakens. Massage allows you to effectively increase your baby's own immunity, contributes to its formation and development.
It is no secret that from birth babies have quite a lot of physiological problems with the musculoskeletal system: completely natural flat feet are characteristic of all babies, clubfoot - 70% of babies. Competent massage at this age effectively corrects many conditions, including physiological ones, which themselves will disappear over time. Only with a massage will it go much faster.
Children with certain diagnoses of neurological, orthopedic and other types of massage should be carried out by specialists, since such massage is called therapeutic and, in fact, it is. For healthy toddlers in 2-3 months, you can do a developing and restorative massage yourself.
Kinds
Massage is different. In addition to the therapeutic one, the task of which is to correct the existing disorders, diseases, conditions, there is a general classical massage. Its task is to strengthen and promote the development of the child's body. General massage, in turn, can be relaxing and invigorating. Relaxing is carried out to children who are hyperactive, capricious, who sleep and eat poorly, and tonic is recommended for babies who, on the contrary, sleep a lot, are not awake and generally do not show much enthusiasm in mastering new skills, including motor skills.
A general strengthening massage is recommended for a child in 2-3 months at home. Also, the mother may well master the acupressure for children's rhinitis, foot massage, neck-collar zone, as well as percussion massage (vibration), which helps with bronchitis, wet cough.
Mom may well carry out preventive massage. Therapeutic and prophylactic - too, but under the supervision of a professional massage therapist, but therapeutic massage is the prerogative of professionals, since its inept implementation can worsen the child's condition and aggravate the disease. At home, massage for babies should be combined with gymnastics, exercises, games. In addition to the obvious physical benefits, such a set of exercises will bring many benefits for the mental and emotional development of the little one.
Contraindications
It is forbidden to massage a child at home under the following conditions and ailments:
- fever, increased body temperature for any reason;
- acute viral diseases;
- infectious diseases with rash, abscesses, vesicles on the skin;
- allergic rash, diaper rash, prickly heat in the area of physical tactile influence;
- congenital heart disease;
- hydrocephalus;
- predisposition to seizures and epilepsy;
- severe lesions of the central nervous system;
- vascular and blood diseases;
- large hernias, including umbilical hernia.
When carrying out massage manipulations for children aged 2-3 months, forceful action is strictly prohibited - claps, percussion technique. Avoid massaging the open fontanelle, popliteal and armpits, groin.
If the child experiences some discomfort, his teeth are cut, his tummy hurts, he slept little or ate poorly, massage is also not recommended. Only when the baby is absolutely healthy, cheerful and cheerful, in the mood for communication, should you start manipulating.
What needs to be prepared?
For a restorative or relaxing massage at home, you should prepare a massage place. It should be a firm and even surface covered with a diaper and oilcloth. If there is a changing table, this is good, it is perfectly suitable for this purpose. If such a table is not available, use an ordinary table, for example, a dining table, covering it with a diaper and oilcloth.
Next to the table, in the immediate vicinity, at the distance of an outstretched mother's hand, you need to place massage oil or baby cream, a pack of wet wipes in case you need to urgently wipe the described baby.
Everything should be close, because the mother's attempts to turn away, to reach for something can lead to the child falling off the table and receiving serious injuries.
If the table and all the necessary tools are prepared, pay attention to the air temperature and humidity in the room where the manipulation is to be done. The undressed baby will be comfortable and wonderful if the mother makes it so that the apartment is no hotter than 22 degrees, and the air humidity is 50-70%. If this condition is met, it's time to prepare the masseur's working tools - hands. Mom should cut her nails short, remove rings, bracelets, watches, wash her hands thoroughly with bactericidal soap and moisturize them with baby massage oil or baby cream.
Hands must be warm. Cold touches will scare the baby, he is unlikely to take such a massage with delight. If your hands are naturally cold, you need to hold them in warm water for several minutes. Only then can the baby be prepared for massage. Preparation consists in choosing the correct and reasonable time for the procedure. After a meal or just before feeding, massage is not necessary - the baby may regurgitate what he has just eaten or be naughty from hunger. It is best to carry out the procedure 45-50 minutes after feeding or an hour before the next feeding. If the massage is relaxing, then you need to do it before an evening swim. If tonic - in the morning, otherwise the overexcited child will not be able to sleep normally.
After undressing your baby, leave him naked in the air for a few minutes so that he adapts to the air temperature. And only then start the massage.
Technique
The most common massage in 2-3 months is general strengthening. It should start with gentle and delicate strokes with the palms of the baby's entire body. Let's consider the sequential order of actions.
- Hand massage - starts with palms and fingers and ends with the upper part of the forearms. Includes alternating stroking of the limbs, kneading fingers, stroking the palms, wrists. Try to avoid vigorous kneading of the muscles. All movements of mother's hands obey one important rule - the direction should be from bottom to top.
- Foot massage - begins with toes, feet and heels. Lightly stroke and gently knead the leg muscles. You cannot touch and massage the kneecap, as well as the popliteal space. The inner thigh should also not be touched.
- Massaging the abdomen - carried out in a circular motion around the navel. It is impossible to press and influence the navel area itself in any other way.
- Neck massage carried out by turning the child over on his stomach. Avoid pressing pressure on the cervical vertebrae. Manipulation should be limited to stroking the cervical fold.
- Backrest massage without affecting the spinal column. It is advisable to gently rub and stroke the straight and oblique muscles with the palms and ribs of the palms.
- Buttocks pinch slightly with your fingertips.
- The back of the lower leg and thigh slightly smoothed without kneading from bottom to top.
- The massage is completed by stroking, turning the child on the back. After that, you can start exercising - let the child grab your fingers with the handles and lift the child slightly, then lower him back. Bring the legs in turn ("bike"), turn the child to the right and left sides, stimulating the development of the oblique abdominal muscles.
A relaxing massage before an evening swim has the same procedure and technique, but all kneading should be excluded. It is based on calm and gentle stroking of the whole body, limbs, scalp of the child's head.
Drainage massage for coughing 2-3 months old baby is performed by putting the child on his lap. With her fingertips, the mother gently taps the area of the ribs and chest, after which the baby is lifted into an upright position. A sign of a successful effect is the appearance of a cough - this massage accelerates the discharge of phlegm from the bronchi.
Massage for a cold is done using the technology of acupressure. It is also allowed at the age of 2-3 months. First, the mother should familiarize herself with the location of the acupuncture points, which are "responsible" for the nose. The points should be looked for at the tip of the nose, on the wings of the nose, between the eyebrows of the baby, above the first cervical vertebra, in the center of the heel and on the wrists. Massage in a circular motion.
A massage session, whatever its purpose, for a child of this age category lasts no more than 15 minutes. Moreover, the time should be increased gradually - spend the first session for 2-3 minutes, increase the second by a minute or two. The duration of exposure with each exercise and reception is also increased in stages.
It is quite possible for a child in 2-3 months to carry out part of the exercises on a fitball. This applies to the complex that follows the main massage effect. Massaging is carried out only on a hard and flat surface.
The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky
The famous pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky claims that no one can massage a healthy baby better than a mother. It is with her that the child seeks tactile contact. It is this fact that explains why most babies cry and scream in the hands of professional massage therapists. Only the mother, according to Komarovsky, can turn massage into a game, into communication, into pleasure for all participants in the process.
Therefore, Evgeny Olegovich recommends that mothers master simple massage sessions on their own. Knowledge can be gleaned from videos that are on the Internet, ask the pediatrician or nurse in the nursery to show the techniques, you can read smart books for young parents written by doctors. There are no problems with information today.
Home maternal massage gives the child pleasure and peace of mind, brings maximum benefit, and also saves the family budget, because the services of a massage therapist are quite expensive.
If the child is prescribed a therapeutic massage, then no options - according to Komarovsky, sessions should be entrusted to professionals with medical education. Do not hesitate to ask for a diploma, there are many charlatans and amateurs working in this “market” today.
The next video is about how to independently massage a baby at home.
