When I was pregnant I fantasised about all the groups I would take my young King to, to help encourage his development. I remember being quite obsessed with Baby Massage as all the reviews I had heard were pretty amazing.
I was over the moon when I was gifted a Baby Massage Group Class with Sensory Land. Within the 60 minutes I learnt a series of massage movements and techniques, including the use of rhyme, rhythm and repititon to perform a successful full body baby massage to Lion.
Prior to the class I was a bit stressed as I hadn’t ventured out much with Lion on my own and was anxious incase I interrupted his sleep pattern. But Casey (Sensory Land Instructor) really put my nerves at ease by offering me a Fennel Tea and offering me a bit of ‘me’ time, whilst she held Lion.
Sensory Land was the largest class Lion had ever been in. As Lion is highly inquisitive he was very intrigued with all the people in the room and became a little tearful. Casey came over to see if we were both OK and offered us a pom pom shaker for Lion to play with as he seemed to be getting restless whilst laying down.
As the class went on I became more relaxed as there was no pressure to partake in the class if your baby was a little irritable, which Lion was getting as he had just mastered the art of rolling over and found rolling more entertaining than being massaged!
What I liked about Sensory Lands version of baby massage is that it offered a ‘sensory playtime’ for babies like Lion who prefer to be more hands on, where as other massage classes I have attended don’t go the extra mile for babies who are early physical developers.
The massage touched on the following senses; hearing, touch, vision, smell and proprioception as well as offering mum, dad or carer a chance to unwind too.
Life with a new born and or child can be pretty hectic. If it isn’t the constant changing of dirty nappies, cluster feeding, teething and every other demand you can think of, you are often left feeling overwhelmed and sometimes feeling like you are on an emotional rollercoaster that is never going to end!
Therefore this class offers you that breather you so deserve. Not only does baby massage offer amazing benefits to baby it gives YOU the chance to bond, unwind and relax. Baby massage helps in reducing your stress hormone and in turn can help alleviate depression.
With the correct technique and strokes taught by a trained and experienced instructor baby massage has been reported to ease the symptoms of colds, teething, colic, constipation and more.
I have been lucky as I bonded with Lion straight away but it doesn’t come as natural to some parents, thus baby massage is also a great way to experience bonding with your cub/s. This is encouraged through the use of touch, eye contact and quality time.
Lion was five months when we attended the class and in hindsight I think it would have been better to start a massage class with him before he was rolling and sitting up as I think he would have got more out of the ‘massage’ section of the class.
After the class I incorporated some of the techniques into our daily routine and it definitely eased his gas!
For those of you that follow me on social media you would have seen my constant struggle with him sleeping at length at night so unfortunately for us it has not improved his sleep routine, despite him seeming more relaxed and sleepy after the class!
I would really recommend families to learn baby massage and if you are in South-West London then please do check out Sensory Land. They offer a number of baby massage courses and workshops to book and/or find out more please click the course/workshop that interests you below:
Bespoke 1-2-1 Private Baby Massage
Things to remember: Take a towel, baby friendly massage oil (some classes provide oil but if you want to practice at home please stay away from petroleum based oil, essential oils, olive oil and sunflower oil), don’t forget spare nappies and NEVER leave your house without a spare change of clothes, just in case of accidents!
* This was a gifted opportunity but all opinions are my own
Really enjoyed reading that good content
Aww thank you so much Omolade, means a lot! It was a really good class xx
So great to have you both in class!