Gentle Hands

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

ASSISTANT EDITOR

that little Alysa Levine was
a fan of the procedure. The
3-month-old lay still and
smiled and appeared com-
pletely relaxed as her moth-
er, Ronna Levine, gave her a
massage.
Thirteen-month-old Max
Ferder, with mom Frieda
Ferder, could take only so
much of the whole lying
down thing. Armed only with
his Pampers, he stood up and
walked around the room,
pausing to stare into Mrs.
Beresh's video camera and
look longingly out the win-
dow at the big kids, the S-
and 4-year olds attending
some of the Parenting Cen-
ter's other programs.
The instructor wasn't con-
cerned.
"The little ones just melt"
when massaged, she said.
But older babies are not ex-
actly proficient at staying in
one place. "They finally know
how to get to all those things

Photos by Glenn Tr

Matthew
Ackerman:
"The little ones just
melt."

they've always wanted." So
massage them as you can.
After awhile, as the babies
learn that massage is a time
to relax, they'll become more
amenable to sitting still for
the strokes.
Mrs. Joseph, a respiratory
therapist, became interested
in baby massage while work-
ing in the neonatal intensive
care unit at Sinai Hospital.
She attended a workshop on
infant massage, "and I just
fell in love with it." After
completing a training course,
she began teaching parents
throughout metro Detroit.
She has held classes with the
Beaumont parenting pro-
gram, at the YMCA and
with community education
groups.
Two of her regular cus-

tomers have been her son,
Scott, and her daughter,
Laura. Scott, now 7, had
his first massage when he
was 2 1/2. Laura, 8, still
wants a back massage
every night. Bedtime is de-
layed a little, and mother
and daughter have a few
minutes alone together at
the end of the day.
Baby massage, Mrs.
Joseph said, "is a wonder-
ful plus, a real benefit be-
yond the ordinary." Her
classes usually last three
to five weeks, with each
session focusing on a dif-
ferent way parents can
communicate with their
children: eye contact,
touch, and understanding
baby's crying, among oth- Kathleen Joseph with Max Ferder.
ers.

DEC EMBER

T

he first step in a suc-
cessful baby mas-
sage is for the parent
to be relaxed. Next, un-
dress your baby, apply oil
to the hands, and place
the baby on a blanket or
thick towel on the floor.
The following are some
strokes to try:
#1 Begin with the left
leg. Put one hand, form-
ing a circle, around baby's
leg near the hip. Move
slowly up and down,
hand over hand, in a slow
rhythm, as though you
were milking the leg.
Next, place both hands at
the hip. Move in circles,
in both directions, to the
foot. Smooth thumbs over
the soles of the feet, and
gently squeeze each toe.
Repeat on right leg.
#2 Place hands just be-
low the ribs and move
down, in the pattern of a
water wheel. Gently
stretch baby's legs up-
ward, relaxing the ab-
domen. Hold- thumbs on
either side of navel and
smooth to sides. Next,
write "I Love You" on the
baby's belly. Use feather
strokes across baby's ab-
domen.
#3 Move hands slowly
from center of chest to
sides. Then place right
hand on baby's hip, mov-
ing across the chest to the
shoulder, in waves. Re-
peat on other side with
left hand.
#4 Turn baby on his
side and milk the arm
from shoulder to hand.
Massage baby's hand
by rolling fingers
across the thumb and
rubbing each finger.
Repeat on other side.
#5 To massage
baby's face, start in the
middle of the forehead,
using flat fingers to
push to the sides. Rub
thumbs over the bridge
of the nose, then down,
and over each cheek.
Using fingertips, make
small circles on the
jaw, just below cheeks,
and around the chin. ❑

105