Ice Breaker – What’s been your biggest challenge as a parent so far?

• Tummy time for mums
• Tailor pose and swing / Tiger in Tree swing

CHEST

We keep this section short on the chest as babies don’t usually like it for too long and it is where they hold tension.

1. Lie baby comfortably on their back on the towel. Place well oiled relaxed hands in centre of chest and leave them there for a few seconds for baby to get used to the touch.
2. Again with relaxed hands massage down and around the lower rib cage and then returning hands to centre. Repeat 5 times.
3. From the centre of the chest massage upwards and outwards to circle both shoulders and then return to the centre. Repeat 5 times.
4. Crossing hands to opposite shoulder.
5. With cupped hands tap lightly across top and centre around sides of chest in a drumming motion for approximately 20 seconds.
6. Fill with love, same as with the belly, draw a

Benefits: Opens the chest to allow the baby to take in more oxygen, encouraging deeper breathing. Deeper breathing is relaxing and restful and can help baby to feel peaceful.

SHOULDERS AND ARMS

1. Bring the hands back to the top of the chest and rest for a few seconds. Explain that we are moving on to concentrate on the shoulders.
2. Move the hands up and out over shoulders slowly and back to centre. Continue for approximately 20 seconds.
3. From the top of chest, move hands up and out over shoulders and down the arms pulling them through your hands, keeping baby’s arms straight beside their body and bring hands back to chest. Repeat 5 times.
4. From the top of chest, move your hands up out over shoulders gently pull arms through the hands again but this time with babies arms out to the sides in line with shoulders and then glide hands back to the chest. If babies resist, mum can try clapping hands together and then coming out to the sides. Repeat 5 times.
5. Place hands around the sides of the chest under baby’s armpits and glide your hands up the arms pull them through so they are above babies head, keeping contact glide back to the chest. Remind mums to be gentle with this and only takes arms as high as is comfortable for them. Repeat 5 times.
6. Pit stop! Using two or three fingers massage in small circles in the armpit.
7. Arm milking and rolling (see baby yoga manual)
8. Gently holding on to baby’s wrists, circle them around.
9. Then gently lift and lower the fingers of the hand to flex the wrist.

Benefits: Reducing physiological flexion. Bringing arms out to the side opens the chest and closes and strengthens the upper back from side to side. Bringing arms upwards opens the chest and closes and strengthens the upper back from top to bottom. Massaging shoulders and arms in natural order of development will ensure flexibility of shoulders and suppleness in arm muscles. Massaging in the armpit drains the lymph nodes.

Songs to include: You are My Sunshine, Open Shut Them.

HANDS

1. Open baby’s hand and rub it between your palms. Continue for approximately 20 seconds.
2. Massage the palm and back of hand, use your thumb and finger pressing and kneading, all over, working from the wrist to the fingers. Repeat 3 times.
3. Spread the fingers by pulling each through your fingers, then draw circles on her palm with a finger. Continue for approximately 20 seconds.
4. Rub the whole hand again, back and front using your palms.
5. Repeat all of the above on other hand. Tell mams to wipe baby’s fingers with the face cloth so they don’t get the oil in their mouths or eyes.
6. Holding hand between palms.

Benefits: Helps to relax and open the hands, aiding co-ordination. Babies have the grasp reflex from newborn, which disappears at around 2 months and they begin to hold objects. From around 5 months they have the depth perception to reach out and grab toys, from 6 months pass an object from one hand to the other. From approx. 9 months they have the fine motor skills to pick up small objects between the thumb and forefinger.

Songs to include: Round and round garden. Tommy Thumb, Sailor went to Sea.

• Finish with relaxation