Monthly Archives: August 2009

How to Make your Own Organic Baby Massage Oil

08/31/2009

Recipes for Organic Massage Oil

Children are born with a wonderful sense of smell. After only a few days a newborn baby will recognize his own mother just by her smell. Just as we take care to introduce simple foods to our baby, usually only one kind at a time, we need to take the same care when introducing aromas. What is wonderful for us as adults, is simply too overpowering for a baby.  Note : If your child has asthma or epilepsy, consult your health practitioner before using essential oils.

We believe that the sense of smell plays a very important role in a child’s development. Do you want that smell to be an artificial fragrance that is plugged into the bathroom or a gentle organic essential oil from the petals of a plant ?

Recipe for Newborn to 6 months :
You can use an organic oil such as olive or sunflower. Please be sure it is organic.
When a baby is less than 1 year old, it is important to use only the gentlest essential oils. The only ones that I recommend are Lavender and Roman Chamomile. It is best if you can use organic essential oils.

* Mix 1 drop of either Lavender or Roman Chamomile in 1 ounce of organic oil (olive or sunflower)
* Pour into a glass bottle ( not plastic ) and keep away from the light when not in use.
* Shake Gently before each use. ( This is because we didn’t add a chemical emulsifier )
* It will keep for 3 months.

Added Tip : This oil is also great for cradle cap. Just rub very gently onto the scalp

Recipe for 6 months to 1 year :

* Same as above except mix 2 drops of either Lavender or Roman Chamomile
in 1 ounce of organic oil ( olive or sunflower )

Recipe for 1 – 3 years :

* Mix 4-5 drops of of an essential oil in 1 ounce of organic oil (olive or sunflower)
* You can choose any one of these essential oils : Lavender, Roman Chamomile, Geranium, Rose Otto,
* Pour into a glass bottle ( not plastic ) and keep away from the light when not in use.
* Shake Gently before each use. ( This is because we didn’t add a chemical emulsifier )
* It will keep for 3 months.

Photo Credit: goodpregnancyguide.com


By Rachael Flug | Posted in All Things Organic, Baby Care, How To's | Tagged , , | Comments off

How to Calm And Soothe Your Baby With Massage

08/28/2009

Baby Massage. It’s so simple and natural – the caring, loving touch of a parent. It can help to build security, confidence, emotional and physical well being. It also helps to calm and soothe your baby as well as increase lung capacity and help relieve digestive problems.

Before you start :
Wait until your baby is a few weeks old as they usually prefer to be swaddled when first born.

It should be at least 30 minutes after s/he has eaten. Please be sure that the room is warm. A massage should be a pleasant experience for you and your baby. Most babies love massage. If s/he starts to cry then stop the massage and try it again at another time. The massage should be short, when your baby begins getting fussy or bored it’s time to stop. Make sure your nails aren’t too long for your baby’s tender skin. And remember that this is a great way for Dad to bond with baby too. Enjoy !

Here’s the main rule : Keep it light and gentle and you won’t go wrong. ( NO deep tissue massage — leave that for your spouse ).

How to Begin
Lay baby on her back, facing you. You can sit on the floor with your legs outstretched, a large towel over your lap and your baby laying between your legs ( use a wall with pillows to support your back). Or you can lay your baby on a carpeted floor with towels underneath and kneel beside them.

How to Massage
If you are using massage oil (recipes below), pour just a little bit into the palms of your hand. If the oil feels cool then gently warm it with your breath. Using both hands, one on each leg, start from the ankles and massage gently upward to the thighs. Repeat a few times. Feel free to talk and sing to your baby as you massage. If you are using massage oil, then avoid massaging your baby’s face or hands to prevent the oil from getting into their eyes.

Take each foot in your hands and massage the sole in small circular movements with your thumbs. Stroke up the legs to the abdomen. Using the palm of one hand you can also gently massage the abdoman in a clockwise direction. Stroke from the wrists to the shoulder. If your baby is still very happy you can massage his back. Turn him over and massage the back of the legs from the ankles up to their buttocks, then with one or both hands slide up the spine.

After the massage, wrap your baby in a warm towel and cuddle, cuddle, cuddle
(and we offer a luscious organic towel just for this !)

Additional Tips
Always move your hands around your baby’s body, in the direction toward the heart. All this means is that your hands need to work from wrist to shoulder, and ankle to thigh. Good areas to massage are the back, upper abdomen, legs, feet, arms and hands. Remember to use light and gentle motion, never apply pressure.

By Rachael Flug | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments off

How to Swaddle Your Baby

08/26/2009

Swaddling Your Baby Will Help Promote Feelings of Comfort and Security

Baby swaddling is a child-care practice that has been used for centuries over most of the world. It consists of snugly wrapping your baby in a blanket for a feeling of warmth and security, similar to what they experienced in their mama’s womb.

You’ll quickly see that a secure and cozy swaddling wrap will comfort and calm your newborn. It helps contain baby’s own jerky movements that often startle themselves.

We recommend swaddling for the first 3 months. When its time to help your baby transition from swaddling, simply swaddle baby with one arm out of the swaddle for a few nights. Then swaddle with both arms out. A baby who is able to roll over should not have their arms inside a swaddle.

Step 1
Begin by placing a rectangular blanket on a flat surface in a diamond shape. Take the top corner and fold it down a few inches.

Step 2
Place your baby on top of the blanket with shoulders just below the fold

Step 3
Pull the left side of the blanket across baby’s body so that it is comfortably holding baby’s arms on her chest. Keeping the blanket taut, tuck it under her buttock and lower back.

Step 4
Bring up the bottom corner of the blanket and tuck it snugly behind her left should (if the material won’t go quite that far, tuck it into the V at her neck)

Step 5
Tuck in the material at the top right a little bit just so it is out of the way. Take the right side of the fabric and bring it all the way over, under and back around your baby.

Step 6
How tight should the blanket be? You should barely be able to slide your hand between the blanket and the baby’s chest. So be sure that with each pull and tuck you are wrapping baby tightly. Also, your baby arms should be bent at the elbow, knees and hips bent as well. Let them be in their natural position rather than trying to straighten out their arms and legs. If baby’s hands are placed on their chest, within reach of their mouth, they can still suck on their hands and fingers.

Photo Credit:babycenter.com

By Rachael Flug | Posted in Baby Care, General, How To's | Tagged , , , | Comments off