How to Massage a Baby

Whether your baby is cranky or not you should take the time to massage him or her. Massaging your baby enhances the emotional bond with your child and can calm him down, improve sleep patterns and help digestion. It’s also a fantastic way for dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents and other caregivers to get to know the baby and bond with it.

Additionally, research has shown that gently massaging babies actually helps improve their growth and development. Premature babies especially benefit from being massaged.

According to one study, preemies who were massaged three times daily for ten days gained almost twice as much more weight, were more active and alert and were able to leave the hospital a week earlier than other infants.

One word of warning…you should not attempt to massage your infant if he or she is full or hungry. This could actually make your baby feel sick. Make sure the baby is completely warm, well fed and comfortable before you do anything. You might want to burp a baby first to prevent nausea while you are massaging him or her as well.

It is important that you are relaxed and comfortable as you massage the child and that you will not be interrupted. If you are not relaxed you will transfer all your stress to the baby and upset him or her. You should also make sure the room is warm enough and that there is soothing music playing.

It is best to lay your baby on his or her back and then massage the front of your baby first. Then flip him or her over and do the back. Laying the baby on a soft mat or towel is also a good idea. Be careful not to tickle the baby as he or she could find that quite upsetting as well. The baby will let you know if it is over stimulated by crying or making a big fuss.

You get great results if you massage the baby with oil. You can use any kind of vegetable oil or baby oil and you can even put a drop of essential oil in the mix. Just don't put in more than a drop as babies have sensitive skin. Also never put the oil on the baby's head or face.
It is also important to remember that not every baby likes to be massaged for a long time. A newborn may enjoy only two to five minutes of massage, while a child over two months of age might love being massaged even longer.

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Hairstyles for Little Girls

What is a little girl without a bow in her hair? The simplest hairdo is simply done by gathering some hair at the top of her head and using a clip or ponytail holder to secure it. Then to get really fancy I simply clip a big beautiful bow over this. Sometimes I put something more interesting in her hair like a big flower! This makes her look very cute. I try to put something in her hair that will match her dress. As she grows older I will probably put smaller bows in her hair so that she looks more dainty.
The pony tails is absolutely classic. It looks best if you gather all your girl's hair and brush it until smooth. It also keeps her neat looking for school.
You can also change the look of a ponytail by changing the part. A center part is classic but a side part can look very elegant as well. If you really want to jazz up a ponytail have your little girl wear a decorative band as well. You can get 'kits' in drug and dollar stores that feature both the bands and matching bows in one package.
As a rule of thumb the shorter the hair the higher the pony tail has to be. Very long hair makes a nice low pony tail. This style is easy to maintain as well.
You can take a ponytail and make an easy French twist simply by taking the hanging hair and twisting it. You will need to use another ponytail holder and secure the second portion of her hair. Repeat the step above till this second section is flipped through the second gap. Loop some more sections. Secure it with a band at the end of the section.
A pony tail is also easily turned into a bun. This works great for long hair. Brush her hair neatly and gather it on top of her head. Use the band to secure it around the bun. You can even let some hair stick out of the bun to have a casual look.
Remember to use some cool accessories for little girls such as little brets or additional elastics as this will make most ponytails look even more uniuqe. This would also help to keep the hair in place. Remember to keep it simple, as most little girls would prefer to be comfortable throughout the day and you don't want them distracted by maintaining their hair at school.
Always avoid the use of hot curling irons that may harm the gentle hair. If you want to give hair a little bounce use steam rollers or rag twist curlers made out of fabric instead.

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