Oil massaging babies is a very healthy,enjoyable and exciting activity. We asked our pediatrician if we should start bathing them right away, and he suggested giving them an oil massage only, for the first couple of weeks. He suggested extra virgin olive oil for the massage. So at 10 am every day, about an hour after their morning milk, me or my husband gave them the massage. We used to spread a towel on the table, place the baby on the towel, keep a small bowl of olive oil close by and start talking to the baby. The babies thoroughly enjoyed it, and so did we. We used to take the oil in our palm, and spread and massage it on the baby, over the tiny hands, legs, little body and face. After the thorough massage (most of the oil gets absorbed by the body), we used to wipe them very gently before placing them back in the crib. After sleeping deeply for another hour the babies wake up all fresh and have their milk before going to sleep again. This massage ensured absorption of nutrition, good and uniform skin color and moisture, glowing skin, good sleep, good intake of milk and growth. Our body has many tiny circulation channels in it, for blood and other fluids, air etc. A nice, good massage opens up and straightens the channels. Also when parents' finger tips touch babies' body parts and nerves, the nerves get stimulated which is good for the babies' growth both physically and mentally. The touch itself is very healthy. 'You should keep touching, massaging and pampering your babies with your fingers, and hug them a lot'- our physiotherapist used to say. The bare skin in contact with the loving parents' touch can do wonders to the babies' emotional development. So the oil massaging was one of the highlights of the day for both us and our babies.
The right kind of massaging is very important for their development, as both the traditional prasavaraksha experts and the modern physiotherapists would tell you. Start by applying oil in the naval, push it inside with a finger- apply a little pressure. The naval of young babies tend to be out for the first few months, we can help it go inside by this gentle procedure.(Later after the baby starts crawling on the stomach, it will go inside). Then push the nipples inside in case of boys. Apply oil on hands from shoulder till finger tips, apply on thighs and massage inwards, apply on knees and feet. Apply on the back and massage. Massage in round motion on the buttocks. Exercise the body by moving hands, legs and whole body. Cross the hands, move them up and down, do the same with the legs. See the video below. And finally apply oil on the face, push forehead in, pull nose out, pull cheeks out, straighten the ears, apply on head, kiss the baby, and you are done!
After two weeks or so, we started bathing our babies. after the olive oil massage. We applied baby hair oil on the head. Then after a few months we replaced olive oil with virgin coconut oil, because being in Kerala, pure coconut oil is available in plenty. We follow the same massaging and bathing procedure now also, with pure coconut oil. And I highly recommend this.
Another tip I wanted to give is about a tree called Danthappala (Wrightia Tinctoria, also called Ayyappala and Vettuppala- Sweet indrajao). It is seen in many places in Kerala, a tree with small white flowers. The leaves have high medicinal value when it comes to skin problems, infection, discoloration, even psoriasis. According to http://kerala-junction-news.blogspot.in/2010/12/re-wwwkeralitesnet-treatment-for_10.html, the preparation of the oil with Danthappala is as follows- collect a half kg danthapala leaves. Take half a litre of pure coconut oil in vessel and dip the leaves. Allow the oil to heat in sun light for 3- 4 days. Collect the remaining oil. Smear the oil every day before bath and allowed the skin to receive some sun light. I tried this because the tree is available in my workplace, and it definitely is very good for the skin and hair.
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