How to Achieve Physical Contact with Your Premature Baby

Every time you are going to give your baby a conscious massage, you will first need to ask your baby permission. This means that you will have to find out if your baby really wants it in this moment. If your baby gives you permission, rub your hands together so they are warm and as him or her out loud if you can touch him. Then softly place your hand on your baby’s favorite spot. If the signs you get from the baby are positive, continue doing this for a few moments. Finally tell your baby how much you love him or her, or tell the baby a phrase you like saying, or sing a song while you slightly rub his or her head, then the side of the body, until you reach down to the feet. Then thank your baby for allowing you these moments.

One suggestion, placing your hands on your baby’s body is what will help your baby to little by little start to be conscious of his or her corporal limit. The fact that you will need to thank your baby is that you will be aware that there needs to be a lot of respect when it comes to the baby’s needs, the same occurs when you ask your baby for permission before touching his or her body and it turns into a sort of ritual.

Some useful suggestions:

• Try when touching other parts of your baby’s body through movement, that these movements are very slow and progressive.
• When you start to move your hands, do this in one way, from the center of the body to the periphery and from the top to the bottom, so that the direction of movement is always towards the empty zone of the body.
• Sometimes babies enjoy getting massages on their feet, and sometimes like it when you grab one of their feet softly for one or two minutes and then the other.
• You can also rub your babies legs with a very soft massage from the thighs to the ankles.
• Use your index finger to softly descend from the baby’s vertebrae column until his or he bottom.
• The baby’s arms and hands are a very delicate part of the baby’s body; start by holding them very softly and slowly. After a few days, you can start to rub them very gently from the shoulders down to their hands.
• Dedicate several days or even weeks in the same spots. Think that your baby has been manipulated and needs to discover new positive messages when it comes to his or her body.
• Allow your partner or husband to interact in this type of activity, but each one should do this individually.
• Don’t stop having this form of physical contact with your baby after the baby is living at home with you.