Music and Massage

It is with a heavy heart that I must pause my Baby and Story Massage classes at the moment. I really hope to be able to return in the new year so please look out for new course dates then.

Tickets for Southtots on Friday 7th October are available now via the link below. Please only book spaces for the children you will be bringing not for adults. Also, if you’re unable to attend after booking a space please don’t forget to cancel it so this will allow another child to attend. Many thanks and we look forward to seeing you on Friday! 😃

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/southtots-baby-and-toddler-group-tickets-430509524577

Southtots Baby and Toddler Group A baby and Toddler group for children aged 0-5 yrsand their carers.

Have you got our book?

A practical and fun guide to the benefits and safe and appropriate use of Story Massage, it has step-by-step instructions with illustrations for ten easy-to-follow basic stokes.

"This book is filled with stories and so much more. Simple massage strokes are illustrated with little icons. As a story is read it can also be felt, as the teller of the story delivers it through touch. Perfect for an anxious world. Perfect for connecting people. Perfect for communicating without reliance on words!" – Joanna Grace, founder of The Sensory Projects.

Find out more: https://buff.ly/3AH8qFa

Who massages the baby? 🤔⁣
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On IAIM courses, we teach parents. A parent may be the child's Mother or Father, or a person fulfilling that primary role.⁣ Instructors will only ever demonstrate on a doll, no matter how many babies you bring! And it's not to be unhelpful...
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Infant massage is so much more than strokes. It is a language, a deep rooted connection that facilitates bonding, trust, respect and love. ⁣
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It is an understanding, a process.⁣
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If the parent wants to share this with those who will have a very close longlasting relationship with their baby, that is their choice, but we teach parents ❤ ⁣
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Kicking off Infant Massage Awareness Week 2022 just as we do our trainings and our classes - with honour to our ancestors and to its cultural heritage. We do not claim to have invented Infant Massage, far from it. Infant Massage is a tradition in many countries throughout the world, usually passed down through the generations. Our Founder, Vimala McClure, sought to introduce massage worldwide having witnessed its beauty and the far-reaching benefits first hand during her travels in the 1970s. With love and respect to its origins, the IAIM mission is to promote nurturing touch and communication through training, education and research; so parents, caregivers and children are loved, valued and respected throughout the world community.

Tomorrow is the start of Infant Massage Awareness Week 2022

Next week is Infant Massage Awareness Week 2022! Help us to spread the word and share the evidence based far reaching benefits of infant massage for parents and babies 💜

The IAIM's mission is to promote nurturing touch and communication through training, education and research; so parents, caregivers and children are loved, valued and respected throughout the world community.

Starting this Friday at St Matts, Southcote 😍

2 more sleeps to go!! Southtots Toddlers are looking forward to giving you a warm welcome on Friday morning! Come along for some fun, to make new friends, colouring, craft, play tunnels and much much more! 😀

CHANGE OF SEPTEMBER Start DATE!
Next 5 week course now starting Tuesday 20th September at 10am 👣👶🎶

AUTUMN TERM BOOKINGS OPEN 👣👶🎶

New baby and toddler group starting at St Matthews in Southcote on Friday 9th September. Having spent my Friday mornings with my youngest at one of their groups, I highly recommend.

Six reasons to do baby massage...

https://www.mybump2baby.com/six-reasons-to-do-baby-massage/?fbclid=IwAR20u0w0eYPZpm6nlG0mArdrKK5OYiIItpK3yDT_twT_sMdth7gm7IN1N58&fs=e&s=cl

Bookings open for Autumn term dates, 10% discount if booked by 31st August

"The more the child feels attached, the more secure he is in his acceptance of himself and the rest of the world. The more love he gets, the more he is capable of giving. Attachment is as central to the developing child as eating and breathing." - Robert Shaw M.D.⁣

The IAIM programme is a beautiful way to enhance deep emotional bonds and promote secure attachment 💜

Look at these absolutely gorgeous bundles of joy who have just completed their 5 week Baby and Story Massage course 😍😍😍

Bookings are open for September courses, just drop me a message or email me [email protected] 👣👶🎶



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Week 3 this week for current class - arms, hands and chest and hopefully, if little ones allow, a sneaky hand massage for the mummies.
Bookings open for September's 5 week Baby and Story Massage course. Drop me a message or email if you'd like to find out more or book a place 👣👶🎶

Some good advice here 🧊🤰🏼

Take care and stay safe x

📷:

https://www.facebook.com/138666653502095/posts/990632928305459/

Babies in hot weather

Hot wather can be quite difficult to manage with a young baby. It can change feeding and sleep patterns. Babies often wake more when its hot (adults do too!) and often like to feed more frequently Here are some tips!

Keep the bedroom cool by keeping the curtains drawn and the windows open. Try to get a through draft between rooms.
(For those of you outside the UK, yes its true, we don't often have air conditioning here as its hot for about 2 weeks a year!)

If baby has a bath, keep the water cool.

Keep clothing and bedding light and cotton is best. Layers are good so you can add something in the early hours of the morning if the temperature cools a little.

Use a fan to keep the air circulating, but don't point it directly at the baby.

Avoid direct sunlight, keep babies in the shade as much as you can.

Remember babies will probably need to feed more often in the hot weather to keep themselves hydrated.
Breastfed babies don't need any extra water if they're under 6 months. They will feed little and often and the milk will be more watery to keep them hydrated.
Formula fed babies may need a little water but can also have more milk.
For combination fed babies, try to have set times for formula feeds and then breastfeed responsively in between so baby can stay hydrated, there's no need for water.
All babies over 6 mths can have a little water with solids.

It can get very hot and sticky when feeding and cuddling babies in hot weather. Putting a muslin square between your skin and baby's will help. But believe it or not, skin to skin will actually cool baby down.

All set up ready for Week 1 of my final summer term course 😍
Autumn term bookings now open 👣👶🎶

Calling all bumps, births and babies, Autumn term bookings now open 👣👶🎶

💜 Happy Birthday to us! 💜

The UK Chapter of the IAIM was established in 1997 and has since trained over 11,000 Certified Infant Massage Instructors (CIMIs), who come from a wide range of professional backgrounds and experience. We have 7 active trainers, with regular trainings monthly across the UK and are one of the largest Chapters in the IAIM.

Our founder Vimala McClure's 'Infant Massage a Handbook for Loving Parents' was first published in 1979 with the first instructors trained in 1980, and the first Instructor Trainers in 1982. IAIM was incorporated as an international nonprofit organization in 1986. We are the world's largest baby massage association on the planet with a presence in over 75 countries!

A 2021 study "The Role of Antenatal and Postnatal Maternal Bonding in Infant Development' concluded that bonding predicted indicators of infant social-affective development, including social-emotional behaviour and temperamental outcomes.

The findings suggest that a mother's perceived emotional connection with her child plays a role in predicting predicting social-effective outcomes and that maternal bonding may be a potentially modifiable predictor of infant social-affective outcomes, offering important considerations for preventive intervention.

What better way to offer preventative intervention than our beautiful programme which includes all of the main elements of bonding!
https://neurosciencenews.com/bonding-neurodevelopment-20110/