Most people will naturally sit and rub their baby’s feet, it’s an instinctive thing, and can be so relaxing for baby. Personally I love a good foot rub so why wouldn’t a baby. However, there are certain techniques and areas of the foot that can massaged to good effect in a form of baby reflexology.

Hopefully most of you know what reflexology is but for those of you that don’t it is a holistic treatment of massaging certain pressure points on the foot that correspond to areas of your body. I find it pretty amazing how it all links up so we thought this might be a nice post to share with you all. Firstly, I am not an expert, however my lovely mum is a trained reflexologist and so is sharing some of her knowledge with us all today. It seems the mum’s of RMF team have a few hidden skills as Lisa’s mum is also a reflexologist so hopefully we should be able to answer any questions between us.

Having a mum who can do reflexology (as well as Indian Head massage and aromatherapy massage) is pretty handy. Over the years I have been amazed at how her massaging certain areas of my foot can highlight any areas of tension or pain and help relieve that. It was also rather lovely that she sat and did reflexology on my feet whilst I was in the early stages of labour. The midwives were very jealous!

Anyway, I digress so back to the babies.

Obviously a baby’s foot is super teeny so any massaging you do is going to be working on general areas of the body rather than specifics such as the stomach as we would never be able to identify those tiny areas. We have put together a handy pin which shows how the key areas of the foot are broken down. In simplified form the sole of the foot mirrors your body so the heel is the lower part of your body and the toes correspond to your head.

With a small baby it’s good to get them used to having their feet massaged as it helps to relax them. Always massage with the ball of your thumb and work very gently but firmly. Make sure you have short nails as you don’t want to be jabbing them in to your little one’s foot. Pressure wise you don’t want to make it tickle so you need to go for a medium pressure.

You want to gentle cradle the foot in one hand and use your other hand for massaging.

When you are massaging your baby’s feet aim to do this for around five to ten minutes. You will be surprised at how calming it can be and it also helps with the bonding process between mum and baby.

If you wanted to you could make up a calming oil using 1 drop of essential lavender oil, diluted in almond oil which which will help relax baby.

General Relaxation

As mentioned a gentle massage with the ball of your thumb will help with relaxation. This can be useful for helping to soothe the distress from things like teething or even when you just want to help baby feel calm.

Try walking your thumb up each of the five zones of the foot, so press once on each area and then move to the next. Repeat this a few times.

You can also use the palm of your hand and repeatedly stroke up the front and back of the foot in a smooth motion.

Finally massage and apply gentle pressure to the solar plexus. The Solar Plexus is a key area for revitalising and calming.

Teething

Firstly try some general relaxation using the methods above before concentrating on the teeth and gums areas.
The areas that correspond to the teeth and gums are across the front of the foot at base of the toenails, mainly on the big toe. If you lookout the toe and imagine it has three bands across it. The area directly below the nail corresponds to the upper jaw, the area across the toe joint corresponds to the lower jaw the area below this, towards the base of the toe is the neck and throat. The neck and throat area is mainly on the big toe

Gently massaging these areas can help relieve tension and by pressing the area at the base of the nail can help encourage circulation and energy flow to the gum and mouth area.

Colic

Again couple some general relaxation massage with some more specific techniques. This time focus on the upper abdominal area and gentle massage and rub with your thumb.

Colds

If your baby has a cold you should try pressing on the pads at the back of the toes as this corresponds to their sinuses and can help alleviate the symptoms.

Respiratory

Linking in to the colds we all now how hard it is when your baby is having difficulties breathing. It could be due to a blocked nose so try massaging the sinuses above. It could also be due to allergies or asthma. You want to gently but firmly press and massage the ball of the foot under the toes (white area on the diagram) as this corresponds to the lungs and respiratory system. You want to focus mainly on the area below the three middle toes rather than the outer edges of the foot.

Constipation

It is definitely no fun if your little one is constipated. Try massaging the lower abdominal area in a clockwise motion. For greater effect massage both feet in a continuous motion. Start on the base of the right foot and massage up and across, then continue across on the left foot and then down. Keep repeating this motion slowly.

Crying

Obviously there is no fail safe way to get your baby to stop crying but massaging the solar plexus can have a calming effect which can only be a good thing.

General Wellness

For general wellbeing and to boost the immune system thumb walk up the five zones of the foot a few times and then finish with a gentle massage of the Solar plexus.

Hope that has given you a few ideas of things you can do yourself at home. Just keep it gentle and have fun bonding with your baby.

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Baby Reflexology Pressure Points

Image by Little Beanies.