- You will generally want to travel from one end of your baby to the other. If your baby is in a quiet, interactive, mood, you may find that starting at the top of your baby's head and making lots of eye contact is best. If your baby is in a playful mood, you may have more success starting at the feet and working your way up. Keep your hands and any baby-safe oils or lotions warm. Make small, soothing, circles across your baby's forehead with your thumbs. Massage the temple area and the area in front of the ears. Massage the ear lobes between your thumb and fingers. Using your full hand, make gentle smoothing motions, wiping across the cheeks and jawline. Try to maintain skin-to-skin contact so that the start and stop of touching won't startle her.
- Using your index and middle fingers -- add in your ring finger if you are comfortable -- make small circles on your baby's shoulders and across her chest. Use a smooth stroking motion to "wipe" your baby's collar bone to shoulder. Massaging in a soft circular motion over her entire tummy with your whole hand as if outlining her stomach can help relieve gas pains. You may move her to her tummy and use the pads of your fingers or the heel of your hand to gently massage across her shoulder blades and lower back. Use a light finger stroke from her neck down her back.
- Stroke your way down her arms, pausing to make circular motions over her upper arms and below the elbow. Gently massage her hands with your thumb in her palm and your fingers on the back of her hand. Take each of her fingers and using a stroking motion, "wipe" down to her fingertips. Reverse directions and hold your baby's wrist and gently stroke up her arm toward her shoulder.
- Hold your baby's knees together and gently push them up toward her abdomen, then carefully out and down in a circular motion. Hold your baby's foot and gently squeeze the leg from ankle to thigh in a smooth continuous motion. Gently knead your baby's thigh with a circular motion with both hands.
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