Certified Infant Massage and Early Bonding Specialist

I took a course this past weekend to become a CIMEB Specialist. It was such a great class!
Did you know that many cultures massage their infants on a daily basis? It wasn't until 1980 that infant massage made a big showing in the U.S. After a bunch of research it was found that massage had amazing benefits on infants. No wonder people have been doing it for hundreds of hundreds of years, right. It was just instinct. In the 80's there was a study done with premature newborns that showed that infants given massage everyday for 10 days gained 47% more weight than infants given no massage. Both groups had the same formula, and care other than the massage. Massage helped their bodies absorb more insulin with helped them retain weight. It saved the hospital $3000 which today would be over $10,000! All because those babies were able to be released sooner from the hospital.

Infant Massage also helps with growth and development in the brain. Skin sensitivity is the earliest developed function and is the most crucial for all sensory system's overall healthy development.  Massage helps to activate the formation of synapses between brain cells. These connections will form pathways that will determine the childs ability to learn.

My favorite thing that massage benefits is the attachment and bonding between parent (or caregiver) and infant.  Prolactin is released when the mother touches the baby. This hormone is what starts the milk production and also it what gives the mother a feeling of nurturing.There is even a rise in the fathers prolactin levels when he is involved with touching their baby and this invokes his nurturing feelings as well.
For adopted or foster care children massage can be amazing for the bonding between the family. Infant massage on a daily basis can be a powerful tool to begin and re create the elements of bonding. Many foster/adopted children have numerous attachment traumas due to having many different caregivers and situations. Its important for adoptive parents to learn how to slowly integrate touch and massage for a child or baby who doesn't like touch.

I learned so much and in such a short period have grown a passion for the work. I have always loved massage and how it can truly heal people. Now I love it even more! Children need massage even more than adults do. The skin is a pretty amazing organ. I can't wait to put this new knowledge and skill into use. I have decided that I am going to direct my focus for my massage career in Prenatal and Infant Massage. I also some day want to be a Certified Childbirth Educator. I have such a passion for family and the bond we have. I want to help all families to strengthen that bond. I know that massage can do that. I am doing a class next month for friends and then soon after will start doing classes for the general public.

What do you have a passion for? I hope you are able to fully utilize your passion for the good of the world :) Go out there and live your passion!

Teaching Experience

I had the privilege of teaching Prenatal and Perinatal Massage in my Bradley teachers course this week. I had emailed her telling her about the course I took and she asked me if I would come into her class and teach about massage for one of the relaxation practices. I was overjoyed at the prospect. I get to practice my new skill, teach, and get my name out there. Yay for networking!

I was super nervous the day before and the day of, but by the time I got there and did the class I had calmed down. It went superb! I felt at ease and the words just came to me. Sean said I sounded really professional and gave some really good information and demonstrated the techniques really well. Sean and Noah came with me since the class was in Phoenix and I didn't want to drive out there all alone. Plus I knew Noah would want to eat just after the class and didn't want to use the milk I had pumped at work. He sat on the floor and played for part of the class but then got fussy so Sean took him exploring around the house. I got to tell my birth story again which I love. Then they asked some questions and practiced the techniques while I walked around helping. All and All it was a great experience. I hope to be called to come again.

Perinatal Massage

I am now able to massage prego women! Yep that's right I have skills. I took a 15 hour course last week and now have the certificate to allow me to work on women during pregnancy, labor and postpartum. The class was way out in Glendale! (Another story of my freeway driving for the first time and the crazy tire blow out to come at the end of this post.... stay tuned.)
It was a great class. I can't wait to use the things I learned and help women to be relaxed and comfortable during pregnancy and labor. When I become a doula this will be a great skill to have as well.  I learned a lot about contraindications, complications, risk factors of pregnancy, comfort techniques for labor, restoring musculature and postural integrity postpartum. Most of the facts about pregnancy and things that happen to your body during gestation and labor I already knew because of my Bradley class but it was a nice refresher and good to see how it pertains to massage.

So the freeway fiasco:
I have driven on the 60 many times, pretty much everyday, but I had never driven on any of the others like the 101 or 202 or i10, i17 (so many freeways in arizona!) The idea of driving 60 to 65 miles an hour on a 6 lane road with many many other cars right next to me weaving in and out of each other kind of scares me. I always knew that someday, probably soon, I would need to start driving on the other freeways and be comfortable doing so. That day came last week. The class was out on Bell road and 50th St, that's 50 minutes from my house. I was scared so the night before the class Sean went on a road trip with me on the 202 so I could get the feel of driving on a new freeway with someone. It was alright. Sean gave me directions of how to get to the class and I repeated them over and over that night. "Get on the 60 drive to the end where it turns into the i10, drive forever til I get to the i17 drive forever til I get to Bell road, exit and drive til I see the building."  The next day I drove out there and did just fine. I wasn't freaked out or anything. I was surprised how easy it was. Thanks to my sweet husband for being so patient with me and letting me repeat it over and over so I was confident and didn't get lost.  The second day of the class wasn't so smooth. I was on the 60 and right as I got past the exit for the 101 my car started shaking violently, there was a loud sound, smoke was coming from the back. I quickly pushed the button for my hazards and tried to make my way safely as I could to the shoulder. People on the freeway are rude sometimes though! Here I was with a car on fire in the back and my hazards on and yet people were still not letting me over!! I almost hit someone trying to get over. Luckily I got over and no one was hurt. I shut off the car and sat there crying for a couple minutes. I couldn't get all the way into the shoulder because my car wouldn't start up again, so every time a car passed by  my car would shake. I called Sean and he lovingly calmed me down. I called my teacher to let her know what happened and that I would be late. She said it was fine and to just be save and let her know when I was on the way. Sean came and sat with me til a friend Alex and Blake, came and got me. They took me to my class and Sean changed the tire to a donut and took it to my moms house so he could go to school and fix it afterward. I ended up being and hour and a half late to the class. My teacher was nice enough to just show a video that I had already seen so I didnt miss anything. Turns out that my tire had blown and caught on fire. Also my rotors are bad and need to be fixed. I'm so grateful I have an amazing handy husband that knows how to fix those things so we won't need to spend and arm and a leg to get it done. :)

My tire that blew and caught on fire. Intense huh?!