After the first couple of hectic months settling into life with the new baby, I felt it was time to start trying out some of the many baby groups and classes available to new mums in E17. First up on my list was baby massage. Baby massage is a great way of bonding with your little person, taking some uninterrupted time out of an otherwise busy day to spend focussed on the baby, and of course, to meet other local new mums. There are a few local places offering baby massage classes, such as The Healthworks and some of the SureStart centres, but I went on the basis of a friend's reccomendation and signed up for a series of 5 classes with Madeleine, from www.E17babymassage.co.uk . The classes take place in Madeleine's light and airy living room, and are limited to just 5 people so you can get plenty of personal tuition. Each week we would learn a new routine for different parts of the body, with some massage strokes designed for relaxation and others to target specific problem areas such as colic or congestion. Since the course finised, I've started using the massage as part of a relaxing bedtime routine for baby M. It seems to be working so far as he's recently started sleeping through the night! Hurrah!
You can find more details and the latest course dates on Madeleine's website at www.e17babymassage.co.uk
