Some things take a while...

Children certainly teach you to let go of our expectations or stress out trying to keep up with them.

I took an infant massage certification course when I was 5 months pregnant with the big girl.  I had grandiose dreams of massaging my new baby every day. Life was going to be so relaxing, and I already had this gentle parenting thing down with these new tools.

Boy, was I wrong! Life with a new baby was not relaxing. I did not have all the answers. We did not have massage time every day. In fact, I may have only made it through the entire massage routine a handful of times in her first 6 months of life.

I felt like a failure as an infant massage instructor. How am I going to teach other parents to massage their babies and promote infant massage if I cannot even commit to massaging my own child?

It didn't get any easier with the second child.

Fast forward to when the eldest started talking. She would have moments of feeling out of control and want to be massaged. When she couldn't fall asleep she would ask for massage. When her belly was hurting her she would ask for massage.

She asks for massage weekly and we oblige most of the time. The youngest now asks for massage too.

Some things take a while......

Photo credit: Thomas Photographic Services

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