Loving Touch Times Two

Massage for Multiples

By Lyn Mettler

, which allows you to lay the babies skin to skin on your chest. She says kangaroo care is a great first step toward massage and allows you to begin practicing strokes down the baby's back.

If your babies are ready, there are several techniques you can try while in the hospital. First, touch the baby's head and feet simultaneously with your hands. According to O'Grady, it gives them a sense of being in the womb. Toporek recommends massaging their toes, rubbing their hands, stretching their arms and legs and massaging their head or forehead. With newborns, a 15-minute massage will typically be all they can tolerate without becoming over-stimulated.

Once you get home, the experts recommend settling into a regular massage routine. Most suggest adding it to your bed- or bath-time ritual. You might try giving the babies a bath and rubbing them with baby oil before putting on their pajamas and putting them to bed, says O'Grady. Other massage times that work well are between waking and a morning nap or before the baby becomes fussy in the evening. Just be sure to allow the right amount of time before or after feedings to avoid an upset stomach or a hungry, irritable baby.

Massage is something you can continue to practice with your children throughout their lives. Doolan Boyle finds that her teenagers still like to have mom around to rub their arm when they get a shot, and Hernandez-Reif's 9-year-old daughter still likes a backrub before she goes to sleep.

Want to see more?

• Infant Massage: The Therapy of a Loving Touch
• Two at Once: Becoming a Parent of Twins
• Bonding for Life: Developing That Special Connection With Your Baby
• Your Preemie's First Year
• Write an iParenting diary about your multiples! To find out how, click here.
• Talk about it!