Infant Massage Newcastle with Rochelle Dorman

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WHEN I LOOK AWAY
👶 Babies love to look at faces.
😮 Minutes after birth, a baby can focus on a face and imitate expression – amazing!
🩷 Most babies prefer to look at faces than any other object.
Mutual gaze ~ looking at each other ~ is a powerful way to ‘hold’ each other and communicate. Although parents and infants vary in their level of comfortability with direct eye gaze.
✨ Mutual gaze is often intense during feeding and when chatting together.
💕 It can form part of a powerful bonding experience and part of the emerging ‘love affair’ between parent and baby.
🥱 But, it’s hard work for a little one to keep up with the intensity of it, and they need to take breaks to recover.
⚜️ When they look away it’s not because they are bored of you, or don’t like you… they just get tired and need a rest.

✅ Download your own copy of this illustration, and the Handout too, from our website. Written, developed and created by Dr Bronwyn Leigh for the Centre for Perinatal Psychology.

👉 Check out the full series of resources in our Speaking for the Baby campaign on our website:
Centre for Perinatal Psychology: https://www.centreforperinatalpsychology.com.au/resources/speaking-for-the-baby-campaign/

🫶 Illustration by Jess Racklyft of Jesses Mess - Illustrations

In today's busy world, moments of undivided attention can feel rare.

Infant massage offers parents an opportunity to pause, put aside distractions, and focus entirely on their baby. During these moments, there is no need to rush or multitask. The goal is simply to be together.

Babies are remarkably sensitive to presence. They notice eye contact, facial expressions, tone of voice, and the quality of our attention.

Being present does not require perfection. It does not mean always knowing the right thing to do. It simply means creating space to observe, respond, and connect.

These small moments of shared attention can become meaningful experiences that strengthen the parent-baby relationship and support emotional wellbeing for both.

Sometimes the greatest gift we can offer is our presence.

Give yourself more than just another baby activity. The 5 week First Touch Infant Massage Program offers a gentle space to slow down, connect and better understand your baby, and feel supported in your own motherhood journey.

Learn cue-based nurturing massage techniques to soothe and bond with your baby, while also carving out time to nourish yourself, connect with other mothers, and be held through the transitions of matrescence.

Because caring for your baby matters - and so does caring for you.

✨ Enrolments now open for September 2026. Ideal for pre-crawling babies.
Contact Rochelle to enrol.
[email protected]
connection

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, What kind of mother do I want to be? 🧡

Motherhood isn't just about learning how to care for your baby - it's also about discovering who you are becoming.

During matrescence, your values can become a gentle compass, helping you make decisions with more confidence, navigate the noise of endless advice, and parent in a way that feels true to you.

There is no perfect mother - only your own authentic way of showing up with love, intention and connection.

✨ What is one value you'd love to bring more of into your motherhood journey?

Presence, Compassion, Trust, Courage, Rest, Connection, Adventure, Acceptance, Creativity, Learning ✨✨✨

Before babies understand words, they learn through experiences.

The warmth of being held.

The reassurance of a familiar voice.

The comfort of gentle, responsive touch.

These repeated experiences help babies begin to understand that they are safe, cared for and important.

Infant massage is one way parents can create these meaningful moments. It isn't about achieving perfection or following a routine—it is about sharing time together, observing your baby's cues and responding with sensitivity.

Those everyday moments become part of your baby's earliest understanding of relationships.

💜 Parent Tip: During massage today, notice how your baby responds to your voice as well as your touch. Both are part of the experience.

💜 Tiny Moments.
Big Impact.

✨ Save this post as a reminder that love is something babies experience long before they can describe it.

More than just learning infant massage techniques. The First Touch Program offers a gentle space to slow down, connect and better understand your baby and feel supported in your own motherhood journey 🧡

The First Touch Infant Massage Program…

More than learning gentle massage techniques, this is a space where you can simply be.
A space to slow down, connect deeply with your baby, meet other mothers who understand this season, and feel supported as you get to know your baby and navigate the beautiful complexities of matrescence 🧡

connection

When people first hear about infant massage, they often think of a set of strokes or a sequence of movements. While these techniques are important, infant massage is about something much deeper.

At the heart of the IAIM approach is the relationship between parent and baby. Massage offers a space where parents can slow down, observe, listen, and respond to their baby's unique cues. It is not about doing something to a baby, but about being with them.

Each interaction becomes a conversation. A smile, a stretch, a gaze, a movement away—every response is meaningful communication. Through this respectful dialogue, parents gain confidence and babies experience being seen, heard, and valued.

The strokes may last a few minutes, but the connection built through nurturing touch can have a lasting impact on family relationships.

Underlying The First Touch Infant Massage Program is evidence based research.
Studies on early brain development and touch show that a child's brain is illuminated in response to one thing more than anything else: a connected caregiver.
Warm touch, close proximity, a loving gaze and soothing voice - all key elements of cue based infant massage 🤱🤎