My client had a baby not too long ago and I heard that she is having a hard time sleeping at night because her baby cries at night. This week I’ll show you some acupressure points to help calm down the baby so the baby sleeps better and the mommy doesn’t have to keep waking up at night for the crying baby. I’ll show you two sets in the front and two sets in the back.
鳩尾 (CV 15 or REN 15) – Starting from the front. The first point is by the solar plexus. Find the tip of the sternum or breast bone and go down one thumb width and that’s baby’s thumb width which is tiny, not your thumbs width. So it’s going to be very close to the tip of the sternum. This is called Conception Vessel 15 or CV 15. Gently stimulate this point by pressing or making small circles.
天枢 (ST 25) – The next one is one thumb width next to the belly button on both sides. Again it’s the baby’s thumb width, not your thumb width. So it’s right next to the belly button. Gently stimulate these points on both sides.
身柱 (GV 12 or DU 12) – Now the back side. There is a big bump on the spine that sticks out when you bend your neck forward. This is C7 of the spine. Go down 3 bumps. The point is between the 3rd and 4th bumps which are T3 and T4 of the spine. This point is called Governing Vessel 12 or GV 12. Gently stimulate this point.
膏肓俞 (BL 43) – The next one is next to the inner edge of the shoulder blade half way between the inner top and bottom corners. This is called Bladder 43 or BL 43. Gently stimulate these points on both sides.
Make it a play and stimulate these points for about 10 seconds each. You can play with pressing, pressing and holding, wiggling, rubbing. If you are not sure about the exact location, just rub the area with small circles to stimulate the point.
You can do longer but I have read you shouldn’t do more than 3 minutes total at a time or more than 5 minutes a day. Do this before you put the baby to sleep maybe after the bath time when the baby is relaxed.
This gives you more opportunity to bond through physical touch, with a purpose, which is so beneficial for the baby anyway. The key is to do it gently. Pressing harder doesn’t make it more effective. Doing it hard will only stress the baby’s body and mind.
Of course, this is not the solution if the baby is crying from things like wet diaper or hunger or any other specific reasons that you can take care of. I hope this is helpful for the new mommies to get more sleep.
Massage Monday #348 – Acupressure for Crying Baby http://bit.ly/mm-062617