It's been 20 years since I trained to be a Certified Infant Massage Instructor with the International Association of Infant Massage!
20 years!
It was December 2004 and I was sent, along with a few other colleagues by my employer to Newcastle to train to be an Infant Massage Instructor with the IAIM.
Our instructor, Janice Hart, now retired, gave us an incredible 4 days and equipped me with what now feels like my life's work.
I remember receiving my first doll, naming her Hannah, and popping over to Tesco to buy her some clothes.
I remember being tasked with delivering the arms massage as part of our group delivery practice with the real parents who were invited in to help us learn.
I remember practicing the strokes on my boyfriend (now husband) at home!
I remember being so excited to start classes in the community and feeling so well prepared by the training.
I remember the first ever course I facilitated, how nervous I was but after the first session how much I'd enjoyed it!
I remember the baby on that first course that had a non-blanching rash on his leg and body that his mother may have missed had she not removed his clothes at that time to massage, which resulted in a swift trip to A&E. Baby was fine, thankfully! And due to my record keeping I was ready and able to provide public health with the other parents' contact details should the suspected meningitis be confirmed.
I remember receiving the news in March that I’d qualified and it's honestly the best and most beautiful work I've done to date.
Where I started
When I first trained I was employed by the NHS working with our local Health Visiting team and Sure Start centres as an Early Years Practitioner so I started out running regular courses in the local community spaces and centres. Pressures around budget, staffing, time etc meant we weren't able to practice to the IAIM gold standards, often having up to 15 in a class and running just hour long classes and sometimes condensed 4 week courses. Demand was always high, but I felt something was missing and our feedback forms showed it. Parents wanted time to chat and get to know the other parents. Back then the discussion element of the class never happened as there just wasn't time. It felt very much like a conveyor belt of showing the strokes and moving them on. There was very little focus on connection and communication.
Things changed with a new government in charge and Sure Start was phased out. My job changed and I eventually made the decision to leave employment and set up a business of my own doing what I loved - BABY MASSAGE!
My original business plan 8 years ago looks nothing like what my business looks like now.
I had wanted to cover every stage for parents from antenatal and birthing classes to postnatal and play right up to 5.
But the birth preparation training I bought sadly turned out to be a bit rubbish, so I didn't end up running with that!
Back to the drawing board and keen to just get on with my new business I launched MY KID ROCKS.
If you've seen my branding you’ll notice that it is a little different to the usual gentle pastels of many other baby businesses.
I wanted to stand out.
I wanted my message to be strong.
My Kid Rocks… does yours? Meaning I love my baby so much, they are amazing! Do you feel the same way?
A nod to nurture and attachment, and also to a musical element that I also wanted to offer.
I started out offering two baby massage courses, one for newborns and one for older babies up to a year. My first two courses I offered to parents for free in return for testimonials and photographs that I could go on to use to help me promote my business further.
In addition I also offered two song and rhyme classes - one for babies and one for all children up to 5 years.
I only ran these sessions for a year. I found my love of Baby Massage far outweighed the hard work of having to dance about and perform, and the Pay As You Go approach I’d adopted for those classes just wasn't working. So I stopped and concentrated on Baby Massage alone, providing the best experience I possibly could.
Challenges -
There have been many ups and downs over the 8 years I have had my business.
The reality check of lack of income in the beginning made me reach for temporary part time employment whilst I continued to build my business on my days off.
Having clients who are only suitable to your business for a short time is also challenging as marketing has to be continual to ensure you find new people all the time.
The market rises and falls, both through the year and with wider events such as cost of living and who knew it, a world wide pandemic! Having a business all about touch when you aren't allowed to go near anyone was certainly challenging!
Joys -
There have been many moments of joy along the way too!
I felt privileged to be trained before having my own babies so they both experienced massage from birth.
I've had years of developing my own knowledge, continual learning, becoming an expert in my field, and becoming known locally for what I do.
I have witnessed countless precious moments of pure love and connection during my classes.
I am still amazed by what I call ‘Magic Moments’, when every baby and parent in the room are actively engaged in a truly connected massage at the same time!
And I still get that buzz of satisfaction as I drive home after every class I run.
I often wonder if any of the first babies I had in my classes back 20 years ago have babies of their own yet…?
Observations
Over the years I've witnessed changes in culture. Particularly positive to see is the move back towards more nurturing practices and trust in mothers' intuition.
I also noticed changes in guidelines and recommendations when it comes to baby care and new products coming on the market all the time promising to make parents' lives easier. I find it’s worth keeping up to date with what’s out there, even if we know they are not necessarily needed!
And I’ve seen other providers of Baby Massage come and go locally. I’ve noticed they’ve charged a lot less than me, had much shorter classes - one was only 45 minutes! I've seen Baby Massage added as an extra in a completely different class, and I also noticed clearly that other provider training sadly hasn’t been as comprehensive as IAIM training.
20 years on I am still very proud to represent IAIM and what the organisation stands for with babies and parents at the heart. A training programme that has seen very little change in my 20 years and beyond and yet is more relevant and powerful to babies and parents than ever shows just how robust it is!
What's next for me?
The Nurture Revolution! I’m really excited to be currently training with Dr Greer Kirschenbaum and Dr Rocio Zunini, neuroscientists in the field of infant and parent brain research and the impact of nurture on the stress system. This is a subject that excites me so much and I can't wait to start supporting parents further in nurturing practices and nurtured sleep support through group work, workshops and one to ones as a Nurture Revolution Practitioner later this year.
I will continue to offer Baby Massage group courses and one to ones, plus Follow On sessions and hope to for many more years to come!
And I will continue my other role supporting The Northern Lass Lounge helping women get the most out of their social media to grow their business and confidence, a role I fell into when I realised how much I enjoy that side of running a business!
I wish you all an amazing 2025
Angela
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