—A.V., Jerusalem"} 64:{"position":8,"content":""} 65:{"position":9,"content":"Dr. Joel Reiter, director of the pediatric sleep disorders clinic at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem, answers: There have been a few studies looking at infant massage, primarily in preterm infants, that show some benefit."} 66:{"position":10,"content":"However, I have to admit I remain doubtful that any kind of baby lotion can make a difference. The study you mention was, not surprisingly, funded by a commercial baby product company."} 67:{"position":11,"content":"We sleep-medicine specialists recommend a calm, short, bedtime routine before putting babies to bed, and a massage can count as such a routine."} 68:{"position":12,"content":"But we emphasize the importance of putting the baby to bed while he/she is still awake. A major cause of insomnia in childhood is what we call sleep associations. One of the developmental milestones of babies aged three to six months is sleep regulation – the infant's ability to self soothe and fall asleep without parental intervention."} 69:{"position":13,"content":"Infants who fall asleep during specific activities such as a massage, the parents’ presence or feeding are likely to expect the same condition when their sleep becomes light between the different sleep stages, resulting in waking."} 6a:{"position":14,"content":"The bottom line is that the massage may be good for parent-infant bonding and it may be a good bedtime routine, but the specific lotion probably has no effect, just like a specific children's book would not be expected to have a special effect."} 6b:{"position":15,"content":"Israel Childbirth Education Center founder Wendy Blumfield says: Four months is a wonderful age for an infant, who does something new every day. But for the parent, it is nevertheless exhausting when the baby is lively and active and doesn’t want to miss anything by sleeping.

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