Little Steps. Beautiful Beginnings

24/10/2025

24/10/2025

Email: littlesteps.beautifulbeginnings@gmail.com
🌱🌻

18/10/2025

A box of treasures - and look what I found! ✨
A story written by my daughter many years ago. Priceless. 💛

Home truly is where the heart is.
If your child brings home a piece of art or a story - keep it, frame it, or at least snap a photo. These are the precious moments that remind us how special childhood creativity is. 🌱🌻

So blessed to have found this and to share a little piece of that magic today.

Do you think she should start writing again? I always thought she was an amazing writer and illustrator. 💕

13/10/2025

I’m often asked this question…
💧 “What oil is best to massage my baby with?”

If you can, choose a cold-pressed organic oil with no added scent.

Some examples have been - sesame, mustard seed oil, olive, coconut oil, sunflower, kawakawa with beeswax, even kumarahou or calendula, sweet almond, Grapeseed oil and even apricot kernel oil - each with its own story and tradition.

My suggestion: find an oil that’s gentle in scent so it doesn’t overstimulate baby or mask your natural odour (which helps baby bond with you 💜).

✨ Always do a little patch test on the inside of baby’s elbow before use.

Over the years, I’ve offered many oils - sesame oil continues to be a favourite. It’s warming, absorbs beautifully, and doesn’t leave a residue - one I picked up through my Ayurvedic doula training, it’s lovely for the cooler months in fact all year round, however every baby is different. For babies who run warm, try coconut oil as it has cooling properties, and if you’re unsure, sunflower oil is a gentle all-rounder.

🌼 A quick note on mineral oils:
Recent research suggests they may coat baby’s skin rather than fully absorb, and some contain added fragrances that can interfere with your baby’s natural scent connection - or may have the potential to cause a sensitivity and also share there is no nutritional value in it at all.

The IAIM recommends sticking with natural, plant-based oils wherever possible - Vimala McClure shares - if it’s good enough to go on your salad it’s good enough for baby.

So explore, test, and see what feels right for your baby 🌱🌻

P-J xx

Pic. Weaving little kono baskets to accompany the infant massage bottles - a symbol of care, connection, and the weaving together of community. For whanau joining this Friday’s class in the Dargaville surrounds ❤️

09/10/2025

You matter. Your voice matters. And you deserve to be seen - just the way you are.

We are all sensory beings - each of us experiences the world in our own unique way. 🌿
Let’s embrace our quirks, honour our differences, and learn to reach out when times feel tough. Silence can be heavy - connection lightens the load.

💛 Your mind matters - today and every day. 💛

Let’s celebrate World Mental Health Day (October 10) by doing one small thing that lifts your spirit - for you, for your children, for your whānau, and for our planet. 🌏✨

07/10/2025

💛 Connect Deeply Through Touch, Movement & Awareness 💛

We are all sensory beings - babies, children, and adults. Connection, understanding, and co-regulation are essential at every stage of life. From pregnancy to postpartum, into infancy, and through childhood, connection is at the heart of it all.

Pregnancy Yoga helps you tune in to your changing body and your baby, creating space for awareness and calm before birth.

Postpartum Yoga supports your recovery, strengthens your body, and nurtures your emotional well-being.

Infant & Child Massage teaches you to co-regulate - using touch, tone, and body language to support emotional and physical growth in babies and young children.

It all starts from within - when you are grounded and aware, your presence becomes a powerful tool for connection at every stage of life. 🌿

05/10/2025

🌻 In Loving Memory of Woodrow 🌻

24 years ago, at 41 weeks, after a few quiet hours soaking in the bath as the surges grew stronger, he began his journey from womb to arms. In the stillness of the early morning, we drove to the hospital, dropping his older brother off to their aunty and uncles - and just 29 minutes later, our beautiful boy entered the world 🌱🌻🙏❤️

From his very first days, he was calm, content, and full of joy. His first massage came at seven days old, after his umbilical cord had dropped off -with resting hands, downward strokes, and careful attention to his subtle cues and tiny body (photo on the right).

When he learnt to write (along with his siblings), they would sneak into my diary and write the word “massage” - it always made me smile 💕 Woody loved a good back rub and later, after sports, those leg massages became our quiet ritual of connection.

At 17, during an annual camping trip, tragedy struck. Doctors said two years to walk again… but our precious Woody passed six months later. None of us saw it coming 💔

It’s the memories - the nurturing touch, the laughter, the spark in his eyes - that remind me every connection matters. They help us heal, they help us grow, to thrive. I never imagined to outlive my own child 💔 This is why I do what I do.

So please… hold life gently. Don’t carry a heavy heart to bed. Release resentment - it only anchors you to pain. Look instead through your child’s eyes - curious, open, full of wonder. You might be surprised by the joy waiting there 🌈

If you’d like to connect more deeply with your baby, learn to read their cues, or simply nurture their wellbeing, bring healing, infant massage is a beautiful place to start. It can ease colic and wind, promote deeper sleep, boost immunity, and strengthen your bond 💜

🌻 I also offer Doula Tuesdays with pre- and postnatal yoga, plus life coaching sessions - sacred space - all created to support parents and families in finding calm, connection, and balance. Reach out 👉

Arohanui

P-J 🌱🌻

28/09/2025

🌻 A memory from 2024 popped up today 🌻
Sharing the art of infant massage with children, parents and students continues to be such a gift - moments of connection, trust and love that never fade. 💜

Now here we are in September 2025, and my heart is still so grateful to witness parents and babies bonding, students growing in confidence, and children discovering the power of nurturing touch - building empathy and kindness for life 🌱🌻👶✨

13/09/2025

💜 Parents & babies — join us online! 💜

This October, I have students enrolled in a 4-Day IAIM NZ Infant Massage Instructors Training and we need you!

Join 3 free online sessions and give our students a chance to practice their skills, while enjoying gentle, nurturing massage with your baby in a supportive, learning environment.

🌻 Where: Online, from your own home

🌻 When: Oct 17, 24 & 31

🌻 Time: 11:15–12:30

🌻 Cost: FREE

✨ Why join?
By attending all three sessions, you’ll support our students AND learn how to massage your baby that helps with bonding, relaxation, and your baby’s wellbeing. Perfect for you, your baby, and your whānau 💜

Your students - are passionate about supporting maternal and infant mental health and wellbeing and work in the following fields - midwifery, Physiotherapy, OT, Childbirth Educator, VNT, Massage Therapist and Health Promoter supporting hapu mamas and mamas with babies

Email me, P-J now: Free baby massage classes - iaimnztrainer@gmail.com
🌐 www.infantmassagenewzealand.org

10/09/2025

Blessed to be supporting tamariki alongside Selwyn Park Kindergarten where today tamariki nurtured their pepi or favourite animal, bird or insect (yes the bees even got a massage). Heaps of storytelling through imaginative play and of course their favourite kauri mr snail - building empathy and supporting wellness

Thanks Jenny for the photos xx 🌱🌻

06/09/2025

Happy Father’s Day! 🌱🌻
Wishing you all a fabulous day celebrating you and all you do.

Infant massage isn’t just for māmā - it’s a beautiful way for dads to be involved too. After a long day at work, instead of the usual nappy changes, massage offers fathers a meaningful way to relax, connect, and support their baby’s growth and development. It deepens the bond between dad and pēpi in a truly special way - learning together, supporting one another...