"I Love You" Abdominal Massage

How it works: Gas passes through your baby's large intestine or colon (whiich begins on his right), moving across to his middle and down his left, where it exits through the rectum. "By firmly and deeply massaging with your flattened fingers in a circular motion you can move gas pockets along this path," explains Sears.

Step-by-step:

1. Sit facing your baby. With your oiled fingers, make a single "I" stroke on the left side (your right) of his stomach. Use gentle but firm strokes starting from under his ribs down to his hip.
   
   
2. Stroke an upside-down "L", going from your left to right across your baby's belly, then continuing down baby's left side. (It looks like you're drawing the number 7 from your point of view.)
   
   
3. Trace an upside-down "U", again going from your left to right. The idea is to massage in a clockwise direction to move gas toward the rectum. Repeat sequence as needed.