It’s not as if babies are exhausted from all that nursing and napping, but if we can find a way to make them even more stress-free, why not try it? Float Baby is a spa for infants that offers floating and massage sessions, for a
Float Baby opened in Houston, Texas, not long ago. This spa is innovative not because of the services it offers, but because of the audience that the owners chose for these services. At the moment, 130 newborns to one-year-olds are being treated with hydrotherapy and neonatal massages, something that grown-ups would call a royal treatment.
Kristi Ison, the owner of Float Baby, stated in an interview with the TODAY Show that “What we find is that the babies find the water very soothing and relaxing. The newborns especially like it, we see them float and then have a little cat nap while they’re floating. The older babies, they really like to kick around and splash and socialize.”
According to Ison, the babies are aware that they can experience freedom in the water: “Before they can roll over, they want to move and they’re not able to — they’re either in a carrier or being held — and so when we put them in the water and they experience that freedom, they really enjoy it.”
However, given that one session costs $65, not everybody agrees to the efficiency of such a therapy. For example, Dr. Claire McCarthy, a pediatrician and medical communications editor at Boston Children’s Hospital, pointed out that “I don’t think there is anything special about being in the water. Crawling is easier on the floor. I don’t think this is necessary, and I think that babies can get the same health benefits from active play at home with their parents — with the additional bonding benefits, and for free.”
Ison believes that Float Baby is the only such spa in the US, and admits of getting the inspiration for this establishment from a baby spa from the UK. Assuming that there will be some competition in the future, the price should drop and become more decent. Until then, only the ones who can afford such services will benefit from them. With a few instructions and the proper equipment, it shouldn’t be difficult to replicate the same conditions at home, though.
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