After a long day of sleeping, eating and yes, pooping, some babies just need a day at the spa.
Oh LaLa Baby Spa is a first-of-its-kind in the State of Michigan, and we checked it out. It turns out, the seemingly affluent experience can have health benefits for parents and babies.
The spa is dedicated to infants two weeks old up to 18 months old. Babies can receive hydrotherapy and a massage, but the benefits are more than skin-deep.
Ola Bayram is a certified nurse and a co-founder of the spa. Her inspiration was never too far.
Bayram's 11-month-old daughter, Fatima, struggled with colic, so Bayram became a certified baby masseuse to help, and she said it worked.
Now, through guided massages, she is helping other parents and babies find relief, holistically treating constipation, colic, and promoting sleep and development.
"It's wonderful for promoting sensory development and regulation of the nervous system," Debbie Adsit, an occupational therapist, said. Adsit oversees pediatric rehabilitation at Beaumont Children's Center.
She said baby massages aren't new, and are often used to help children in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), or those who struggle with tense muscles.
Although Adsit said research is limited when it comes to the benefits linked to hydrotherapy, she can see anecdotally how it helps.
"Get them out of those containers, give them the ability to explore their environment and give them that really powerful sensory input their developing systems are craving," she said.
Alexa Springfield brought her youngest of three, 8-week-old Grayson, to the spa.
"I feel like with my past children I never had a chance to really get out of the house and it created a lot of anxiety for me," she said. "So to be able to have a space to come post-partum to have a bonding experience with my baby and step out of the house element it was great.”
