Supermoms and sisters Angela Perez Baraquio Grey and Bernadette Baraquio Hamada will hold a live chat at 10 a.m. today on www.Hawaii.MomsLikeMe.com. The two are hosts of "Living Local with the Baraquios" on OC16. Angela, a former Miss America, is a teacher in California and runs an entertainment company and a nonprofit foundation. Bernadette is an award-winning TV producer, and a former KHON2 news anchor. They'll talk about how they balance motherhood with work. To join in the chat, log in to www.Hawaii.MomsLikeMe.com, and bring your questions. If you're a new member, be sure to register at least an hour ahead.

— Esme Infante Nii

BABY LOVE

INFANT MASSAGE ENCOURAGED TO HELP PROMOTE NURTURING

Promoted as a means of nurturing contact between caregiver and baby, infant massage has been popular in the United States since the 1970s. Infants as young as several hours old, even preemies, can benefit, according to massage therapist Carole Osborne, though most people recommend babies be at least a day old. Not only can massage be performed on healthy babies, it can also help alleviate breathing problems and gastrointestinal difficulties and improve nerve functioning, Osborne says.

Osborne recommends being "firm but gentle" and especially careful around the head and spine. "It's important for parents to be aware of nonverbal as well as sound dialogue interactions to become ... cued to that infant. It's a very, very rich interaction that's not a mechanical kind of thing that the babies thrive on."

—Washington Post