Great Bonding Activities For New Parents And Their Babies
Bonding with your newborn baby can seem like the hardest thing to do as a parent. Maybe it took surprisingly little effort to get on top of nighttime feeds? Perhaps your baby doesn’t fuss anywhere near as much as you were warned they would? All in all, while there’s a lot more laundry and you’re waking up earlier than ever, parenting has seemed like a breeze!
However, there is one thing that’s bothering you: you’re not sure how your baby really feels. Moreover, you’re not sure how well bonded you are. You love your baby, of course, and you enjoy spending time with them. But when it comes to recognizing signs of that in your baby them self, you’re not sure what you’re really seeing.
And that’s a common concern for new parents. Millions have laid awake at night worrying if their baby knows and loves them just as much in return. It’s quite a sensitive thing to think about, and it certainly doesn’t help with those ‘baby blues’ that so many have to deal with in the postpartum period.
That’s why we think it’s essential to create a guide on some amazing bonding activities you and your baby can do together. If you’re both enjoying the time you spend with each other, in a way that ensures you both can interact in a direct way, you’re going to flex and strengthen the bond between you.
Both mothers and fathers alike can use the activities below to bond with their newborn. The more you make use of them, the more quality time you spend together, the closer you’re going to feel.
‘Tummy Time’ on Your Chest
Babies benefit from regular tummy time from the moment they’re born. However, when you’ve got a newborn on your hands, tummy time is safest down on your own chest. You can lie flat with them on top of you and keep them centered and contained in one safe spot.
This allows your newborn to start using their upper back and chest muscles, which will make their core a lot stronger as they get older. It will also ensure you have plenty of chances for making and maintaining eye contact. Babies love looking their parents in the eye; it’s one of the best ways to bond on either side of the relationship.
Talk and Read Stories
Communicating with your baby is rather a complex thing. They can’t really answer back yet, but they can let you know in their own way what they’re thinking and feeling. But as in all things, parents have to lead the way!
You can bond with your baby by showing them what it means to be part of a conversation. Talk to them, and be sure to look them in the eye as you do so, about anything and everything that’s on your mind. Talk about the weather, talk about what you need to do today, talk to them about your favorite TV show – literally any topic works!
Then, make some special time for stories, and start using picture books when they’re of an age to notice things in front of them. This is usually when they’re around a month old, and they won’t properly appreciate a book until they’re about six months, but that doesn’t really matter.
Simply being held, hearing your voice, and the time spent together is more than enough to let your baby know how much you love them.
Try a Newborn Massage
Newborns have a wide variety of experiences to get used to. Being part of the world, loud noises and bright lights, being hungry, tired, and even in pain – there’s a lot of sensations to grow accustomed to. As such, newborn massage is a rather essential way to bond with a newborn baby.
Babies are always comforted by the touch of their caregivers; it’s a reminder they’re loved and cared for, much in the same way a hug from a loved one can be for adults too. It’s a form of physical affection that really goes the extra mile, and your newborn will love you for doing it.
Gently massaging their legs and arms, tummy and back, as well as their cheeks or forehead, is a lovely way to provide some sensation relief. It can also help to ground your newborn in a moment that might be very scary and overwhelming for them.
Newborn massage also benefits from providing some newborn skin care, which can be much needed for an infant dealing with sensitive skin, dry patches, or diaper rash. Pop some baby lotion on your fingertips and use very gentle circular motions on your baby’s skin.
Do this for a couple of minutes at a time every so often and see if it helps your baby to quieten and settle, sleep better at night, and even help them to latch and feed.
Make Funny Faces
Newborns like to focus on their parents’ faces, and you can make this a lot more fun and interesting by pulling funny faces for them.
They’ll love spending time looking at you anyway, but giving them a smile, crossing your eyes, sticking your tongue out, etc., may even provoke reactions like giggles and laughter. As a parent, that’s an amazing sound to hear!
And you’ll know that your baby is fully entertained if they try to match the expressions you’re pulling – although don’t expect them to get anything spot on at the newborn age.
Explore Outside Together
Being outside with your baby introduces them to the world at large. You’ll want to keep them wrapped up when they’re really young, but you can spend time sitting on the grass together, investigating things like leaves and flowers, and generally just discovering the outside.
As they get older they’ll love having some time to crawl around, to feel all of the textures of the outside world, but for now, sit your baby in your lap and enjoy the fresh air and blue sky together.
This will help them to associate you as the wonderfully safe space that allows them to explore beyond at their own pace.
Play Music
Of course, we don’t mean blast your phone at the highest volume and expect your baby to start dancing with you. We do mean investing in some great rhythm toys your baby can interact with, and then showing them how to make sounds while playing with them.
Bonding with Your Newborn: What New Parents Should Remember
Every baby is different, and will respond to different things, and express themselves in different ways. That’s the most crucial thing to remember as you and your child make your way through this world together.
It doesn’t matter what other parents have told you about how ‘instant’ that bond felt, or if they’ve recommended an activity to do that didn’t really make you feel any better. Take this journey into parenting at your own pace, and remember that you and your baby are in this together.
And we don’t want to worry you, but if you yourself are worried about your newborn, check in with a health professional. If your baby always seems grumpy, and even cries a lot more than you expect them to (especially for no discernable reason), talk to a doctor, your midwife, or a health visitor.
It’s always best to double check if there’s an underlying issue disrupting the routine you’re trying to put your baby on, which could also be disrupting your bonding efforts at the same time.
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