Ways to Bond with Your Baby

Because the first year of a baby's life is important for development, actively taking steps to bond with your baby is essential. Here are a few tips for bonding with your newborn.

Smile at your baby: Smiling is one of the first ways your baby will learn to socialize. This is a great first step to interacting with others. Smiling also helps your baby to feel safe.

Make eye contact: Eye contact between you and your baby can help with communication skills and boost learning. Although it takes a little while before babies do start to make eye contact, once they do it's very rewarding!

Make facial expressions you want your baby to replicate: A baby takes in the expressions of those around him or her. If you look happy, he or she will pick up on that! Your newborn will also feel more calm if you are relaxed, so try to keep stress to a minimum.

Get close to your baby: Skin-to-skin contact is important when bonding with your newborn.

Talk to your baby: Babies will pick up on language faster if they hear you speaking to them.

Bonding with your baby takes time and won't always be easy. Keep giving your newborn attention and you'll form a bond soon enough!