Becoming a parent is such a joyous occasion that can’t possibly be described in words. It’s one of those things that you have to experience to understand how amazing it feels. Parenting isn’t all fun and games, however. In reality, you kind of live your life full of fear! That doesn’t sound very good, but it’s somewhat true. Parents have so many things to worry about – but that’s all because we love our children more than anything in the world.
Amongst all your ongoing fears, parents – particularly mothers – experience one key fear in the first few weeks/months after giving birth. What if my baby doesn’t like me? What if we don’t connect? It’s a horrible feeling, and it’s made worse if your baby cries a lot.
Thankfully, the majority of babies may go through a crying phase, but they eventually warm to you. Also, you can do plenty of little things to strengthen the bond between you. Here are some ways to bond with them:
Skin-to-skin contact
Speaking of close contact, you should look to achieve it as much as possible. Outside of breastfeeding, you’ll rarely have skin-to-skin contact with your baby. So, change this! Spend time just carrying them against your naked chest or lying with them on you. They feel your skin and develop a strong connection to you. It feels amazing for you as well, babies just feel warm and soft – it’s unbelievably cute!
Make eye contact when bottle-feeding
However you choose to feed your baby be it breast, bottle or a combination of the two it’s your decision and one you should make without any sway/judgement from others. A newborn formula is an option if you choose with lots of options available. If you’re worried about losing some of your bond because you don’t get the benefits of close contact breastfeeding, then there’s nothing to fear! Instead, make eye contact the whole time. Stare into their eyes, so they know who’s feeding them. This does wonders for your bond as they develop an attachment to you and recognise you as the person that looks after them and feeds them when they’re hungry.
Massage your baby
Giving your baby a little massage is proven to do much more than strengthen your bond. Again, you get the skin-to-skin contact that every baby craves. But, you also help them feel relaxed and calm. Again, your baby starts to associate you with these feelings. This will sound like a bizarre comparison, but it’s like stroking a cat. If you give your cat belly rubs and stroke them, they start to love you more and more.
Don’t worry if your baby seems to cry a lot and not like being in your presence. This is just a phase, and you can help the situation by trying the three things listed above. And remember the most important rule of all – there are no rules, trust your intuition.
This is a collaborative post.
