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Home › Articles › New Dads/Newborn Issues › Bonding From the Beginning

Bonding From the Beginning

Use Baby's Senses to Create That Special Connection

By Kelly Burgess

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– Touch is very important, because, according to A. Christine Harris, Ph.D., of Sacramento, Calif., a newborn's sense of smell and touch are as important to bonding as sight. Harris, a professor of psychology at Consumnes River College and author of Baby's First Year Journal: A Day-to-Day Guide to Your Baby's Development During the First Twelve Months (Chronicle Books, 1999), says getting to know your new baby and building an attachment to him is the most important goal of the first few weeks.

"What babies do in those first few days is study the parts of the face with the most contrast, like the hairline and jaw line," says Harris. "Cuddling your baby, making eye contact during feedings and skin-to-skin contact will allow the two of you to learn about each other together."

Hearing
– Coo softly to your baby, saying his or her name over and over. Emphasize certain words, as in, "Such a good baby." Studies have shown that women tend to speak in a higher pitched voice to a newborn baby. Women with multiple children will talk at a different tone to each of their children – higher in descending order of age. Women with quite a few children positively squeak by the time they get to their youngest!

Smell
– Baby strongly identifies with your smell. Again, studies have shown that both newborns and mothers can identify each other by sense of smell. This familiar smell soothes Baby and helps him feed well.


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