So you’ve brought the most amazing little human into the world, and the love you have for it is unconditional. You can’t help but look at your baby in amazement, and wonder how you created something so small and delicate, and so beautiful. You feed them, change them, watch them sleep, and listen out for the slightest noise that they make in case something is wrong with them. As a first time parent, or any parent at all for that matter, you become a little hyper sensitive to the noises they’re making and wonder if the slightest thing you’re doing is going to hurt them. After all, they are so small and precious, and you just think that the tiniest of knocks is going to hurt them. But what you will find is that babies are actually super robust, and all of the things you’re worried about are most likely going to be thoughts in your head. What you do really need to worry about, is the interactions you’re giving them. They’re literally essential to development, which is why we want you to have a read of the tips we’ve got below!
Social Interactions
So as we said, all you baby seems to do is poop, eat, cry, and sleep. It’s the cycle that all parents have to get used to, and will have to carry on dealing with until their child leaves the nest which could be many moons away. But when they’re so little, you might wonder why social interaction is so important. Well, we’re not saying you should take them to a baby dinner party and have them cry with all their baby friends, but we do think you should constantly be talking to them and interacting with them, as well as any other people in your life. One of the key ways that a baby learns simple words and how to behave, is through early social interaction. So, get them on their tummy for 5 minutes or so a couple of times a day, and just play with them. Read to them every night and just generally chat to them. It might feel weird, but it honestly is one of the best things you can do.
Therapeutic Interactions
This is something that’s going to be more useful that you realise, because a babies life is actually really stressful. You might not think it whilst they’re softly sleeping away, but whilst they’re awake it’s a scary world. Everything is so big, there’s so many sounds, and there’s so many things to adjust to. So, think about things such as baby swimming lessons. They can go swimming after they’ve had their six week jabs, and it honestly is so therapeutic for them. Because unlike swimming for us, all they do is float around, kicking their legs, feeling weightless and totally relaxed. Plus, it helps build up a lot of their strength which is always good from an early age.
Food Interactions
From six months onwards you should be doing baby led weaning. This is where you lead by what they want and what they pick up food wise. Make sure everything you’re giving them is slightly soft so they can naw away at it, and you’ll soon watch their bottle feeds reduce. Just don’t give them honey, shell fishes, or anything that’s going to be so big it runs the risk of choking.
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