Studies have shown that there are five key components to creating a bond with your baby. Bonding with your baby can start at any time but by using these five components to create a bond you can encourage the process - eye contact, sound of voice, touch, smell and presence of oxytocin (the love hormone). Therefore, baby changing and changing a nappy gives you an opportunity to learn and observe how a baby is communicating with you.
Parenting on Female First
Always make sure that the area where you change your baby is lovely and private. Incoporating some gentle music and relaxed lighting can help to calm you and your baby. Making sure you have the right products to hand is important, using a wipe such as HUGGIES® Pure to cleanse allows you to have lots of skin-on-skin contact with your little one and ensures kindness to even the most sensitive skin.
Top tips for bonding with baby during change-time
- Change-time is a perfect time to bond and interact with your baby as baby gets undivided attention
- Use change-time as a time to talk to baby. This is also a time to look at them giving them loads of lovely smiles making sure they're happy. You can begin to introduce touch such as stroking your baby's legs and head or perhaps a little foot massage. This produces oxytocin which helps you to create a love moment with your baby
- Capitalise on the fact you're not rushing around and enjoy the moment with baby. Perhaps you could sing a few songs to keep baby engaged
- Changing a baby doesn't have to be functional and something you rush through, it can be really fun
- Always change a baby's nappy as soon as you know it's dirty. If possible, keep their nappy off for a bit and let them have a kick around. This is a good opportunity to do a bit of massage. Massage is really easy and you can do it at any time. Start by massaging a little bit on the legs, sing a few songs and make eye contact. All of these things together are important
- The less artificial fragrance you can have in the area you're changing the better, because, it means that mum and baby are exchanging smells of each other which is really important in bonding. A very subtle, calming smell in the area is completely fine
- As babies get older, nappy changing can become more tricky! What I used to do with my children is have a little song that I sung before change time so they knew it was coming. It's also a really good opportunity to do some yoga. My advice to parents who have babies with colic is that every time you as this will help your baby and support their digestive system. If little babies have wind or colic it can build up throughout the day and become really difficult and uncomfortable to manage
- With the older babies, sing a song so that they know it's nappy time and take the opportunity to do a bit of yoga with their hips
- Mums are so busy now-a-days and always rushing here, there and everywhere. Actually, when you change a baby's nappy it gives you the chance to slow down and play, interact and connect with your baby
- Babies are always learning and copy what their parents do. This is baby's way to understand how the world works - parents are the first teacher in a baby's life
To find out how HUGGIES® Wipes naturally care for little one's skin visit www.huggieswipes.co.uk to find the full range.
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