7 EASY WAYS TO BOND WITH YOUR BABY

Posted On July 5, 2020

Babies are the greatest gifts to mankind. The joy they bring is inexplicable, they make everything looks perfect even when is not. They make you a better person, responsible, and brings out the love you never imagined you were capable of giving to anyone. However, bonding with your baby after childbirth can be challenging for some mothers. Circumstances of each case can be different, due to the fact that not every mother have natural delivery, some have a Cesarean section. 

A cesarean delivery is a surgical procedure used to deliver a baby through incisions in the abdomen and uterus. Sometimes, this procedure can affect milk production. As a result, majority of mothers who Cesarean Section was performed on was unable to breastfeed their baby days, and even weeks after childbirth. In other ways, bonding with their babies could be very difficult.

In this article, I will disclose how you can easily bond with your baby after giving birth. And these methods can be applied by both mothers who have natural delivery, and Cesarean section.

Skin to skin contact:

This is one of the best ways to bond with your baby, the skin to skin contact is very crucial because your baby feels close to you, and gets more familiar with you. Holding, and cradling your baby keeps him/her calm, and relaxed. Newborns enjoy being touched, and stroked. And they are fixated on you even when they can only see in black and white at the first few months, this is your child’s way of bonding with you.

Breastfeeding:

Breastfeeding is my favorite way of bonding with my baby, it gave me the satisfaction that she is happy and fully fed. When you breastfeed, you create a strong emotional bond between you and your baby. Breastfeeding can be very painful at the first stage. But if your baby properly latches on your breast, you feel less pain and discomfort as you get accustomed to it. Babies needs all 3 stages of breast milk, these stages are; Colostrum, transitional milk and mature milk.

Bottle-feeding:

Feeding your child with a bottle is another good way to bond with your baby. It gives you the chance to get close to your little one, cuddle and sing to her/him. It’s recommended to wait at least 4 to 6 weeks to start bottle feeding if you’re breastfeeding, reason being that this is a sufficient amount of time for your baby to get adapted to breastfeeding routine. Still, you can start immediately after birth if you’re only bottle feeding your baby. Make sure you buy the best bottles and nipples, you can ask your friends and practitioner for suggestions, and also do your research in finding the right ones.

Bathing your child:

Bathing your infant is a perfect way to bond with your baby, the skin to skin contact will occur often, and that’s what your baby needs and enjoys. This is a splendid method to get to know your child, how his/her head, eyes, nose and mouth is shaped and the beautiful hairs on your baby’s head and body. This also creates an emotional bond, and a special time to play and cuddle with your child.

Communicating with your baby:

Interacting with your baby helps develop his/her communication skills. Babies communicate immediately after birth through facial expressions and sounds. Crying, smiling, cooing, grunting, and eye contact are all part of a child’s communication development. Listen to your child, and respond to her by talking and in a non-verbal way. Babies are not very expressive, and can’t tell you what they want in exact words, so pay attention to your child’s needs and feelings.

Reading a story to your baby, and asking certain questions like “Do you like color red? Or Would you like some music?” can help in a child’s brain development

Using a baby Carrier:

Baby carrier is perfect for short walk with your infant, it doesn’t only help with bonding, it also gives you the opportunity to do some workout, is a win-win situation. So, try to take your baby for a walk occasionally using the baby carrier, there’s a skin to skin contact involvement when that happens. When your child is in contact with your chest, he/she is more relaxed, and less likely to cry. Also, it helps in your child’s early stage development in getting to know and trust you.

Conclusion:

Bonding with your child may take some time, but gradually you will get there. Pay attention to your baby’s needs and spend time interacting with your infant. Emotional connection is crucial in the early stage of your child’s development, communicate with him/her and practice skin to skin contact as much as you can.