Creative Ways to Bond with Your Baby

There is no literature given to parents on how to bond with your baby after they are born. I have heard from several parents that they thought they would have an initial bond with their new baby and felt like they were failing when they did not feel an instant connection. There is nothing wrong with you if you do not feel an initial connection to your new baby. Being a new parent causes a flood of emotions and the first few weeks of parenthood sometimes feels like a fog. As you exit this fog and enter a new existence as a parent, you form your relationship with your new little one. When you are struggling with mental health issues on top of adjusting to the changes of parenthood, it is important to prioritize bonding. There are several benefits of bonding including the long-term goal of raising successful and resilient adults. See here for more information: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5330336/.

Creative ways to bond with your baby:

-Read to them
-Practice grounding activities while holding them (check in with all your senses). How does baby smell, feel, sound etc.

-Sing to them

-Rub lotion on their hands and feet

-Hold them in baby carrier while taking a walk and point out things you see

-Complete skin to skin bonding

-Give lots of kisses

-Hold them while feeding

Please see: https://www.zerotothree.org/resource/activities-for-bonding-and-learning-from-birth-to-12-months/ for more ideas

Are you struggling with bonding? Have you found creative ways to bond with your little one?