The new parents’ most common concern is how to portray being the best parent to their child. And, one of the pitfalls in doing so are the various ways of interacting with them. There are multiple ways on how to interact with a newborn, in fact, you can be cool while doing these to the little ones. And, these interactions are important for the holistic development of the newborns. Since they commonly depend on the varied senses to get at least what is going on around them. You have to provide some stimulus in a way that your newborn will respond while you are playing with them.
Identifying when your baby is active
Playing with your baby would sound fun, but how are you going to figure out if your newborn is not in the mood to play, feeling sleepy or awake? It is expected that they would spend long hours in sleeping like about 16-18 per day. And the moment they are awake, they are not sure if they wanted to have some playtime with you. There are times they seemed alert, but when you initiate to play they began crying and got upset.
Technically, there are tow waking stages in a newborn’s life, the quiet time and the other one is the hypertime. When you say quiet time, this is the period when they just look round while eyes are wide open. But, when you say hypertime, they begin to kick their legs or flap their arms. They soon begin to move like a caterpillar, then bounce.
Newborn’s quiet time
You may be wondering if they feel sleepy or what, but at the moment they look around intently-this is the best time for interaction. The newborn babies are on their utmost alertness when they are trying to ponder on the things around them. This is the type they respond better and is much easier to deal with or interact with. They are likely so attentive and even showing more interest. You may start to carry them and initiate the interaction by pointing on things while you are talking.
Newborn’s hypertime
Hypertime is the period that is misunderstood. Since, many would think this is the perfect time to interact with the newborns, not knowing it is mere contrary. When your baby moves a lot, it means they are focusing on exercising their arms or limbs. Their attention is being caught by the thought like ’I have no idea I make this’. So, it is less conducive to play with them at this time, for they just pay less attention at all.
The time you began playing with them, they soon cry or fuss. Such a reaction may have surprised you, but it’s only expressed because of overstimulation. The newborn is overwhelmed on which is which and it creates confusion. You can just let them on their playpen, then you will start to unfold more on what their tiny bodies can do.
Conversing to your newborn
Do you know that one of the ways on how to interact with a newborn is to hear your voice? Even if at that moment you can’t hold her yet. Upon hearing the sound of your voice, the baby would feel calm and secure. This is also the start of building some connections or making a foundation in terms of the baby’s language skills since the time of birth. So, the more conversation, the more areas will be improved.
What are the words that come from your mouth that don’t matter that much yet? You can narrate the things you’re are doing, talk about something like what happen to you day or random inquiries you know the baby can’t answer. Another activity you can do is to read some books with your child.
Interacting while feeding
An ideal chance to interact with the newborn is the feeding time. At least the baby is alert at the start of the feeding. While breastfeeding is a bonus to help you have more bonding moments with the baby, the intimacy and closeness will soon bloom. Yet, bonding with the baby is not limited to the breastfeeding alone, of course even in bottle feeding sessions. However, if the stimulation is too much, most probably the baby will start to fuss or cry. Too much of anything like sound, light, action or touch can make your baby upset. Since everyone is unique, also the babies differ in the stimulation amount. If the newborn starts to fuss, arch back and turn away, these are symptoms of distress. As soon as one or more of these signs occur, decrease the stimulation. You can try to turn off the noises and darken the room. Some just wanted to be held the time they have experienced overly stimulated.
Entertaining your baby
In the first month of the baby, you may observe that the newborn seemed always sleepy. This will change rapidly in the first few weeks. Then you will soon notice that your baby is getting more alert for more or longer stretches while being awake. This is the time you have to take advantage of and then play or interact with your small bundle of joy.
The attentive babies tend to look around. You may hold your newborn to be able to see the face. You can either sing, talk or smile and have some silly faces. If you change the pitch of your voice it will make the baby more interested. Others love some movements, so you can dance or sway gently.
How to interact with the newborn, when what they usually do are eating and sleeping a lot. It ends you up thinking how you and the rest of the family could interact. At first, they may be moving or doing so tiny things, but they are exploring and learning the world around them. If meaningful interactions have been initiated since from birth onwards, it is easier for your baby to build connections, develop language, motor, and other necessary skills needed.
Read also:
- The Best Fair Trade Clothing Items Or Your Newborn
- How Much Should a Newborn Eat: Guidelines To Follow?
- The Surprising Facts About Newborn Snorting And Snoring
