One of the most important things that a mother can do for her baby in her early life is to develop a strong connection between mother and child.
A mother’s loving touch is a very powerful way of forging this relationship.
Research has found that bonding through loving touches not only brings mother and baby closer together, but the positive attachment between you and baby also helps to influence her later development. The extent you bond with your child will play a role in how your baby will relate to others; her language skills development; and self-esteem.
The four Signs of Bonding to help you recognise how the bond between you and baby is growing even stronger are:
1) What it Means when Baby Gazes Get Longer
Other than making recognisable sounds like cooing and gurgling to communicate with you, baby uses his eyes to ‘talk’ as well. When baby looks into your eyes, a silent loving message flows from him to you to increase the affection between you both.
Eye contact, which develops into gazes later, is one of your baby’s first skills you would notice. In his early days, he would pay attention to you, and his eyes would follow you around when you are close. The sight of your familiar face also seems to calm him. Sometimes, you would also catch him staring at you fixatedly. This is because he is trying to memorise your face or identify what love and comfort looks like.
2) What it Means when Baby Starts to Giggle
A baby coos, gurgles or giggles to express her emotions. Other than conveying her excitement and happiness, a baby’s first laughter marks her social development as it is usually made in response towards someone who shares her world.
When your baby giggles in response to you, it is her way of telling you how much she is having fun with you. By cooing adoringly or gurgling excitedly in your presence, your baby shows that she recognises you, and that she is bonding with you. In other words, your baby makes joyful noises to express her pleasure and respond to your love, touch and care.
Young babies only reserve their laughter to people they are best bonded with. Thus, you can take heart in the fact that your baby is not only laughing because she enjoys your company, but also that both of you shares a special connection. By interacting with you through laughter, your baby is making headway in emerging into a social being.
3) What it Means when Baby Reaches Out for You
When a baby reaches out to his mommy, it can mean a few things. He could be telling her to cuddle or hug him; to get closer to him or that he is simply happy to have her presence. Regardless of what baby is thinking, he is showing a need for his mother, which is a deep connection between mother and child.
As your baby grows, your positive responses to his every reaching out for you will help him develop even more meaningful movements. This shows that he is gaining more awareness of his body and how he moves, which is a significant milestone in his development.
4) What is Means When Baby Smiles
What more clearly says “I love you” than a smile? Well, believe it or not, touching your baby can actually lead her to smile more often, which reflects the strength of your bond.
As your baby grows, you will also notice that these first smiles will give way to smiling in response to your presence and in anticipation of you.
All these smiles show that she is becoming more secure in her world and ready to learn about the larger world as she grows.
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