Here at Adoption Choices of Nevada, we are excited to help you with a list of ways to bond with your baby. The list provided below is not a complete list of all the ways to bond with your baby but of some of the big ones. It is a whole new journey for you and your little one to embark on! With these 8 ways of learning how to bond with your baby you’ll soon be a pro. It will take some time to do, but just remember, great connections weren’t built in a day. Take it day by day and soon you’ll find you and your bundle of joy are as happy as can be together.

Touch 

During the first six weeks of your baby’s life, touch is one of the first ways you and your baby get to interact with each other. Be it skin-on-skin or playing with their toes! This is when you and your spouse or partner can connect with your baby in various different ways. From holding him or her to playing with their hands or just laying skin-to-skin. All these and more are wonderful examples of bonding with your baby.

This even means when your baby starts to cry, go pick them up. In the first three months, you are building trust with your little one. By answering their cries with your touch, you are creating a bond that tells them you are safe and there for them. No, you won’t spoil them! Crying is their way of saying something is wrong and they don’t understand it.

Sometimes you won’t know why your baby is crying. There may be times you feel like crying yourself because they won’t stop crying. Don’t give up and just cry it out with them. By holding your baby though a crying fit that won’t stop, you are telling your baby that you are there for them.

Singing

Something for both you and your spouse or partner to do with your baby. Babies love to hear your voice, as it allows for a connection to be made. Your voice no matter what you are saying becomes the connection of “that is my parent and I am safe with them.” The great thing about your little one is they won’t care if you can’t hold a tune.

Try making up little songs while you are around your baby. Maybe sing what you are saying to them. Yes, even in baby talk! It’s never too early to just sing to them about your day or how cute their little toes are. Really anything you can think of– you can sing to them.

Bath Time

Bath time is bonding time. Make it part of your daily routine, to spend some time with your baby while giving them a bath. Boop their nose softly with your finger while making silly faces. As your baby gets out of the newborn stage, they may just giggle while you play with them in the bath. Blow some raspberries on their belly! Play with their hands and feet! All these things make for a great time for you and your baby.

Sure, not every bath time will go smoothly. Someone is bound to end up a little wetter than the other. Or you may be getting an impromptu bath too if your baby really loves splashing. Take it with stride and remember to laugh it off. Being a new parent can be super stressful, and it is in these moments you just have to laugh and keep going. Plus laughing is a great way to show your baby you are happy.

As an added addition to bath time, try a lotion massage for your baby. While applying the lotion, give them a little massage by rubbing their legs and arms. It adds another sensory level that creates a stronger bond.

Mirrors 

Your baby doesn’t yet know what a mirror is or understand the concept. But babies love looking at human faces. Just standing with your little one in front of a mirror, playing and waving, is a great way to bond. You get to bond with your little one while taking in that new parent glow. Be it a messy bun or a scruffy face, your baby is sure to enjoy just enjoy a mirror with you with them.

This is a great development tool too! Babies love mirrors and your baby may start reaching out to the baby in the mirror. It is helping them learn what they look like. It is a great place to practice your silly faces at them. Make the game peek-a-boo even more fun. Eventually, your baby may start mimicking the faces in the mirror. It’s a great tool to not only bond but grow with your baby.

Feeding Time

Bottle feeding your new baby is another beautiful way to bond with your baby. It can be done by you or your spouse or partner. Actually, by rotating who feeds the baby, he or she bonds with both of you. From the morning feeding to the middle of the night feeding. Just holding your baby while you feed them, or just looking into their eyes as you do, is a way to create a bond.

Diaper Change

Who would have thought changing a diaper would be a great bonding exercise? Truth is in that it is a great way! It is something that you already have to do too. Something that can make the experience better is making up a silly song while changing their diapers. Who would have thought poop would be a way to bond with your baby. The truth is, it is going to be part of a routine. Since babies go through roughly 10 diapers a day, that provides 10 special times you can bond.

Storytime

Your baby won’t understand storytime at first. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t read to them though. Even if it is a book you are reading at first. As they get older and can understand what you are reading then you should switch to children’s books. The first six weeks, though, reading them a book you enjoy allows them to connect to your voice.

Sleep

Don’t be afraid to sleep when they sleep. Don’t feel bad about crashing out at 7 PM on a weekend. It takes a lot of work to be a parent! There is co-sleeping, which is not the same as bed-sharing. Co-sleeping can mean bed-sharing, but it does not have to. Rather your baby can just be in the same room as you and your spouse or partner. If you have any specific questions or concerns about sleeping arrangements as a way of bonding with your baby, please be sure to consult with your pediatrician.

Bonding with Your Baby

Bonding with your baby is one of the many special things you get to do as a parent. Don’t worry if you feel it’s not happening right away. Things take time! There will be some bumps in the road. Just take it one day at a time. Soon enough, you and baby will be making silly faces together in the mirror together.

Adoption Choices of Nevada

If you are currently in the process of adopting a baby and have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact, Adoption Choices of Nevada. You may visit the website here or contact us by 775-825-4673 (Reno Office) or 702-474-4673 (Las Vegas Office). Our hours are Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm PST.

Support Adoption Choices

Adoption Choices, Inc. is partnering with Crowdrise, a fundraising website for nonprofits, to help our adoptive parents and birth parents with much needed financial assistance. We understand that expenses keep clients from fulfilling their dreams. Both with birth parents making a plan for adoption, and with adoptive parents growing their family. It is our mission to provide financial assistance through grants and scholarships, awarded annually in November, in honor of National Adoption Month. Funds assist adoptive parents with matching and placements, adoption finalization and helping birth mothers improve their lives through higher education — and much more.

However, we can’t do it alone. Please read up on our programs and donate money where you are able. Your donation will make a huge impact.

About the Author

Tia Kitchens is a college graduate with a B.S in Psychology from Capella University who has always had a passion for three things: animals, writing, and mac ‘n cheese. Two of these three are things she has based her work around. Animals are a big impact on her life due to her love for helping others through difficult situations. Through her studies, she has found the human-animal bond is strong enough to help others. This, paired with her writing, helps her record her findings and teach others through her words.

She is excited to join Adoption Choices as an Editorial Intern because she’s wanted to adopt since she was little, and is excited to learn about the industry and the adoption journey.

Her goal is to make a change in the world with her words and end up on someone’s inspiration Pinterest board! Being a key quote on someone’s Pinterest board it shows her words have a huge impact on people. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but if that picture is just words it surely means more that way! To learn more about her, follow her on Twitter and Instagram!

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Sources: 

Lauria, Jacqueline Fulton, and Andrea Bartz. “30 Little Ways to Bond With Baby.” Parents, https://www.parents.com/baby/feeding/30-little-ways-to-bond-with-baby/.

What to Expect, Editors. “Co-Sleeping and Bed-Sharing.” What to Expect, WhattoExpect, 24 Dec. 2018, https://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/cosleeping.aspx.