Bringing a new baby into the world is one of the biggest blessings that God has ever given man and woman. All the emotions that come along with welcoming that beautiful little bundle of joy into your life can be a crazy, scary, yet exciting and joyous moment in any couple’s marriage. You know your in for many long sleepless nights, but in the end of it all it will be, oh, so worth it. Everything you do now until the moment your baby leaves the warm and cozy little nest you have made for them all will determine the type of person your gift from God will turn out to be. Infants require a lot of time and attention; they deserve nothing less.
In today’s day and age of technology it can be easy to get lost in time playing on the phone, laptop, or any of the electronic devices they have, but with your new baby there with you that’s something you need to break the habit of. Infants, especially newborns, are very demanding little beings. They need you for everything little thing. Everything that he is going to learn, everything he is going to need over the course of the next few months are all going to depend on you. All their needs will be met by you. It will be exhausting and can be frustrating at times, but once you get a feel for his temperament it will get a little easier. An infant’s temperament is their biological predisposition to respond to the world in predictable ways (al., 2020, p. 271). Temperaments will also affect the way you will parent your baby and as complex parenting might be, your parenting style matters more than you might tend to think.
With an infant’s need of attention, she will quickly learn how to engage with you extracting positive reinforcement from you. The more one on one time the two of you spend together or the more time you spend talking to her in a calm, sweet, soothing voice the more she will learn to trust you causing the two of you to develop the sweetest, greatest bond that there is here on earth. The bond between mother and child is unlike any other you will ever have. With that bond, she will know that she can count on you to be there for her when she needs you the most. This is where attachment comes into play. Attachment is the emotional bond that connects two people together, it’s the first most important relationship a child will have (al., 2020). With that bond, she will grow to learn that momma will always be there for her when she falls. You will become her safety net, which is called a secure base. A secure base is something that is very important for an infant to have. It is a safe and supportive relationship that infants use to explore and understand the world around them (al., 2020). Being responsive to her cries for help and soothes her needs the more trust and more confidence she will gain in herself. That is something every parent should strive for.
The more you play with your baby and the more eye contact she gets from you will help her learn to cry, laugh, smile, and maintain eye contact to create engagement and have the engagement drive her immediate needs (al., 2020). That is one of the biggest reasons your baby should have your undivided attention when you’re engaging with her and another good example as to why you should put your phone down. This in the long run will help her over all emotional needs.
In 1950 and 1959, Erik Erikson came up with a social development theory, describing all the different challenges that a typically faced across the life span, that consisted of eight stages (al., 2020, p. 272). In his theory he explained for one to have advancement in their social development that they must over come each stages crisis that are the challenges and hurdles one must conquer to move on the next, with the first stage being meant for infants from birth to 12 months (al., 2020). Erikson’s first stage is basic trust versus mistrust. Infants’ must be able to trust their caregiver for their support and learn the ability to cope with the world versus the general sense of mistrust of the world (al., 2020, p. 272). When your baby resolves that given crisis, she will had learned that the world can be nurturing, supportive, and reliable in those times of need. Examples of things you can do to help your baby is simply holding her during bottle time and singing the ABC’s, holding her and hugging her when she gets scared and frightened, and letting her interact with others. This also helps form her identity later in her adolescence stage.
With all the things we discussed and went over during this meeting will hopefully guide you and help you succeed at forming that meaningful and beautiful bond that you hope to have with your new addition. Remember to limit the use of your electronics when you’re interacting with your infant and cherish these moments because they won’t last for long. I want to congratulate you and wish you all the best on your new journey of parenthood, you got this!
References
al., G. e. (2020). Introduction to Psychology From a Christian Worldview. Dubuque, Iwoa, USA: Kendall Hunt Publishing team. doi:vbk://9781792411540/page/247
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