PROVIDING A GOOD ENOUGH START
Every baby is growing and developing an awareness of the outside world during pregnancy, and practising movements to prepare them for life outside the womb.
During pregnancy, it is beneficial to all parents to also prepare to meet their baby so they feel confident about what to expect and how to nurture their baby's well-being. This is beneficial for every pregnancy.
The Golden Hours of skin-to-skin at birth, and the early days and weeks that follow, are critical to both baby and mother as they both get to know and understand each other.
By consistently recognising and meeting needs, and soothing the causes of their distress, babies will develop their relationship with their primary caregivers establishing their sense of safety and security.
This foundation of safety will one day empower your little one to fearlessly explore the world, knowing that caregivers will be there to return to, and support or soothe them.
EACH BABY IS UNIQUE
The wonderful fact is that your baby is unique from the moment they are born. Watch, listen and be curious about their individual, often subtle, characteristics.
Some babies sleep through anything, while others need a dark and quiet environment. Some babies enjoy a lot of physical contact, while others find too much handling tiring and need a break.
Babies may transition between states at different speeds; some go from sleep to crying quickly, while others do so more slowly. Some babies need more support to feel calm again when upset, while others can be soothed more easily.
Remember, what works for one baby may not work for another. The beauty lies in your baby's uniqueness, which you can observe from the first moments of life.
Lots of little nurturing interactions throughout each day establish your relationship and strengthen your little one's neural pathways.
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MOVEMENT & EXPRESSIONS
A baby's expressions and movements carry meaning. Yawning and less obvious actions such as sneezing, closing eyes or turning away can mean that your baby is overstimulated or tired. Watch, wait and wonder about the many subtle signs they communicate to you.
By being curious you will come to know your infant's tired signs to settle them to sleep. Many babies are happiest falling asleep close to a caregiver. This is natural and normal. You will not, cannot, spoil your baby by keeping them close to you.
SENSATIONS
For newborn babies, every sensation is a new sensation. Babies are incredibly sensitive to sensations of hunger, temperature, light and pain, all of which can cause them physical and emotional stress.
The sensation that calms them is meeting their need, your touch and feeling close to you. By cuddling and soothing your baby, you remove their stressor which helps your baby regulate these new sensations and feelings through the formation of strong, new brain connections.
Cuddles give baby and parent the boost of the 'feel-good' hormone, oxytocin which induces an emotional sense of safety and high levels of social sensitivity. It's good for both of you.
BABIES SPEAK TO US
Babies are ready to connect with their world from birth. They speak to you from the moment they are born.
Every baby has a different personality, likes and dislikes that you will get to know. Babies don't come with an individual instruction manual but your baby is your best guide. By watching, wondering, being curious and testing what your little one is telling you, you will learn how to meet their needs. They will be watching you carefully too.
You will learn about each other together. Your baby doesn't need you to be perfect, they need you to be present, to share each moment. There is magic in those everyday responsive moments - you are creating neural pathways that form the foundation for mental health.
CRYING IS COMMUNICATION
When you attend to your baby's cry and soothe them they feel safe so the stress that caused them to cry goes away.
Watch, listen and be curious about your baby's cry to learn about how your baby wants to feel settled. Babies tend to have different cries to express different needs or emotions that primary caregivers tune into.
You won't always identify your baby's needs immediately but just keep trying. This shows your tiny human being how you can repair your response. You are showing kindness and showing you understand you haven't quite understood what they need but you will keep trying and make them feel calm and safe again.
"TALK TO ME"
EVERYDAY CONVERSATIONS MATTER
Everyday communication stimulates language long before an infant can speak. Chat, read, sing and dance with your baby from being a bump onwards because day in, day out, as you talk about everything and anything that interests a child, it really matters. Once born, communicate with your infant at every opportunity when they are ready, face to face, using exaggerated expressions, lots of smiles and a sing-song voice and enjoy your two-way interaction and connection.
Also, by introducing reading as a daily habit from birth, you will not only strengthen your relationship, but you will introduce new ideas to talk about together and increase exposure to thousands of new words long before your baby can speak. It's fun and provides a focus to share magic moments and learn new objects, colours, characters, and feelings ... the possibilities are endless.
A rich language environment is important because it nourishes brain connections and expands life-long learning capability and ability. Exposure to rich language during the earliest years is related to effective reading ability and school success in general.
An infant whose family consistently interacts, talks with and reads with their infant from the start is thought to be exposed to up to 1,400 more words every day compared to an infant who is not provided with this opportunity. This can become a millon word gap once they reach school.
THE NEUROSCIENCE
The brain is one of the few organs not fully developed at birth. Immediately after birth, connections (more than 100 billion neurons) continue to form at the incredible rate of over 1 million per second. These connections, called synapses, are tiny gaps across which nerve cells send messages from every interaction, and every sensation the baby experiences.
These connections are then selectively cultivated during the first 1001 days of life. This means that connections grow stronger from high-quality learning experiences, warm, attentive care and a safe, interactive environment. Neurons that fire together, wire together.
A baby’s early experiences determine which connections are used the most and strengthen or those that are not used as much, so they weaken and fade. The resulting brain structure is the foundation upon which all future learning, behaviour and health will depend. By the time a child reaches school age, this foundation is 90% complete.
You can read 1001 Critical Days here.