Leaving the nest and being social with your new addition will not only bring you two closer together, but can also help establish a clear day/night routine and can even help your baby learn. In this guide, you'll find 18 great ideas to help you build a strong emotional bond with your special little bundle, including taking postnatal yoga lessons together, going to see your first movie and simply remembering to be mindful of your beautiful baby's first months. You'll also find ten terrific tips to help new dads feel more involved.
Photo gallery: 6 fun things to do with your new baby
First-time moms and dads, get out of the house and enjoy these fun activities with your new baby.
Life becomes pretty much chaotic when you first have a baby. But you'll soon realise that if you start incorporating mommy and baby-planned activities into your day-to-day routines, you will regain some structure to your life. In turn, this will benefit your baby, because when they have a routine, they have predictability, which gives them a greater sense of security. Most importantly, doing fun things together will not only strengthen your relationship but will create a life-long bond between you and your child.
Bonding with baby
Snuggles from Dad are just as important -- let him in on the fun with these 10 easy tips.
When a newborn enters a family, it can be difficult for Mom and Dad to feel like they're both getting equal time and providing equal care for the baby. Mothers have an intense physical and emotional bond with their children, one that comes from carrying them for nine months; it's a bond that's hard for fathers to rival. But caring for baby shouldn't turn into a competition that leads to feelings of exclusion and inadequacy. Fathers can create a bond that's equally as strong by committing to staying involved.
Baby 101: Bonding
How parent and infant learn the dance of attachment.
Attachment is the act of sharing information and learning from each other. It begins at first meeting and deepens and grows over a child's whole life with her parents.
On a basic level, attachment is critical to a child's development. Both mother and father have to feel invested in what happens to their baby. A mother, in particular, has to develop an interest in her baby. If she doesn't, she won't protect him. As for the child, among the first lessons he'll learn is the lesson of trust. If his needs aren't met, if his parents don't try to figure out who he is and what he needs, he won't learn trust. Luckily, for the majority of babies and their parents, a solid attachment emerges over time so that baby and parents feel that wonderful bond that will connect them throughout their lives.
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