Prep to Learn

The first 3 months are all about babies learning to feel comfortable, safe, and secure in the world. By responding to their signals and providing lots of love and comfort, you help them form a trusting bond with you.

How are you helping your baby learn to feel safe and secure?

What Your Baby Can Do

  • • I recognize your faces, voices, and smells.

    • I respond to your smile and touch with pleasure.

  • • I can use my sounds, facial expressions, and body movements to tell you how I’m feeling – sleepy, hungry, happy, or uncomfortable.

    • I can show you when I want to play and when I need a break.

    • I can grip your finger or a toy you put in my hand.

    • When I am hungry, I move my head toward my mother’s breast or the bottle.

    • I am learning to trust that you will read and respond to my signals.

    • I rely on you to comfort me. This helps me learn to comfort myself.

What You Can Do

  • • This makes him feel loved and helps him bond with you.

    • Enjoy some skin to skin cuddle with your little one.

    • Does she have a “hunger” cry? Does she rub her eyes or look away from you when she is tired? Smiles are easy to figure out.

    • When her eyes are bright and she is awake and alert, it is time to play.

    • Let him touch objects with different textures and shapes. Hold a toy within your child’s reach so he can swat it with his hands or feet.

    • Watch to see how your baby is “discovering” his body.

      • Does he look at his hands, suck on his feet, or try to roll?

    • You can’t spoil a baby. Soothing makes her feel safe, secure, and loved.

    • Help your baby calm herself.

      • Guide her fingers to her mouth, give her a pacifier, or offer her a blanket or soft object that is special to her.

Spotlight on Crying

 

  • Crying, as hard as it is to hear, is a normal way babies communicate hunger, discomfort, distress or a need for your attention.

  • Most newborns reach a crying peak at about 6 weeks. Then their crying starts to decrease. By 3 months they typically cry for about an hour a day.

  • Being with a crying baby who is hard to soothe can be exhausting, stressful, and frustrating. But keep in mind that just by being there –holding and comforting your baby – you’re teaching him that he is not alone and that you will stick by him through thick and thin.

  • While all babies cry, some babies cry much more than others. This is known as colic and it’s defined as crying that:

    • begins and ends for no obvious reason

    • lasts three hours a day

    • happens at least 3 days a week

    • continues for 3 weeks to 3 months

 

What You Can Do

  • Crying may have a medical cause – a food sensitivity, heartburn, or other physical condition.

  • Some babies cry less when they are held more. Wrap your baby snugly in a blanket – called “swaddling” –and rock her gently.

  • Talk or sing softly to your baby. Try running a fan or humidifier in your baby’s room. Sometimes babies are soothed by this background noise.

  • Limit lights, sights, sounds, and textures – for your baby. Sometimes less stimulation leads to less crying for babies with colic.

  • Extended families and friends may be able to step in to give you a needed break. Everyone needs support, and nobody needs it more than the parents of a crying baby.

  • When you’re calm, it helps your baby calm down. If you find yourself feeling frustrated, put your baby on his back in a safe place – like the crib –and take a short break. Crying won’t hurt your baby, and taking a break will let you soothe another very important person... you!

  • Soothing your baby is a trial-and-error process. If one strategy doesn’t work, try another. Hang in there, and remember that the crying will get better.