In a baby’s first month of life, it seems that all they do is eat and sleep, but what they are really doing is looking out into an unknown world that they really feel like discovering. You can work on the stimulation of your baby from the very beginning, strengthening your emotional and affectionate ties with your child and helping to establish his first relationship with the world around him, so different from his mother’s womb.
We’ll tell you stitch by stitch how massages and sensorial stimulus are the first things you can do to stimulate the newborn baby. So get going and find out how you can play with your baby while you strengthen the affective links that will join you to him forever.
The advantages of early stimulation for newborn babies
With simple games that hold a baby’s attention, you will be able to develop his motor function and intellectual capacity, and at the same time help him feel comfortable in his new surroundings. If you are wondering what the advantages are of starting the sensorial stimulation of your baby as soon as he is born, we could say that in general:
- They will be happier during the day and cry less.
- They are more active when they are not asleep.
- They usually eat better, because they can focus their attention for a longer time and are not so easily distracted.
- They are more receptive to learning, as physical stimulation reinforces the brain; so they will probably start speaking at an earlier age.
How can you stimulate the newborn baby in the first weeks of life?
Contact with his skin, looks, sounds through music or his parents’ voice – these are examples of what we can do to stimulate a baby.
They are not awake for too long in the first few days of life – some babies even spend up to twenty hours a day asleep. You should make the most of the time when you are with them, feeding them, or just being with them, to practice these stimulation activities.
Speak to him, even though you might think he is not listening. It’s important to talk to your newborn baby, he recognizes his parents’ voices and perfectly distinguishes one from another. It makes him feel comfortable because the voices are familiar.
To stimulate his sense of hearing, change the tone of the conversation and use your regular voice, changing at times to a higher tone, as babies are more sensitive to sharp tones.
Music. Still with sounds – music relaxes babies. Gentle rhythms and tunes with repetitive notes that they can easily interpret should form part of your baby’s repertoire.
Other sounds. In addition to music and familiar voices, there are other sounds that help babies, such as a heartbeat, which they have been listening to for several weeks inside their mother. Rattles, laughs and gibberish are all sounds they like and which relax them.
Play with your baby at imitating these sounds and hold him close to your heart so he can hear your heartbeat.
The importance of looking. Looking is one of the first activities that bring babies into the world of social relations. If you put your face about 20 centimetres away from his, you can play at moving your eyes, something that fascinates them and holds their attention, favouring their capacity for concentration.
Rhythmical movements. Take your baby in your arms and rock him with rhythmical and regular movements – this is a great help for them to relax and also helps them breathe correctly.
Stimulate by touching. Massages are an inexhaustible source of benefits for newborn babies. You will establish a very special relationship with your baby and massages can become a game to develop the sense of touch while deepening the links and sense of belonging with your baby.
So you see that it is possible to stimulate a baby in the first weeks of life. Don’t miss these moments, as this is how you will build up a strong and beneficial relationship with your child, while at the same time you are helping him relate to his new surroundings. You will give him the confidence required for growing up with no fears and ready to discover everything that is waiting for him.
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