When your baby was born, she immediately started building her knowledge of the world by observing her surroundings and new life outside of the womb. Children have an instinct to seek and build relationships, and so your child will emotionally attach herself to and depend on you, her primary caregiver. It’s not surprising that much of what she learns during her first 0-3 months will revolve around the Attachment and Trust between the two of you.^2,3 You will also see your newborn baby adapt to and process various experiences through Sensory Exploration, using her different senses of touch, sight, smell, hearing, and taste.^3,4

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One of the most influential senses for your newborn infant is touch. The term ontogenetic primacy means that non-verbal communication, such as touch stimulation, is more important than speech to the development of children less than 1 year old.⁵ Through touch, you can build a strong bond with your baby and develop her abilities to feel safe and secure, to nurse and feed, to hold and grasp objects, and to develop a sense of space and time.^5,6

From birth, your newborn will have a heightened sense of touch, because the sensory cortex, which processes touch sensations, is the most developed part of her brain.⁶ As a result, she will welcome touch-related care, including kangaroo care, hugs and caresses, and infant massage. For many parents, especially moms, kangaroo care is their first interaction with their babies.^6,7 This skin-to-skin contact is typically encouraged immediately after delivery and is practiced in a warm and cozy environment by placing your naked baby facing you on top of your warm, bare chest. This basic tummy time activity not only promotes the attachment and bond between baby and parent, but it can also be used to help regulate the body temperature, breathing, oxygen saturation, sleep, and body weight of premature babies.⁷

Kangaroo care develops the Attachment and Trust between you and your baby. It also encourages the two of you to speak to one another, causing her to naturally raise her head up to follow your familiar, loving voice and focus on your face. Furthermore, without the confines of clothing, your baby is better equipped to feel the contours, textures, and temperatures of her environment with the full length of her body.⁸ So, be sure to spend some quality kangaroo time together or offer other naked playtime opportunities to help her develop a greater physical awareness of her environment, body movements, and body parts.

Your newborn’s world will center around you during her first 0-3 months. As a result of the quality time you spend on Sensory Exploration and Attachment and Trust together, you will see her quickly develop some pretty amazing skills. You will notice her turning her head towards sounds and noises she hears (e.g. your familiar voice or the family dog barking),⁹ looking at objects within the close proximity of 8″-12″ (e.g. your face when you cuddle her up close),^4,10 and sucking or turning towards mom’s breast when she smells the scent of breast milk⁶ (e.g. her natural rooting reflex).

Play Tips:

Do you want to know how you can support your baby’s development of these Sensory Exploration skills at this age? It’s easy! Read on for some simple tips to incorporate into your daily play time together.

1. Encourage attachment and bonding.^3,7 You can develop your baby’s attachment and bond with you by responding to her needs quickly and consistently.⁹ By doing so, you are also encouraging her to develop her sensory skills by focusing on your familiar sight, scent, sounds, and touch. Incorporating kangaroo care into your everyday routine will also reinforce your parent-child bond and build her body awareness.
2. Enjoy many face-to-face moments and embraces with your baby throughout the day.⁴ Have as many intimate conversations and cuddles with your newborn baby as you can. When you speak to her, be sure to hold her close, give her your undivided attention and a warm smile,⁹ and use a loving, soothing voice or parentese (an exaggerated, sing-song way of speaking to babies)¹¹ to encourage her to focus on your familiar face and voice. Playing “peek-a-boo” with your baby will also help bring her visual attention to your friendly face.
3. Offer your baby some naked playtime.⁸ While clothing and diapers offer great protection against the elements and potty time messes, they can restrict babies’ ability to move and feel the environment around them. To support your baby’s movement and sensory exploration, let her have some playtime without any clothes or diapers. This is best done in a warm room, on a comfortable, padded surface (e.g. towel, blanket) on the floor or on a bed. To avoid potty accidents, use a pee-pad to line her play area or make sure she’s on a washable surface.

(SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for Playful Bee’s Bee Well developmental learning program to give your baby the best start in life. The first 10,000 children enroll for FREE! Sign up today.)

Developmental Milestones:

Has your newborn achieved the following Attachment and Trust developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) he has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and so easy to use, just click HERE!

• Recognizes and reacts to familiar scents.
• Looks at things that are very close. Sees objects 8″-12″ away.

Sources:

¹California Department of Education (2009). California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations.

²Better Brains for Babies. Learning and Development: Infants Birth to 12 Months. University of Georgia: Better Brains for Babies. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/bbb/childDev_00-12.php.

³Honig, Alice S. Infants & Toddlers: The Power of Sensory Experiences. Scholastic: Early Childhood Today. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/infants-toddlers-power-sensory-experiences.

⁴Early Steps: Louisiana’s Early Intervention System (2005). Louisiana’s Early Learning Guidelines and Program Standards: Birth through Three.

⁵Hertenstein, Matthew J.; Verkamp, Julie M.; Kerestes, Alyssa M.; and Holmes, Rachel M. (2007). The Communicative Functions of Touch in Humans, Nonhuman Primates, and Rats: A Review and Synthesis of the Empirical Research. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 132(1), 5–94. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.depauw.edu/learn/lab/publications/documents/touch/2006_Touch_The%20communicative_functions_of_touch_in_humans.pdf.

⁶Nugent, Kevin and Morell, Abelardo (2011). Your Baby is Speaking to You. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

⁷Cleveland Clinic Children’s (2011). Kangaroo Care. Cleveland Clinic Children’s. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://my.clevelandclinic.org/childrens-hospital/health-info/ages-stages/baby/hic-Kangaroo-Care.aspx.

⁸Warnick, Melody. Baby’s Naked-Time Tips. Parenting. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.parenting.com/article/baby-naked-time-tips.

⁹Maryland State Department of Education (2010). Healthy Beginnings: Supporting Development and Learning from Birth through Three Years of Age.

¹⁰Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Supporting Maine’s Infants and Toddlers: Guidelines for Learning and Development.

¹¹Public Broadcasting Service. Speak Parentese, Not Baby Talk. PBS Parents. Retrieved December 13, 2013, from http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/baby-and-toddler/baby-talk-speaking-parentese/.

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Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee

Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

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