There’s a moment in each parent’s life, usually as they hold their baby just after birth, or on the slow drive home from the hospital or during that first long, long night when the gravity of creating another human suddenly hits them. This being, so small and fragile, will depend on them for every little thing. They’ll teach them to eat and sleep and walk and talk. They’ll shape how they interact with other people and how they treat themselves. Their job is to take this mushy, gushy ball of crying sweetness and turn it into a fully functioning, ideally, caring, member of society. In that moment, the big moment, when you realize just how much parenthood entails, you may not feel confident in your abilities. Especially because that moment often overlaps with the moment you realize that you don’t actually know how to change a diaper or burp a baby or swaddle anything. Luckily, you have time. You’ll have years to figure out how to parent and will probably do it in fits and starts as your child grows and moves through different phases and stages. For now, in the first weeks and months of your new baby’s life, your only job is to bond with them. Bonding with your baby can seem a daunting task, after all, how do you get to know someone who can’t speak or understand your words, someone who can’t really even see you? Science has the answers. Check out the tips below to help you connect and bond with your brand new baby.
