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rhythmical movement is calming and organising, and we instinctively know this. Slow, gentle movements help to settle babies and make them feel secure. Baby-wearing is quite popular as many moms have found that their babies love being close to them and experiencing gentle movement as they walk about and carry on with day-to-day activities (see our article on this on page 64).
More stimulating movement is bouncing your baby on your lap playing “horsie horsie” or dancing to music. These fun activities should bring joy to your baby. If you notice she’s showing fear or anxiety, stop and give your baby a hug or massage to reorganise her sensory systems and help her to feel secure again.
THE TOUCH SYSTEM
The skin provides enormous amounts of information to your baby’s brain and body about where she is in the world, what is touching her and what she is touching. It is also important in understanding things like heat, cold and pain.
Let your baby experience different textures while playing. Keep a sensory tub of household items with different textures that you can bring out and give to your baby to feel when she is calm and alert. You can also use similar items in the bath. Include things like loofas, bubble wrap, ribbons, a scouring brush, baby’s sock (there is always one missing), cotton wool and feathers. Let your baby lie on your legs and rub the items over her hands and feet – all touch should be calm, gentle and soft. While you’re playing, talk to your baby about the textures by saying, “This sponge feels rough, this ribbon is smooth,” etc. Follow your baby’s lead to see if she is enjoying the input and keep an eye out for new and interesting textures.
THE BODY AWARENESS SYSTEM
Your baby does not yet understand how her body moves, where it begins or ends – or even that her hands belong to her. By providing deep pressure input, you are teaching her about her body and its various parts, which is essential later on in development, and you’re also helping her feel calm and secure. During the newborn stage, deep pressure input is given through massaging or swaddling your baby. These provide additional comfort and security, and even help with her sleeping.
As your baby becomes more mobile, let her kick and push against your tummy or hands while you change her or let her lie on your legs with her feet on your tummy while you chat and relax.
THE VISUAL SYSTEM
Your face fascinates your baby. Show her different facial expressions and mouth movements; eventually she will copy your expressions and coo back to you. Right now, your baby can only see a short distance from her face and so she loves looking at pictures with big, bold pictures at this stage, particularly geometric shapes and patterns. Put a few of these up around her changing table to look at while you are busy with her nappy.
THE HEARING SYSTEM AND LANGUAGE
Even at this young age, babies understand and follow language and emotional signs. Chat to your baby no matter what the content – let her know what you are doing as you change her nappy or run her bath. This allows her language to develop and by naming body parts, for example, you also help enhance her body concept. Tell your baby about your day to day activities as you do them. Pull faces and make sounds for baby to copy, stimulating early communication. The more you talk, the more your baby is exposed to language, which sets her up for solid language development later in life.
Your baby also does not need to stay in her room all day, and will benefit from being out and about with you while you cook or walk in the garden. This helps your baby integrate the world around her. As your baby grows and has more calm alert time in her day, you can dance to music to introduce movement and rhythm. Using lullabies or classical music may even help baby settle to sleep.
At the end of the day, the essence of newborn stimulation is to love, bond and nurture. Allow your play to become part of your day and take time to just be with your baby. The newborn days fly by and this is a special time to treasure. YB