Ever since I have attained motherhood , I have been wondering as to why most of the babies cry when they see a new face for the first time or the same face every-time. Though by heart I knew the reason , but never was able to explicitly convince anybody.
My daughter who is 5 months old now , demands a lot of comfort and wants to be treated like big people. She hates to be picked up by people and this especially becomes an issue when people come to see her for the first time.One example where I realized that she wants to be independent , by her own is when I made her to stand up on her own legs for a few minutes and trust me , the happiness on her face & the pride in her eyes made me to literally understand the significance of the phrase 'Standing up on your own legs'.
She is at her best when you play with her the way she wants to -make funny faces, sing to her nursery rhymes (Eeiya Eeiya O is her favourite one),talk to her non stop like you talk to your friends,narrate her as to how your day went etc and trust me, you will have a ball of a time but then if it's not that ways ,then you are in for some major upset.
Last evening was a time when my realization cap got switched on and I was able to coin the term – "Entertain & Get Entertained Rather trying to just get entertained!"
1.Do Not Act Selfish: Each baby has its own play pattern.Try innovative ways of playing with the baby and making them enjoy.But if the baby does not like it ,its generally up to an individual to quickly get acclimatized to how they behave. If for the first time , the baby feels a slight discomfort , its a wise idea to try couple of other things that would please them and in this way enjoy your time. If they still resist , I would suggest one should check with their parents /caretaker as to what that baby's playing pattern is , (as they are the people who spend all their time with the baby )and according try getting into that rhythm. Even then if the baby is unsettled, I would say -Better Luck next time. Its simply not your day.But most of the people I have seen so far , do not want to make an effort to understand the baby's play pattern.They persuade the baby to play with them the way they would like it ,even when the baby does not relish the same.I
2.Planned & Short Duration Visits:Its always better to check with the parents as to what might possibly be a good time to visit the baby and spend some good time playing with him/her. Unplanned visits cause a great discomfort to not only the baby but also to us.However planned the trip is, one should try to keep it as short and sweet as possible.Now that we are mostly influenced by Western culture, why not getting into the practice of this as well not only incase of a baby but evenotherwise.
3.Room for privacy:If the baby still seems unsettled and the caregiver feels the baby needs to be fed,its always a decent move to step out of the room for sometime as for most of the baby's seeing people around is a great distraction .Also this move might make our visit much enjoyable.
4. Have Patience:Allow the baby to spend some time to observe you and get used to your face rather than just jumping onto them as expecting them to start smiling and playing with you from day 1,the moment you enter the house, is not fair.
5.Lower Decibel Levels:Do not try to make too much noise when you are near the baby as loud noise tends to irritate the baby.Keep your voice as calm as possible ad avoid too many people talking at the same time.
6. Mind your kids: Small children always see babies like a toy . They might persuade you to keep the baby in their lap for few minutes. Do not try to entertain your kid at somebody else's baby cost.Do not allow the kids to get very close to the baby Never allow this as accidents do not happen with prior information .
7. Clean and Clear:Always use a sanitizer before going close to the baby. Incase you have any infection/fever/cold , please do not force yourself near the baby.
8.No eatables inside:Always refrain from eating or drinking when the baby is near you.
9.Mind Your Hands:Do not feed the baby anything by yourself even if our customs and tradition force you to. For e.g. When one sees the baby for the first time, it is customary to give sugar to the baby .Never use your hands to put anything in to their mouth directly ,as this action is highly prone to infection. Check with the baby's parents as to how they want to do it , if it all it is necessary and incase if they resist , it would not be unfair not to thrust the same on them.
10. Mind Yourself and Treat Babies Like Human Beings: Babies are adorable. Everybody wants to cuddle the baby and forever keep them in our lap. But then excess of everything is bad and so it is advisable to keep it simple and smart. Each individual has a unique way of lifting the baby which might cause discomfort to them. Put them on the bed /floor and play with them.
This blog of mine might seem like a babycentre.com to most of us but then my intention was to list a few things that I am currently experiencing ,for those people for whom baby handling has been quite sometime in the past and who knows after few years this might come handy to me as well.
And yes, when it comes to baby handling, there might another dozen of things one can add on.You may try a lot of permutations and combination to this list .Whatever it is , please always keep this mantra handy- "Entertain & Get Entertained Rather trying to just get Entertained" and trust me by this you will mutually get benefitted!
