There are some memorable things you should do with your baby in their first year. Giving birth is one of the most momentous things you’ll ever experience, and everything that happens after that can feel like a whirlwind. It’s hard to step back and take stock. But one thing you should try to remember during this unprecedented time for you is that it won’t last forever. That time you get with your baby when they’re very small passes by in the blink of an eye.
That’s why it’s so important to do certain things with them and spend your time wisely. They grow up quickly and perhaps you have to go back to your old routines because of your career and other factors. So what are the things you should do and avoid missing out on during those first weeks and months of your baby’s life? That’s what we’re going to talk about now!
disclosure: this is a partnered post
Make the Most of Your Time Away From Work
When you’re on maternity leave, you should make it your priority to enjoy as much of that time as you can. Be sure to take the full amount of maternity leave you’re entitled to, and even more than that if your boss is willing to allow it! This time is a special time and you’ll certainly regret spending so much time away from your child and doing work if you choose to cut your maternity leave short. Sure, your career is important but in 99.9% of cases, it’s something that can wait while you take care of your child and establish that bond with them that you hope will last forever.
Get Their Siblings Involved
If your baby is not your first, you should try to make sure that you involve their siblings, your other children, involved as much as possible. This is not just a huge change for you but a huge change in your entire family dynamic, and it’s something that everyone should play a part in. The bonding process is key and making sure that not only you bond with your child but that your other kids are able to form that sibling’s bond too is very important indeed.
Emote With Them and Strengthen Your Bond
Emoting is something that’s very important when you’re trying to establish and strengthen that early bond between yourself and your baby. Emoting is when you overemphasize your emotions and start to teach them the fundamentals of expression. Although it might not seem like it means anything to them right now, they’ll be taking all of this information on board and essentially learning what it is to be a person, and all of this helps with the bond between you and them, which is obviously vital for both of you.
Have Professional Photographs Taken
Creating a record of those early weeks and months of your baby’s life and your new family life is something that you’ll be glad you did in the future. And if you don’t do this, it’s something that you’ll more than likely live to regret. If you really want to capture these special early moments in the most long-lasting and beautiful way possible, it makes sense to hire a newborn photographer who can work with you on taking photos that you can cherish for many years and decades to come. They also make great photos for the home and to hang on the walls.
Record Video
Recording a video of your baby’s early weeks on Earth is also a nice idea that you should think about exploring. When you take the opportunity to record a video and then keep it saved securely, it’s something that you can look back at together in the future when your child has grown up and is old enough to understand. It’s easier than ever to capture high-quality video because of smartphone devices and other similar tech, you should definitely try to make the most of that. It’s another way of creating a record of your time together while they’re still very young.
Have Fun with Music
Having fun is also one of the things you should do with your baby when your baby is very young. And one of the best ways to do that is to use music. Babies often enjoy hearing music or hearing you sing to them. If that’s something that you enjoy doing, you’ll more than likely enjoy it even more when you do it with your new baby. You’ll see how engaged they become by the music and seeing their responses to this thing that they’re experiencing for the very first time is always a joy to behold.
And Dance Too
As well as enjoying the music, you should also encourage them to move to it. This is something that they’ll start to do organically and you can help them with it too. It’s an important first step for a child because it shows them taking control of their bodies and being aware of how they can move around. It’s also simply very cute to see your baby moving to the music, and that’s as good a reason as any to enjoy music and dance with them.
Keep Them Close
Finally, you should remember the importance of simply keeping them close. There’s nothing particularly complicated about this. But when you have your child close to you and you keep them close during those early weeks and months, you help to ensure that early mother-baby bond is as strong as it can be. And that’s something that matters for the bond you have going forward, so it shouldn’t be underestimated in any way.
It’s an old cliche, but they really do grow up fast. So when your baby is still a baby, you should do everything you can to make the most of that time and connect and bond with them in every way you can. The ideas we’ve talked about here with things you should do with your baby should help you to do that, so give them a try.
