Understanding the Needs of your Baby

There is no such thing as a 'perfect' parent. You can't always know what your baby wants, it takes trial and error. What you can do is provide a consistent flow of warm, responsive, reliable nurturing –which is what your baby needs. Babies thrive on lots of physical contact, attention, and care. They do best if they feel that someone is emotionally 'tuned in' to them and understands them. Trying to respond sensitively and appropriately to your baby's gestures allows them to feel understood.

Try to encourage your partner to spend some time alone with your baby. If you are both consistent and devoted in your nurturing, your parenting will be 'good enough' for your infant. You do not have to match you baby perfectly, as long as we get it right about 60% of the time. So, relax and enjoy! Babies learn a lot about themselves from interactions with their parents. A baby's behaviour mirrors back its parent's emotional state. When the baby is getting upset and a little grizzly, a parent is likely to change voice and expression to convey empathy in a way that helps the baby manage its feelings.