For nine months your baby was nurtured in the ideal sensory world of the womb. From this calm environment your baby emerged into our busy sensory world. At birth, human babies are less mature than almost any other mammal. Their little brain is not capable of any conscious decision or voluntary movement but is an advanced sensory organ. In other words the brain takes in information from the senses and over time learns to process and make sense of the new sensory input.
The best ways to ease your baby into our busy world is to prevent the world from over stimulating him and to mimic the womb world:
Prevent overstimulation
In young babies, the process of filtering out unnecessary or excessive sensory input is not yet mature. So your newborn will be easily over stimulated. This can result in colic and will mean your little one won’t fall asleep easily. To prevent colic, ease your baby into the world by ensuring he does not become over stimulated. Watch for signs of overstimulation and ensure your newborn sleeps regularly.
Mimic the womb
You can mimic the womb world to ensure a smooth and calm transition into the world for your newborn by swaddling, massaging and wearing your baby.
• Swaddling (wrapping in a stretchy blanket) has been proven to calm young babies and help them sleep well.
• Baby massage is a fantastic tool for calming a baby and has all day benefits. Your baby has come from a space where skin to skin touch is the norm and he will really love your touch.
• Movement is lulling for your baby – wearing your baby in a sling or pouch mimics the womb environment he came from and will soothe him very effectively.
Bear in mind the sensory world of the womb and watch your baby’s signals of overstimulation – these are the best ways to ease your baby from womb to world.
About the Author
Megan Faure, BSc, OT, OTR is the author of the new book from DK publishing, The BabySense Secret. She is an occupational therapist who has worked for more than a decade in the pediatrics field in several countries including the USA and South Africa. In addition to her best-selling parenting book Baby Sense, Faure has developed a collection of innovative Baby Sense products based on her Sensible Sensory Parenting principles outlined in her books.
In addition to the Baby Sense book series, Faure has authored several magazine articles in the field of child psychology, parenting and child development. She is also the founder and chairperson of the Infant Sensory Integration Training group which provides courses for therapists to equip them to treat, assess, and understand infant behavior. Faure regularly lectures to both professionals and parents on various baby and childcare issues. For more information on Baby Sense visit www.babysense.com. To purchase Baby Sense products in the U.S. visit www.kastelinternational.com.