Bonding with your preterm baby is an important part of their development. It helps them feel loved, safe, and secure.
Here are some tips for bonding with your preterm baby she is in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).
- Touch and hold your baby: Touching, holding, and massaging your baby can help them feel calm, cared for, and supported. If your baby is ready, you can do kangaroo care – holding your baby skin to skin.
- Learn your baby’s body language: Babies use body language to show how they’re feeling. Over time, you’ll learn how to tune into your baby’s body language and know whether they want closeness or have had enough stimulation.
- Play with your baby: Playing with your baby helps them develop and get to know you. While your baby is in the NICU, play can be making faces, singing, smiling, and reading to them.
- Share your smell: Holding your baby is a fantastic way to help them recognize your smell. If you can’t do that yet, you could put something that smells of you in your baby’s incubator – for example, a t-shirt or an soft toy which carries your smell, such as NiQu Ninja 😊
