The Look of Love: reading your baby’s love language
Before they can talk, your baby is showing you just how much they love you. It sometimes helps to remember this when you're on your third coffee and wistfully remembering what it was like to have an uninterrupted night's sleep! Here are some tips to make the most of these love moments💛 :
Staring
It truly is the look of love - when you stare into your baby's eyes and they look right back at you intently. In that moment, the world makes perfect sense. When your baby is born, they will study your face - memorising your features and connecting it with the voice they recognise in utero. For them, you are their security and comfort - it doesn’t take long before they prefer you to other people. Feeding time is the perfect time to experience this sweet moment between caregiver and infant, so enjoy your baby telling you how much they appreciate your care with their eyes.
Smiling
Smiling at your baby tells them they are safe and secure - and when they smile back, well you can virtually feel the happy hormones doing their happy dance throughout your body. It’s one of the first ways you can establish a loving and responsive relationship. Your baby might like to mimic your expressions or smile in a milk-drunk daze early on - but science tells us their first fully-fledged independent smile will reward all your TLC between 6-8 weeks of age.
Signaling
One of the sweetest ways your baby shows they love you is when they throw their arms up, signaling to be picked up. They won’t do this for just anyone - you have built a relationship based on trust and being held by you is the most comforting thing in the world. It’s the same when they’re toddlers and they run straight for you when they have a scrape or sniffle. And even if it’s something over-the-top and the amateur dramatics can seem Oscar worthy - it’s your love they are seeking to refill their love tank.
Sharing
If your tiny tot gives you something - a toy they’re holding, or a half chewed rusk - be flattered. They are quite literally showing their love through sharing something very special to them, or something making them happy in that moment. This means you have established a relationship based on love and trust, so try to remember that the next time you’re being force fed a soggy cracker!
