Helping your partner bond with baby

How you can achieve a closer bond

Often partners are only ever sent in to be “back up” for mom. In this way, they’re denied those simple, intimate moments that make caring for a newborn so special. For more information on the benefits of having a paternal figure in your baby’s life, we direct you to this great article from our sponsor Boba, makers of face-in baby carriers.

Here are some steps you and your partner can take to help them create a lasting relationship with baby:

• Nursing
  Skin-to-skin touch, eye contact, and providing comfort are all essential parts of early life bonding. They occur every time you nurse your baby. Try having your partner nearby while you nurse, making contact with baby, locking eyes, and speaking to them. If baby starts using bottles, your partner can use it to simulate nursing themselves.
• Keep them close
  If you can read your baby’s cues, you can respond consistently and compassionately to their needs. Learning to read your baby takes patience and presence. That means more than just being in the same room as a baby in their crib.
  
  A carrying wrap, like the ones designed by our sponsor Boba, are built so that you can maintain a constant connection with baby while also allowing your hands to be free. Now you can go about your day as normal while still holding your infant. It’s the best of both worlds!
• Read what you want
  The sound of a partner’s voice is important for bonding. What they’re actually saying, not so much. When your partner is relaxing with a book or the newspaper, have them read aloud to baby.
• Bath time
  Warm water. Lots of touching. Soft towels. Taking a bath with baby is an opportunity for relaxation and bonding for both parent and child.
• Settling to sleep
  Similar to bathing with baby, putting them to bed is a positive, relaxing experience for both individuals. This suggestion is particularly important for partners who aren’t home during the day for nap time.

We recommend you take a look at Boba’s carriers and wraps, a scientifically supported way to bond with baby on the go. They also have some great articles on the benefits of carrying, just click the “learn” tab on their page.

Use the code OVIAFREESHIP1 to get free shipping from Boba on anything you order!