Mothers who are closely bonded with their babies gaze at them more often and for longer periods. When you are feeding or changing your baby try to make sure you and your baby only have eyes for each other.Touch your baby frequently and hold your baby close as often as you can. The close contact soothes babies as it reminds them of the comfort of the womb. Whether you are changing, bathing or dressing baby use gentle affectionate movements.
Talking encourages a baby to look and pay attention. Use repetitive simple sentences that encourage the baby to babble in return and prepare for later language development. Have little rituals and ways of doing things that are special to you and your baby. You may have a special song that you sing while bathing. Babies are easily over stimulated, so pay close attention to your baby’s mood. Your baby will not always want to pay attention or to interact with you and will turn away from you. That’s not rejection of you just simply that your baby has had enough for the moment.

It has been estimated that there are currently in the region of 155,000 men in the UK who are stay at home dad’s and thousands more who would like the opportunity to do the same. Although this is a growing trend, you should be aware
that you will be in the minority group as far as stay at home parenting is concerned. Be prepared that you may be the only man in the playground, baby massage class or coffee morning. This may make forming a network of friendly parents a bit more difficult. You will probably have to work twice as hard as a woman to get accepted into groups but it is well worth making the effort. It is good to remember that everyone is in the same boat. If you are attending a baby group everyone there is probably new to parenting and desperate to find a friend to share the experience with.

From the start your newborn is ready to interact with other human beings and has important skills to help with adapting to the world beyond the womb.No matter how carefully you planned, your newborn will have some surprises for you. Your baby may be larger or smaller than the average or sleep less and eat more than books suggest.
For the first few weeks your baby will be adjusting to a new environment so expect behaviour patterns and physical development to be haphazard. Some babies are calm and placid whereas others are easily disturbed and take longer to soothe when they are upset. Try to be flexible and avoid comparisons with other newborns.

Never leave your baby unattended in the bath.Be sure you have everything you need to hand, so you do not have to leave the baby to get anything. You must check the water temperature. Always test the water temperature with your elbow. You can also buy a thermometer made for testing bath water. Never put your baby into a bath when the water is still running. The water temperature could change or the water become too deep. Make sure he will not slip by putting a rubber bath mat down. Do not allow your child to touch the taps. Shallow water is best. For babies up to six months old, fill the bath with about four inches of water. Minimise body heat loss after the bath by keeping the room warm, patting your baby dry and then wrapping them in a warmed hooded towel. Protect your baby’s skin by using a small amount of soap, shampoo and bubble bath as overuse may cause your baby’s skin to become dry and sensitive.

If you are travelling by air try to feed your baby on take off and landing to ease ear pain. Bring nappy rash cream, bags for dirty nappies, enough nappies for the trip and infant paracetamol for relieving pain and fever. Bring hats and sunscreen for your baby. Babies under six months should be kept well out of the sun and babies between six months and a year should have only very limited exposure, especially between 11am and 3pm on hot days. Get removable window shades for car windows to shield your baby’s skin and eyes from the sun.