Is baby really smiling at me – Yes? Perhaps? I’m not sure? Or is it that other thing…💩
One of the most important things to realise is that you have given birth to an amazing little human being who is capable of more things that you realise. Babies can connect and interact with you from birth. Between 8 and 10 weeks, baby will reach a contagious milestone that will get you smiling too.
What does smiling really say?
It says I am happy, secure, content and connected. I want to interact with you. Smile all the time if you can – not only will smiling make you feel good, but it tells baby that they are loved, that you care about them and will keep them safe. It makes them feel secure and teaches them that the world out there is a good place to be in. Smiling gets good hormones circulating for you and your baby – which makes you feel good and keeps you smiling a bit more. These hormones and chemicals that are released even help your baby’s brain development increase and improve.
A simple smile is the building block to the most important relationship for your baby – the relationship with you. Your smile reassures them. It’s hard wired in your baby to look at you for reassurance and comfort. Each smile your baby sees sends a message of being loved, cherished and protected. All their relationships with the world will start with your relationship with them. How you make them feel in those early days has a long-term impact on them whether they can trust and love the world around them or without it – always feel insecure, wary, sad and stressed.
Relationships are crucial for your baby to be able to being socializing, showing emotions themselves and forming bonds and attachments, which are so crucial for healthy mental health development. In fact, research shows us that babies at an average of 36-hours-old can discriminate between three facial expressions – happy, sad, and surprised. This was observed in the face of the newborn whose facial movements in the brow, eyes and mouth regions provide evidence for imitation of the facial expressions.
A smile is a universal language! Smile and the whole world smiles with you! Research suggests that people tend to greet smiles with smiles of their own. Not only that, but smiles work in both directions: just as happiness can make you smile, studies have shown that, thanks to a quirk of the autonomic nervous system, smiling can make you happy. Next time you feel blue, try smiling. Not only will people smile back, but you’ll trick your brain into feeling a little happier too.
A happy baby is a comfortable baby. As Huggies®, we want to keep your baby as happy as can be at the bottom so that it leads to more smiles at the top! Huggies® Extra Care and Pure Wipes are our ultimate skincare routine. Designed to keep baby’s skin happy, healthy, and protected.
“A smile starts on the lips, a grin spreads to the eyes, a chuckle comes from the belly; but a good laugh bursts forth from the soul, overflows, and bubbles all around” - Carolyn Birmingham
Baby’s first smile
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