Reading your Babies Cues

Why is it important to read babies cues?

Babies gives you cues signals about how they feel and what

they need.

Some cues tell you that baby is ready to interact be active with

you. Other cues tell you that baby needs a break or to rest. To

figure out what the cues mean, look at what baby is doing and

what’s happening around him. Once you’ve learned to read

baby’s cues, you can better respond to his needs.

Looking for baby cues for tiredness, alertness, hunger,

discomfort and more.

Baby’s body language can tell you how he’s feeling and what

he needs from you.

When you notice baby’s body language and respond to it, he

feels safe and secure. This helps to build a strong relationship.

All babies give cues to how they’re feeling and what they need

from you. But each baby develops their own mix of signs to tell

you what they want.

It may take a few weeks to get to know baby’s cues. But if you

do some baby watching, its amazing how even very young

babies can give clear signals that they want to interact (or not),

are tired or hungry.

Responding to baby cues day and night will help baby develop

a sense of trust in his ability to influence his environment. It will

also help him form a secure attachment to mom. These are

important prerequisites for later emotional development and

relationships. As moms soothe baby, they are teaching him that

when he is upset, he can calm down. When babies’ signals are

ignored, and they escalate to cries that are not responded to,

the baby fails to develop the understanding that he can regulate

his own emotions.

As mom plays with baby they will often notice a mixture of

engagement and disengagement signals, so take time getting

to know baby’s way of communicating when they enjoying

playing, when they feeling a bit overwhelmed and needs a

break, and when they becoming hungry or tired. Baby’s signals

may seem unclear but by spending lots of time just watching

baby and being present with, along with some trial and error

working out what baby is telling you, they will soon become

attuned to each other.

Baby will develop his own unique way of

communicating with each person in his world and mom and

partner will learn to respond in just the way that suits baby.

You are creating a solid foundation for neural growth and

development. If a baby is happy and feels the connection

between you this will likely improve how mom feels.

A baby communicates with you constantly through movements,

facial expressions, cries, and coos. They are telling us what

they need and how they feel. It can be challenging in the first

few months of baby’s life to understand these.

By staying calm and trying different ways to meet the baby’s

needs, moms will begin to notice a pattern in common

behaviours and cues.

Till next time x

Alice