Why cuddle time is more important than you realize

Babies learn through their sensory explorations. Daddy’s scratchy beard, mommy’s smooth skin and the voices of new strangers all give him a better understanding of how the world works. It’s all pretty good for his brain development too. We explain how those senses develop as your baby grows.

Touch

Babies need to be cuddled. Touch soothes your baby, and it shows him your love. Scientists have proven it can also boost natural immunity. Research shows that babies who are held often don’t get sick as much and are less fussy. Preemies who are massaged grow and develop faster than babies who aren’t. It’s natural for your newborn to prefer soft touches, like a gentle caress or the feel of soft cotton. You’ll notice that baby bristles at a rough touch or a scratchy, coarse fabric.

Taste

The human palate starts developing in the womb. Your pregnancy diet does influence your baby’s taste for food. Flavors are transmitted to the fetus through amniotic fluid. If you are breast feeding, what you eat also determines the taste of your breast milk. Recent studies show that the foods baby was exposed to during pregnancy or nursing are the ones he tends to like.

Hearing

Baby’s hearing is well developed at birth, but he prefers high-pitched voices because he hears them best. Baby talk is music to his ears which is why we seem to instinctively change our voices into that sing-song delivery. Over the first year your child’s hearing will sharpen and he’ll learn to track sounds. For the first three months, he’ll only turn toward a sound that’s in front of him, but by 6 to 12 months he’ll look toward a noise coming from behind him or from across the room.

Smell

That little nose is already in full working order at birth. He knows your scent well from the time he spent in the womb. Newborns can even tell the difference between their mother’s breast pads and those of another nursing mom by scent. Babies tend to like sweet smells like the fragrance of vanilla or lemon. Newborns naturally dislike foul odors, like the smell of rotten eggs. Just like they’re averse to bitter or sour tastes — probably an instinct to avoid dangerous foods.

Sight

At first, a baby’s eyes don’t work 100 percent. Studies indicate newborns see two of everything. They  focus best on objects 8 to 12 inches in front of them. Images closer or farther away are blurry. 8-12 inches is about the distance to your face when you’re feeding him, so it’s no wonder that he loves looking at you. Newborns prefer the human face in general. They’re especially drawn to the outline of the face or the hairline, which is easy to see because of the contrast. They can distinguish light from dark but can’t quite see color until about 4 months. Try getting baby’s attention with high-contrast patterns (like a checkerboard or stripes) and black-and-white or boldly colored toys. At 4 months he’ll begin to use his eyes to coordinate his hand movements, making reaching and grabbing easier.

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