Learning your baby's unique cues will build your bond

Bonding with your baby is important for building a secure attachment, based on closeness and trust. Developing this secure attachment at an early age is how your baby will grow to connect with you and have a strong sense of self throughout childhood.^[1] 

Quiet time or gentle sounds for comfort? 

Learning to understand your baby’s unique cues is a big part of developing this attachment. Supporting a baby's needs is not a one-size-fits-all approach – just like adults and older children, each individual baby is unique, with their own preferences and needs, and they will be soothed in different ways. For example, some babies may prefer complete quiet, whereas some might settle to white noise, or the sounds of adults softly talking or singing.  

Is that a tired cry or hunger cry?

Paying attention to the cues that your baby shares is a great way of understanding them and their individual needs better. For instance, you may begin to notice that they cry in different ways to get different needs met (their ‘tired’ cry might sound sharper than their ‘hungry’ cry), or you might spot that they are comforted more by a change of environment than by motions, such as moving in their pram or being rocked. Observing and responding to these unique cues is just one way of supporting the bond between yourself and your baby.^[2] 

References:

[1] Bowlby J. (1969). Attachment. Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Loss. New York: Basic Books. 

[2] Lawrence Robinson, Joanna Saisan, M.S.W., Melinda Smith, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.. (2020). Building a Secure Attachment Bond with Your Baby. Available: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/parenting-family/building-a-secure-attachment-bond-with-your-baby.htm.