Pre-Natal Bonding
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By providing a peaceful environment in which you and your baby can bond before it’s born, Luminare-Rosen says, your baby gets the message that it’s wanted and loved. She suggests communicating those feelings of love by taking some time every day and sitting quietly, with your eyes closed, and telling your baby how welcome it is in your life.
“Even if you’re only bonding to a concept at that point, and not the baby itself, you’re establishing a connection that will continue after the baby is born,” says Luminare-Rosen. “You’re expressing your love.”
When Luminare-Rosen was pregnant with her daughter, she kept a journal that not only documented her pregnancy, but also included letters to her daughter telling her about her hopes and her fears. “I read the journal to her now so that she knows how loved she has been, from the very beginning,” says Luminare-Rosen.
In the prenatal bonding classes that Luminare-Rosen holds, she will play relaxing music, then have the parents (mostly moms-to-be) imagine that they are meeting their child for the first time. “Visualize your child,” she suggest. “What is the image you have of the child?”
Luminare-Rosen says that you may see a picture of your child in your mind, you may hear a conversation between you and the baby. “Draw a picture of what you have seen, or write it in your journal,” she says. “This will make the visualization that much more conscious.”
NEXT: TIPS FOR FEELING CLOSER TO YOUR BABY
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Comment by Luisa Fernanda on Jul 23 2009 02:05:05:
When I was pregnant I used to play music to my baby with my earphones stuck to my belly, son I couldn´t hear the music myself. One day the baby started kicking furiously against the exact spot on my belly where the earphone was, so I took it off and found out, to my surprise, that the music had stopped. I put another playlist on, put the earphone back on, and he sttled back into quiet happiness. It is not like I needed proof that he responded to stimulae, but the experience was incredible.
Comment by Alex on Jul 28 2009 11:31:20:
During my pregnancy, my husband and I took time each evening before bedtime (when they are most active!) to just say a few words to our baby. Each evening, it’d be the same words. I honestly believe that the baby recognized those same words upon birth because he often will stop crying and just stare when we say those precious phrases. Sounds crazy, but it is true.