With Valentine's Day quietly lurking right around the corner, most of us are busy preparing special treats, cards, and gifts for those we love. Our kids have a whole list of Valentine's to make for friends at school or church, and in the little free time we might find in the day, we write out a card in attempt to tell our spouse just how much they mean to us.
Something that I never tire of as a Mom is hearing my daughter tell me she loves me. Feeling her arms wrapped around my neck to give me a "squeeze," or hearing her ask for one more hug and one more kiss before turning off her light at night, are all moments that I treasure as gifts. I feel loved by her, and it feels wonderful!
But let us not overlook the sweet little babes in our lives either. Our young babies are communicating their love and attachment to us in their own way. If you are a Mom of a young baby, taking care of him or her, responding to their needs, comforting and reassuring them when they cry, feeding them, playing with them, and changing their diaper (to just name a few!) are all ways your baby feels loved. And they respond back to say, "I love you, too," in sweet little ways.
Your baby shows preference for you over someone else. They know your scent, your touch, the way you respond to their various cries, and that brings them comfort. Babies respond to your facial expressions and begin imitating you like crazy! They can't take their eyes off of you it seems, and that's because they are becoming more aware of their surroundings, and one great "surrounding" is you! Though babies can recognize their mother's voice and scent, their eye sight is still developing. Once it develops, baby will have his eyes locked in on you, to "see" what love really looks like. Let him take a good, long look!
When your baby finally smiles at you for the first time, there is nothing better than this! All of your smiling, rocking, cooing, kissing and bonding with baby is paying off, and your baby is smiling back to say thank you! Smiling at you shows that your baby associates you with a good feeling, and that gives him something to smile about!
Ever noticed that a crying baby calms down instantly when picked up? Another great sign of attachment and your baby feeling loved by you. When babies get older and are able to put their arms up for you to hold them, they are showing their preference for you and their desire to be comforted by you.
And finally, if your baby squirms and giggles, flaps his arms around, kicks his feet, and shows off his big grin after "missing" you for just a little bit of time, take the hint. Baby LOVES you, and there is no one he'd rather see peeking into his crib than YOU!