You cannot spoil the baby!
In the first few months of a child's life, the baby's needs for contact with you (both voice and touch) are immense. By responding to them, you will not create bad habits, on the contrary - you will give the baby a sense of familiarity, predictability, which will result in calming down. If you calmly and constantly respond to your child's needs, he/she learns that he/she can be safe and confident, and begins to trust you.
Body
Babies who do not have the experience of constant and clear response to their needs learn that they are not skilled enough to express them and that their caregivers cannot be trusted. Ignoring a baby who is crying or upset will not have the expected effect. The baby may stop crying at that moment, but he/she will actually be incredibly scared because of being left to calm down on his/her own when he/she just doesn't know how to do it yet.
Therefore:
- carry your baby and be physically close to him/her, especially in the first days
- whenever the baby cries, respond both with voice and touch
- whenever the baby speaks or smiles - talk to him/her, repeat his/her sounds and encourage eye contact with you
- whenever the baby shows an interest in something - name what he/she does and encourage him/her to succeed
- when the baby is anxious - show that he/she can calm down with you, with your voice, touch, movements
- when the baby is joyful - smile with him/her and show cheerfulness with your voice and facial expression
- when the baby is tired - show that you understand and that he/she can sleep and rest with you, using touch and tone of voice.
