Ive shared this before but its SUCH a good explanation of newborn behaviors that new parents often find frustrating. They are a lot easier to deal with once we understand the deep biological imperatives at work. Every species has instinctual behaviors that allow the little ones to grow up to be big ones and keep the species going. Our kids are born into the world needing protection. Protection from disease and from predators. Yes, predators. Our kids dont know theyve been born into a loving family in the 21st century- for all they know its the 2nd century and they are in a cave surrounded by tigers. Our instinctive behaviors as baby humans need to help us stay protected....And the tigers. What about them? Define tiger however you want. But if you are baby with no skills in self-protection, staying with mom, having a grasp reflex, and a startle reflex that helps you grab onto your mom, especially if shes hairy, makes sense. Babies know the difference between a bassinette and a human chest. When infants are separated from their mothers, they have a despair-withdrawal response. The despair part comes when they alone, separated. The kids are vocally expressing their desire not to be tiger food. When they are picked up, they stop crying. They are protected, warm and safe. If that despair cry is not answered, they withdraw. They get cold, have massive amounts of stress hormones released, drop their heart rate and get quiet. Thats not a good baby. Thats one who, well, is beyond despair. Normal babies want to be held, all the time.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 19:53:48 +0000
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