Change is something that very few people handle well… I am not sure why than we expect babies to handle change so well. However, we also know that the only way to learn is by trying new things. With a baby each and every day is a new thing, they will find, see or hear something new that they didn’t experience the day before all on their own. But you can help to encourage your baby to try new things, even when they are hesitant.
The younger the baby the easier it is, I believe anyway, to get them to try something new. Now, I have to stress how important it is that you pay attention to the way that your baby handles the new thing he or she is trying. If they don’t like it then don’t force them to continue the experience, pick them up and cuddle them and get them comfortable. For example, the first time we gave our new baby a bath in the bathtub… we used one of those big floating sponge like rafts. It was suppose to tell us if the water was to hot… and give the baby cushion to lie on. Ok, we are not first time parents… but it has been awhile, so it was like we were starting all over. Our daughter hated it. She screamed the whole time. I could not bathe her fast enough. We figured it was the first bath, she wasn’t used to it, so the next day I tried again. Nope, even more screaming… then it dawned on me… it was the sponge like thing. So I took the raft out and laid her in the water and propped her up on my arm. She loved it! She is a definite water baby.
I also recommend that when you are trying to get baby to try something new that you try it with them. Even at a young age baby is paying attention to what you are doing. Funny story… when our first daughter was little and just starting out on foods, I was trying to be the good mom and introduce her to the foods. She loved the veggies, she loved the fruits… oh then I had to try to get her to eat the meats. Now, it wasn’t that she didn’t eat it… she did, but wasn’t crazy about it. Which I was thankful for… and I think I had something to do with; I could not stand the smell of the meats. It was just gross, which I believe that our oldest daughter picked up on and she didn’t like eating them. Yes, with our second… I did the same, and I will do the same with the third. They were vegetarians until they were about three when their grandmother introduced them to steak.
If you are a first time parent, or maybe an experienced parent but unaware of the fact that it takes seven times of seeing or eating or trying a new thing before your baby is going to like it. So when you are introducing new foods start with one new food at a time and only small amounts. Do the same foods for a week, then the following week introduce a new food. The third week do the one food they like the most and then introduce a new one with it. If after 7 tries they still don’t like it… go away from it for a while and try again at a later time.
Finally, try to make the new experience as positive as it can be. Let them see you smile and having fun. Then they are more inclined to enjoy what they are doing as well. Babies are wonderful mimics, they will do what mom and dad are doing.
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