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The first few months of communicating with baby
His first “words” are written on his face
Establishing contact with a newborn baby
Expressions of well-being
How to promote communication with your baby?
Expressions of well-being
Your baby will gratify you with different expressions during your moments of communication and confirm your skills.
Your baby’s look mirrors his emotional state and the stage of his development irrespective of his age.
His facial expressions and notably his smiles appear first of all in his sleep during the memorisation of your communication, and then they are addressed to you during moments of calm wakefulness at around 1 month of age.
At 4 months of age baby will explode with laughter to manifest his happiness and well-being.
Sounds
At 2 months of age baby gurgles with pleasure making "er, er", "aheu" and various other sounds to reply to you or to call you, at 4 months he vocalises, at 6 months he modulates the sounds and at around 8 months he will start saying "da-da" and "ma-ma".
Around 1 year old he will start talking gibberish and pronounce his first words.
Body language
From birth your baby may make harmonious movements with his arms and legs to demonstrate his well-being, at around 2 months of age he gesticulates with his arms as soon as he is content, and does the same with his feet from around 3 months of age.
As he gradually develops he will express himself with movements and attitudes to make himself understood before he is able to talk properly.
Crying, Language
Crying is the only way baby has to express a need, a difficulty or not feeling well.
A call: A baby never cries on purpose or for no reason, he calls to ask for help when he is incapable of doing something on his own but he is not necessarily suffering.
Deciphering crying: You are very quick to be aware when he is crying from pain but it takes about 2-3 months to differentiate crying from hunger, from tiredness, agitation or discomfort.
Around the age of 6 months baby will cry in the evening from being separated from you or from being left alone, and there will also be crying to express refusal.
Around the age of 1 year you will hear crying from frustration and little tantrums.
Responding automatically during the first few months is the only way to calm him down and reassure him before he is able to do without you.
From your arms to your voice
With effect from 3-4 months you will be able to put words to what he is trying to say via his crying, your reassuring words will give him more and more self-confidence and you will gradually need to intervene less and less.
The refuge of your arms will only be necessary for really distressing situations.