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Baby Cuddles
The role of physical touch in the development of newborn and parents
I’d heard that the main reason we give birth to such underdeveloped creatures was a balance between our large human brains and the tight pelvis of a bipedal species. But Robert claims there’s another evolutionary reason: as a highly social species, this is a critical period of bonding. It reinforces our interdependence.
That’s true for baby, but it’s also true for the parents: we need each other, and our community. Infant care is hard.
Feeding our young is a species-defining quality. But how human, too, to have invented breast pumps, formula, bottles.
Much as I love our baby, I’m so grateful when Robert can give me a break. He feeds with a bottle of milk I’ve expressed each evening, allowing a few precious hours of uninterrupted sleep. He gets time to bond and build father skills. And he gets cuddle time.
Day or night, we’ve found it’s much easier to keep our baby calm if he’s belly to belly with us. If I let him, he’ll rest all day with his arms stretched like a hug, pillowed by my chest.
At first, we assumed it was the ready access to food that makes him prefer to sleep this way. Or with Robert, the warmth. But it seems to be more than that: more basic, and more valuable.