Diego is now 8 months old! Can you believe that? I think it’s crazy. Every night (yes, every night) I look at my Baby Diego album on my iPhone before I go to bed. I just can’t believe how big he is now and how amazing our family’s journey has been. Every picture brings back a specific memory and I just love that we live in the digital age where I am able to obsessively capture every single moment. If he blinks, I take a picture, if he smiles, I take a picture, and if he plays… you can guess what comes next!
As Diego has grown, one of the things that I have really been trying to learn about and practice with him is communication. I don’t remember being a baby, but I can imagine how frustrating it must be to try to communicate what you want, yet not be able to do so. So, I dedicated a few nights recently to research how to communicate with babies (haha). I am the kind of person that’s always curious, and want to learn about everything! For a week or so, I had a mini obsession with baby communication and here’s what I’ve learned and what has worked for us!
Pay Attention!
Even though you think babies are too young to notice, if you actually pay attention to them, you’ll realize that they do! Diego loves when I smile at him when he is “talking” or when I acknowledge him when he is yelling to try to get our attention. So, join me in my no phone at home challenge and make the time that you spend with your baby all about quality and undivided attention.
Imitate Your Baby
I actually don’t remember where I read this, but it made complete sense to me. Even if you feel stupid while doing it, repeat the noises that your baby makes. It will actually teach your baby two-way communication! It is also very entertaining for baby and mom (haha). Diego and I can go for 5 minutes just imitating each other and he seems to actually enjoy it.
Interact as Much as Possible
Talk to your baby as much as possible, and use complete words and sentences. I didn’t read this anywhere, but this is from my own Lore mom experience handbook (haha). I have noticed that talking to Diego a lot and communicating with him as if he understands everything we say has made an impact. He is 8 months old now, and he understands a lot of things of what we say. Even though he can’t talk back yet, he will use his expressions or body language to communicate back to us. For example, when I come home after work, I spend 10 minutes telling Diego about my day. I hope this will help to make our bond stronger as he grows older.
Use Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication, from what I have read, is also very important when interacting with babies. I hug and kiss Diego all the time, not just because now is the time before he starts pushing me away because he is embarrassed, but because I feel my kisses and hugs communicate my love to him. When he starts getting upset, I stroke his hair and that instantly calms him down.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope baby communication tips are helpful for you! If you have any tips for raising a bilingual baby, I would love to hear them in the comments below!
See you in my next post!
P.S.- In this post’s photos, my pants and top are from SEA. It’s my current favorite brand I love ALL of their pieces! I also love this outfit that I put together using their clothing.
