Tips to enjoy simple pleasures with your baby

As a new parent, you’ll find that it’s often the simplest things that create the most precious memories. It doesn’t matter what you and your baby do; it just matters that you’re together. Here are some everyday ways to connect with your baby:

• Involve your baby in daily routine. Whether cooking or folding laundry, put your baby into an infant seat, backpack, or sling. If you have errands to run in the neighborhood, walk there with the stroller. Take your time. Explain what you see along the way, pick up leaves, and smell the flowers.
• Tell your child something about your day. It doesn’t matter if the baby is too young to understand. Soon, she will catch on to words. And she will react to the tone of your voice and your facial expressions.
• Postpone dinner. If you and your child are having fun romping in the backyard, don’t cut the activity short just to eat dinner "on time." Push a few more times on the swing, throw another snowball, slow down, and embrace the moment.
• Tune out distractions. It’s okay to screen telephone calls and put off other interruptions to be with your baby. Focus on the baby. Except for emergencies, the other demands can wait.
• Include your partner. The fun of being with your baby is magnified when both parents share it. Introduce your baby to your favorite song and enjoy a family dance together. Or snuggle on the couch for bedtime stories and trade off reading pages with your partner. You will see an extra-wide smile on your child’s face when she has both parents’ attention during a shared experience.