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| |    Playing with Your Infant by Dr. Benjamin Spock reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. Be companionable Be quietly friendly with your baby whenever you are with him. He's getting a sense of how much you mean to each other all the time you're feeding him, burping him, bathing him, dressing him, changing his diapers, holding him, or just sitting in the room with him. When you hug him or make noises at him, when you show him that you think he's the most wonderful baby in the world, it makes his spirit grow, just the way food makes his bones grow. That must be why we grown-ups instinctively talk baby talk and waggle our heads when we greet a baby. Don't forget to enjoy yourself One trouble with being an inexperienced parent is that part of the time you take the job so seriously that you forget to enjoy it. Then you and the baby are both missing out on something. Your baby will be fully grown and out of the house before you know it, and you'll wonder why you didn't spend more time just enjoying him. Naturally, this doesn't mean that you should be talking at him all the time he's awake, or constantly joggling him or tickling him. That would tire him out and, in the long run, would make him tense and spoiled. You can be quiet nine-tenths of the time you are with him. It's the gentle, easygoing kind of companionship that's good for him and good for you. It's the comfortable feeling that goes into your arms when you hold him; the fond, peaceful expression on your face when you look at him; and the gentle tone in your voice. Companionship without spoiling It's good for a baby during his play periods to be somewhere near his parents (and brothers and sisters, if any) so that he can see them, make noises at them, hear them speak to him, have them show him a way to play with something occasionally. But it isn't necessary or sensible for him to be in a parent's lap or arms or to have his mother or father amusing him much of the time. He can be enjoying their company, profiting from it, and still be learning how to occupy himself. When new parents are so delighted with their baby that they hold him or make games for him most of his waking hours, he may become quite dependent on these attentions and demand more and more of them.
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