Your Infant and Beat and Rhythm

The daily rhythms of life change when a newborn joins a family. Suddenly, everyone must adjust to the new sleep and wake cycles, and to the baby's pattern of comfort and discomfort. And with most babies, these rhythms change often and unpredictably! No sooner do you think you've established a pattern of sleeping, feeding, playing and diapering, than your child changes the tempo, and you must learn to keep time all over again.

You and your infant are discovering beats and rhythms with each interaction. You listen closely to the tempo of your newborn's breathing. You sense her pattern of sucks and pauses as she feeds. The two of you develop brief but powerful back-and-forth moments when you make eye contact. Without any self-consciousness you begin using baby-talk, because your baby responds so naturally to a rhythmic voice. From the moment she's born, your child engages you in an intricate dance where you are intuitively aware of every subtle change in the music.