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Structure is necessary in order to promote regulation of emotions. Permit your infant her full range of emotions, being aware that crying may indicate an emotion rather than a call for help. Such a cry does not have to be immediately soothed, but bonding is encouraged if you remain with your infant while she is distressed. Your presence validates her feelings.
Only the primary caregiver should feed the baby. Hold, rock, and carry the baby often, maintaining good eye contact while singing or talking to her. No one other than the primary caregiver should hold the baby for more than a half hour a day.
Developmental regression is possible at this age. Don’t be frightened by it. Permitting some regression and interacting with your baby at a younger level might help fill in some earlier gaps in the process of bonding. If your baby attempts to soother herself, imitate her behaviors and add your own.
If you are adopting a baby at this age, learn as much as you can about her previous placements and transfer as much of her earlier environment to your own home as possible. If your baby had attached to a previous caregiver, anticipate and allow a grief reaction, a cry unlike her other cries. Provide physical comfort, but realize that your efforts may not succeed in consoling the baby. Remain with her so that her grief can become a part of her relationship with you, as this will promote attachment and bonding.
Information received in part from experience, observation, and other texts, but also from:
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