Hellobee Boards

Well I think for the first month they need to be held. Feel like they understand where the are (outside of the womb) but I do believe down the road too much holding will definitely affect how the child reacts. I didn't smother Mavrick and glad I didn't. Yet he loves to be cuddled (on his own terms)

I think in the first 12 weeks all bets are off. Before 3 months they're more like a fetus than a baby and need extra attention, support, care and comfort. The bonds of attachment are also at their earliest phase, and your baby having the sense that you will be there for them is an important foundation.

I didn't want to put my daughter down when she was a newborn; I held her constantly, and if I wasn't holding her, someone else was for at least the first... 3 months of her life. Even after the newborn stage, I held her a lot. She's a very independent toddler now, though, so I don't think it spoiled her at all.

More likely, I think some kids are naturally clingy and some kids are naturally independent. Although it's easy to say parenting is the reason behind these personality differences, I think biology plays a bigger role than we often admit.

We had a postpartum doula when Eli was first born. She held him constantly. By 4 - 5 weeks, he would not sleep unless someone was holding him! We asked her to leave early because I was afraid that was going to be a habit that we cannot get rid of. It took us a week to change that and a lot of crying from Eli! Slowly he got better and now at 12 weeks, we can just swaddle him, turn on the white noise, and place him in his crib. He plays with himself for a few minutes and dozes off. I think you can spoil a newborn.

I held my baby all the time when she was a newborn. I hold her whenever I can now that she's older (7 months). She's definitely not spoiled. She plays by herself really well.
Sometimes I feel like she'd rather play with her toys than be held by me. -.-

Not when they're a newborn. My mom says that after LO's 100th day (or, roughly 3 months), then I should hold her less, let her cry a little more and sort of let them work things out on their own.

When I first heard that you can't spoil a newborn, I was so excited to be able to give my LO lots of cuddles without any repercussion. Now that he is older, I do believe that you can spoil a baby early on. I think babies are smarter than we think. Of course I still love to spoil him, but I do it sparingly.

I think holding is good for newborns so to me its like asking will nutritious food spoil a kid. I think babies do like it but already my 5-1/2 month old is exploring more on her own.