Relationship – Babies Project

Guiding Principles: Safety, Orientation, Comfort, Bonding and Curiosity

This is the first of four in a series of companion articles and recorded zoom sessions. It is part of our Preparing for Caring Project to build awareness and educate about the importance of handling skills in caring for a baby. Read more about how these ideas play out in practical suggestions.

We have built our work at Babies Project around the progressive states of safety, orientation, comfort, bonding and curiosity. While it is similar to Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs”, this layering of ideas comes out of a Body-Mind Centering® approach to developmental movement.*

Watch a recorded Zoom session

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Big Picture, Little Picture

(from Fall Fundraising 2019 Newsletter #4)

…there are so many things to love besides one’s own offspring, so many things that need love, so much other work love has to do in the world.
– Rebecca Solnit, from The Mother of All Questions

We unpacked our tagline one sentence at a time in our previous letters, and in this last letter, we’ll wrap it up by adding context and perspective. (You can catch up here on “be with,” “be a witness,” and “be in relationship.”)

Why did we choose our tagline and why are … Read more

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Unpacking “Be in Relationship”

(from Fall Fundraising 2019 Newsletter #3)

I learned a great deal about how to interact and hold my baby, along with how to encourage play and curiosity. Equally as important, I feel more grounded and confident in my approach to raising my baby.
– Laura, mother of Oliver

My daughter’s confidence and curiosity has grown, and our relationship is stronger, because of the knowledge we gained at the Babies Project.
– Kimberly, mother of Laura

Each day, Olivia moves more independently and we observe that she is becoming more confident and happy. As she is blossoming, we also feel empowered

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Unpacking “Be With”

(from Fall Fundraising 2019 Newsletter #1)

I have learned to get on the floor more with him.
I have learned to observe more and entertain less. 
I have learned to be present with him.
– Hedy, mother of River

We’re hoping to persuade you to support us by unpacking our tagline:

Starting with the first sentence, what do we mean by “be with”?

“Being with” is a counter-balance to “doing to” and “doing for.” It’s an alternative to already thinking we know what is needed, to going in with an intention of fixing or of making progress … Read more

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Agency, Relationship, & “You’re OK”

Our topic here is AGENCY and RELATIONSHIP. A baby’s development is a relational process. A baby and their primary caregiver(s) are affected by and in turn affect each other. They respond to each other, they co-create their relationship, and they exist within layers and networks of other relationships.

In our work educating parents and other caregivers, we bring awareness to how they influence their baby’s development: through how they touch and handle them, how they talk to them, and how they view their role as caregivers.

We acknowledge and want to help parents navigate their choices about parenting. What we teach in terms … Read more

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Agency & Emergence

“Things are always changing, and we have agency in that change.”– Rebecca Solnit

“Developmental change is not planned but arises within a context as the product of multiple, developing elements.”– Esther Thelen

Agency is the first of our core values, and we come back to it again and again. It encapsulates many of our ideas, underlies our principles, and guides our teaching.

As we define it, agency is the ability to make choices, to have an impact, and learn from experience. We do not think agency is the same as autonomy. Rather, agency is relational, interdependent and participatory.… Read more

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Our Principles

We believe:

Babies come in as whole people, not as blank slates. Babies are fully and intensely immersed in becoming themselves – always whole, and always changing.

A baby’s experience is real and valid, though it might not be comprehensible to us. We can offer comfort without denying their experience, or our own. We can acknowledge and validate their feelings and emotions while also saying “no” to particular behavior.

Babies learn best when they’re led by their curiosity – which comes from a sense of safety and comfort. We are a baby’s environment when we hold and handle them, and … Read more

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