Baby Blog

We were told to purchase one of those crib mirrors when our little guy was still a very little baby. In fact the mirror was on many of my baby books must buy lists. But it hasn’t been until recent months, since Nik turned about nine months, that the mirror, his own reflection and interacting with the glass has been anything more than a passing fancy.

Now, he’s become a little obsessed. So what does it all mean?

Well, the most important and interesting image to the newborn baby is the human face. It’s a human thing I guess. Looking at the human face allows the baby to take his first steps towards personal identity and understanding his place in the world. Looking at faces, especially his face, teaches important physical skills such as eye focus and concentration.

Hmmm…my son waves and talks to himself in the mirror. I don’t think focus is an issue at this point. He knows it’s a mirror, don’t get me wrong. I did that little mirror test where you hold an object above their head and  see if they grab your arm or try to touch the mirror and he grabbed my arm. He just likes to talk to himself and practice his facial expressions.

Baby Nik spends a lot of time in front of the mirror trying and testing different facial expressions. I guess this is a part of development for him as he is learning about the muscles of his face and his ability to alter and control them. I love watching him practice being surprised, or happy, making his flirt smile or trying to look sad.

So the mirror is a development tool most babies play with in the first few months of life. We finally took Nik’s mirror out of his crib where he wasn’t paying it any attention and put in the box with his board books. A lot of his books have mirrors in them so this seemed like a logical place. He holds it right up to his face and peers at himself or observes his breath on the mirror’s surface. I never realized how fascinating your reflection could be.

The fact that my son has really gotten into the mirror thing recently reminds me that every baby really is different. Nik found mirrors interesting after he had more control over his environment i.e. he could walk and looking in the mirror became a choice and not a forced activity. This tells me milestones are moveable and personalities show up earlier than we may think.

And perhaps my little guy has realized just how cute he is.

Vanity, thy name is baby.