Experience a closer connection with your baby that will benefit her for life. Your baby has a desperate need to be held close and feel secure, especially in the very first months of life. Nothing can replace the heart-warming feeling of holding your baby close and feeling that tiny little presence next to your heart.

There isn't anything that can replace your close touch and soothing presence for your baby. In fact, the close physical presence that your baby experiences from you will have life-long effects. Research (The Columbia Study) has proven what mothers have know all along… there is no better way to give your baby the love and attention he needs than to hold him close.

Snugli® soft carriers, by Evenflo®, are made to give you more opportunities to hold your baby. Snugli® baby carriers are built to keep your baby close to your body and help you form the strong attachments that are essential for your baby's healthy physical and emotional development. It's a proven fact; your baby is placed in the best possible advantage when nestled in a Snugli® carrier.
Carrying your baby in a Snugli® carrier allows baby to be held close to your body for prolonged periods of time. This type of closeness:

		Promotes bonding behaviors from you that greatly benefit the bonding between you and your baby.
		Provides your baby with a variety of stimuli that greatly aid in his healthy development.

Before birth, your baby was accustomed to constant motion. That's one reason why rocking is so successful in soothing babies. Newborns are so accustomed to motion that a lack of it may seem strange and uncomfortable to them. Consistently carrying your baby in a soft carrier throughout your day helps provide the soothing motion your baby craves.
Your baby benefits from the comfort of your touch. In fact, touching your baby actually helps her grow. Studies (The Columbia Study) have shown that touching the skin actually stimulates breathing in newborns and aids in the growth and development of premature babies. Holding your baby close in a Snugli® carrier gives you the opportunity to frequently touch her, and gives your baby the benefit of feeling you close. The benefits of touch reach far beyond the newborn stage. For new mothers, holding their newborn in close contact after delivery accelerates the contraction of the uterus.
Research (The Columbia Study) has shown that parent/infant contact lowers the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in babies. Holding a baby close helps him feel more secure and reduces his anxiety. A well-developed sense of security helps reduce crying as babies get older. And as an added benefit, less crying from your baby will also reduce your own level of stress.
Your voice is another element that connects you and your baby. When your baby is held close to your body in a Snugli® carrier, she can hear your voice more often and more consistently than when placed at a distance from you. You will become more attentive and aware of your baby's own vocalizations as they develop. Your baby will also become accustomed to household and other environmental sounds while being held. When she is older and is carried face-out, or carried in back, she will also benefit from the stimulating sounds around her. Studies (The Columbia Study) confirm that babies who are frequently held close often develop better verbal skills.
To your newborn baby, your face becomes his most familiar sight. Your baby sees objects best at about 8 to 12 inches. Even in the newborn stage, he will begin to imitate your facial expressions as he learns to follow your movements first with his eyes, then by moving his head. As your baby develops, seeing your reassuring responses lets him know that you are there and provides him with a growing sense of security.

Your baby's need for stimulus increases as he continues to grow. With most Snugli® carriers, you have the option to place your baby face-out. The face-out position opens up a whole new world for you and your baby to experience together.
At birth, your baby's brain is remarkably unfinished. The newborn's brain has 100 billion nerve cells (neurons) which will grow and connect to form systems that control various functions such as seeing, hearing, moving, and expressing emotion. Repeated experiences activate the various systems and provide the foundation for the way the brain is organized and functions throughout life. An absence of appropriate activation results in the lack of development or the disappearance of these connections.

The areas of the brain that handle thinking, remembering and emotional and social behavior are also very underdeveloped. Because these areas of the brain mature after birth, in the world rather than in the womb, early experiences actually affect the way the brain becomes "wired."

The strong bond that is developed by consistently holding your baby close plays a significant role in the healthy development of your baby's brain.
A study conducted at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons concluded that soft carriers play a significant role in the healthy development of the bond between mother and baby.

It's important to remember that you cannot spoil your baby when she is an infant. An important part of your baby's development is learning that you will respond to her when she needs you. An infant's early experiences help determine his actual brain structure resulting in the way he learns, thinks, and behaves for his entire life. - - The First Years Last Forever, The New Brain Research and Your Child's Healthy Development, presented by the I Am Your Child campaign, the Reiner Foundation

Children who receive warm and responsive caregiving and who are securely attached to their caregivers cope with difficult times more easily when they are older. - - L. Alan Sroufe, Ph.D. University of Minnesota

Children who receive consistent, warm and responsive care produce less of the stress hormone cortisol, and when they do become upset, they turn off their stress reaction more quickly, suggesting that they are better equipped to respond to life's challenges. - - Megan Gunnar, Ph.D. University of Minnesota