Tried & Tested: Black and White

As promised, I'm reporting back on the effect of black and white on a newborn. Specifically my newborn. Everything I read about is true - it calms him, entertains him and mesmerises him. The mobile I made and put above his bed keeps him occupied in the late hours (I've caught him grinning at it as though its an old friend).

We've got a black and white throw on our sofa and when he's sat in our arms he's instantly calm, almost hypnotised by it. It verges on impossible trying to tear his eyes away from it.

There's also a newborn toy we bought for him that he now loves. At first he was a bit weary of it (it does have cheeks that remind me of 'jigsaw' from Saw) but now it's becoming a playtime favourite. It's the 'Zany Zebra' toy from ToysRus and is brilliant for introducing textures, sights and sounds with rattles, teething leaf, mirrors, taggy's, flashes of colour...and of course black and white stripes.

So far I've found black & white to calm, socialise, entertain and develop my baby. It appears to be a fantastic teaching tool but above all it makes the little man happy. And that's all that matters!