To kiss my own baby in public?

[Mysterycat23]

New mum here. I have a habit of kissing LO on his head or cheeks every time I pick him up. I also kiss his head quite frequently while holding him. I do this at home and when out and about. In all honesty I'm addicted However at nct meet ups I've noticed I'm the only one kissing my LO.

No one has said anything to me but would like to know if it would make anyone uncomfortable or if I'm breaking some unwritten rule?

If you want all the scientific yadayada to it, it aids your child's development to know (and feel) that they are loved, supported and appreciated. And when they're that young, how else would they know? Sad experience shows that it's simply not enough to keep a baby fed, clean and safe, they need affection in order to thrive and to properly develop. So kiss away, safe in the knowledge that tons of scientific papers say you're in the right (plus it's delicious and makes the both of you feel good). What's not to like about it?

Eugh Maxima do you actually kiss your toddler on the lips????!

Cheek/forehead kissing, even constantly is nothing but cute and lovely to see. But these mothers that kiss practically snog their child on their lips are a totally different story......

Get the kisses in before you get them shouting "stop it mummy" 

I ditto this

Those chubby baby cheeks are made to ne kissed. When my baby wakes for a feed I lift him out and kiss him every time.

Yep kisses whenever possible here too. My two have a combined age of 32 and I still do it when I get the opportunity

mine was an early 90s vintage and there was a lingering Anais Anais whiff to her as well as the lipstick.

My key memory of the mid '80s is the smell of my mother's White Linen by Estée Lauder on my pjs and rubbing her lipstick kisses on my face so that it became blusher when she was going out for the evening. I still love the smell of that perfume.

There are set rules when you become a parent

Cover in as many kisses as possible
Cuddle as many times as possible
Tickle as many times as possible

And the golden rule

Multiply that by infinity

I don't think I did kiss mine very much when they were tiny as it simply didn't occur to me to (grew up in a very non-tactile family). However I do try to do it a lot now (they are 4 and 5) and they seem to enjoy and appreciate it. DS1 even gave me a spontaneous hug the other day, which is very out of character for him but it was lovely :)

I wouldn't think badly of anyone else for fussing their kids!

I did it and I really enjoy seeing mum's of young children do it gives me warm fuzzy feelings. Not unusual to see mothers being verbally abusive to little ones eg the other day overheard mother with under 2 year old in buggy calling her a f--img little bitch. So go ahead to redress the balance. Sure your LO is absorbing the love.

My kids are constantly smothered in kisses!

This:

I frequently stop the buggy in the street just to kiss my baby. What kind of weirdo doesn't kiss their baby!?!? The cheeks! The fluffy hair! The fat little hands! Babies are meant for kissing.

Absolutely this!

I live in France and everyone kisses all the time! I was a little freaked out by it at first (I am clearly very British ) but I bloody love it now.
I kiss my kids at school drop off and pick up every day - everyone does its just normal and I think it's great

Babies and children should be kissed as often as possible. At least until they're taller than you

How can you not. They are just so bloody scrummy

The only reason I don't kiss DD more in public is because of lipstick. At home she gets smothered with kisses. To be honest I haven't noticed if anyone at my NCT meets ups do or don't... probably too busy tending to DD!

Wow! So glad to know I am not alone in being addicted to my baby!

It did take me a while to kiss him in the first place, felt almost like LO was such a precious gift I needed his permission before invading his personal space.

I am definitely going to get in all the kisses while I can

I don't have kids but I kiss the top of my dog's head a million times a day so I can imagine I'd be the same way if I had a baby

Funnily enough I remember thinking this too as I do a lot as well. We had a lot of fluffy dogs and I'd bury my head in their fur and kiss their heads a lot as a child. And other animals. I find it very natural! So put it down to this.

I think it might have a link to immunity; if a mum picks up a virus from kissing baby, her body can react and make anti bodies to pass on to the milk. Also, the nipples and areola also pick up illnesses and respond accordingly too. It's thought breasts developed from the immune system.

So I think it's a very instinctive natural thing we do (no matter how you feed); hardwired behaviour.

Chilimum now that you've said that, I've just realised that I'm one of the few parents who kisses my YR daughter goodbye in the morning and hello at pick up! It never occurred to me before but hardly any of the others do it!

Oh yes and it will release endorphins too which is incredibly good for your body and mind.

Stroking pets has something like an 800% reduction on repeat heart attacks due to endorphins. So kiss your dogs too :)

I smooch my baby like no tomorrow. By the time they get to a year old, they want nothing to do with you, so make the most of it!

I have a DD who turns 2 next month. She doesn't stop long enough for me to give her a pat on the head, let alone a kiss! So I love extra hard on my 10 week old.

I teach baby swimming and occasionally kiss them by accident as they're so gorgeous

My 9mo and 3 yo receive a gazillion kisses a day.
My 11yo DD (being assessed for ASD) pushed me away as soon as she was old enough, and still goes rigid if I go in for a cuddle or kiss

I'm an NCT teacher and I love seeing the kissy mums at reunions. I silently salute them.

I'm also very affectionate with my kids and dog