Bringing a newborn home is an overwhelming, beautiful, and transformative experience. For many parents, those first days are filled with an intense desire to connect, to bond, and to provide the very best for their tiny new arrival. After experiencing a miscarriage, I was even more determined not to take a single moment for granted with my newborn son. I had spent months preparing, researching, and seeking ways to nurture both his cognitive and emotional development from day one.
Like many millennial parents, I knew that newborns do not perceive color in their early months. Their developing brains are most engaged by high-contrast black and white imagery. Yet, despite an abundance of baby books promoting visual stimulation through stark patterns, I felt there was something missing. I didn’t want just another book of geometric shapes or animal silhouettes—I wanted something that could pair developmental research with emotional depth. I longed for a book that would stimulate my baby’s brain while also fostering meaningful connection between us. When I couldn’t find one, I decided to create it myself.
Newborns enter the world with developing vision that is still adjusting to the light and complexity of their surroundings. In the early weeks and months, their eyesight is best suited to detecting bold, high-contrast patterns rather than subtle colors and details. Black and white imagery, with its stark contrast, captures their attention and engages their visual system more effectively than anything else. This kind of stimulation helps strengthen the neural connections between their eyes and brain, promoting healthy visual development.
Studies on infant perception have shown that babies are naturally drawn to strong contrasts and simple patterns. This preference isn't just about what they can see—it’s about how their brains process and make sense of the world around them. By exposing newborns to high-contrast images, we are helping them develop focus, improve their ability to track movement, and build the foundation for later visual and cognitive skills.
Yet, while high-contrast imagery is widely acknowledged as beneficial for newborns, the market for such books remains limited to uninspired geometric patterns or repetitive animal illustrations. They serve their purpose for visual development but lack the depth and intentionality needed to foster an emotional bond between parent and child.
Parenting is not just about physical care—it is an emotional, spiritual, and deeply personal journey. The early days with a newborn are fleeting and emotionally charged, filled with exhaustion, awe, and a love so vast it can feel impossible to put into words. New parents often struggle to articulate their hopes, dreams, and promises to their newborns. This is where language becomes a powerful tool for connection.
Words hold extraordinary power. Even before babies understand language, they recognize the cadence, tone, and intention behind their caregivers’ voices. When parents speak with love, assurance, and intentionality, their words lay the groundwork for future conversations and deeper emotional attachment.
The act of meaning-making—the process through which humans interpret and make sense of experiences—is crucial from day one. By incorporating poetry and language rich with emotional depth, we provide a foundation for connection that will continue to grow as the child develops. Books that feature high-contrast imagery should not just stimulate a baby’s vision; they should also nurture the emotional bond between caregiver and child.
Many high-contrast books on the market today focus solely on visual stimulation, missing the opportunity to deepen the emotional experience between parent and child. My book, The First Days, exists at the intersection of child development research, psychology, relationships, and parenting. It is designed to create moments of intentional connection between caregiver and newborn—moments that go beyond simple stimulation and into the realm of deep emotional bonding.
Parents using this approach with their newborns can expect to see:
•   Increased alertness – The strong visual stimuli hold the baby’s attention longer, encouraging focus and concentration.
•   Greater emotional connection – Reading aloud with intention fosters eye contact, physical closeness, and shared moments of joy.
•   Improved communication – Babies respond to their caregivers’ voices through listening, head-turning, and cooing, setting the stage for future language development.
•   Stronger bonding through physical touch – Holding the baby while reading regulates their heart rate, breathing, and temperature, promoting a sense of security and attachment.
•   Enhanced engagement through smiling and mimicking – Spending time face-to-face while reading creates opportunities for mutual gazing, smiling, and mirroring expressions, which reinforces trust and emotional closeness.
From both a personal and professional standpoint, I am deeply invested in fostering strong emotional connections between parents and their newborns. As a crisis management expert specializing in trauma response programming, I understand that the most effective way to build resilience in children is to cultivate a strong sense of self-worth and belonging from the very beginning. Research consistently shows that children who experience deep, early connection with their caregivers develop greater confidence, higher self-esteem, and stronger emotional resilience later in life.
By combining high-contrast visual stimulation with poetry and language that speaks to the profound love and responsibility of parenthood, we can create a richer, more meaningful bonding experience in those critical first weeks and months. The First Days is more than just a book—it is a tool for connection, a guide for parents seeking to articulate their emotions, and a bridge between science and love.
It is time to move beyond books that treat newborns as passive recipients of visual stimuli and instead create resources that honor the full complexity of early parenthood—the love, the learning, and the indescribable beauty of those first days together.
By merging research-backed high-contrast art with deeply intentional words, we can provide both cognitive and emotional nourishment for our babies. And in doing so, we create not only smarter children but also stronger, more connected families.
For those first days, when words feel too big and emotions feel too overwhelming, let this book be your voice. Let it be a bridge between your heart and your baby’s, ensuring that from the very beginning, they know they are seen, they are loved, and they belong.
