Have You Heard of Infant Cocooning?

In a “new” trend described by the New York Post, some parents are “cocooning” their newborns by keeping them away from friends and family in the first weeks of life in order to form a better bond as a family.

The NY Post article describes how parents are using the first few weeks of a baby’s life to learn how to connect as a family unit without the fluster of friends and family visiting. Cocooning has been practiced for a long time by adoptive parents but this method is starting to become more popular among younger parents. Midtown psychotherapist Dana Dorfman told the New York Post that this new trend could be because fathers are gaining access to better paternity leave which seems to “amplify the desire or the need to really bond as a family.”

Cocooning may sound like a great idea if you’re the parent but what about the feelings of relatives who are eager to meet the bundle of joy? Does their excitement count?

One new mom, Nicole, a 33-year-old interior architect, and designer told the New York Post that she mother-n-law was all set to book a flight to go and meet her new baby but Nicole stopped that. She and her husband explained that they would be doing the cocooning method and that means no visitors for two full weeks and no overnight visits for a full month.

“But it’s such an important and delicate time. There’s so many changes we have to get used to…and as much as all of them have great intentions and want to help us, we want it to be just us and the baby,” Nicolle, told the New York Post.

As a mother of three kids, I definitely understand the desire to cocoon and in some ways, I can see why it’s a great idea. The first few weeks after giving birth are a whirlwind of emotions and changes and having the privacy to bond as a family is precious. I didn’t want visitors in the hospital for any of my births, but I didn’t stop friends and family from coming to my home to see the new baby either.

Every family has to figure out what works for them whether they throw a party in the hospital or cocoon for a month. As long as there is love and needs are being met, then who are we to judge any family for making choices that they think are good for them?