You love her, but it seems like all you ever do is try to appease the little tyrant. She can have your milk, your body, your arms, your world, if only she'll stop crying. And what do you get in return? Mostly just the chance to wake up tomorrow morning (or in the middle of the night) and do it all over again. Why, aside from the fact that your baby is so ridiculously cute, do you kill yourself to please someone who can't even say "thank you"? Because deep down you know your baby loves you. She may not smile, yet, and she sure doesn't say it in words. But if she had her pick of all the milk joints in the world, she'd still head to yours, and here are 10 good reasons why.

Your voice and smell are wonderful.

Babies seem to recognize their mother instantly. "I've seen it so many times," says Laura Riley, MD, obstetrician and author of You and Your Baby: Pregnancy (Meredith). "The baby has just been born, his vision is not great, but the moment the mother starts to talk in a soothing voice, the baby will turn toward her or open his eyes." That's because he could hear Mom's voice from the womb. Baby listens to you talking for weeks before he's born. Further proof that you're special: a newborn may turn his head away from a stranger because of the unfamiliar voice and scent. "If I pick a baby up and cuddle him in the same way as the mother, I don't get the same response," Dr. Riley says.

You provide the food.

Whether it comes from the breast or the bottle, the milk you feed your baby offers much more than nutrition. When he's screaming from hunger, he actually doesn't know what's wrong. You magically make it all better. With every meal, you're telling him that you'll take care of him. As he learns that lesson, things get easier for both of you. "If parents respond repeatedly in ways that let the baby know his needs will be met, by 3 months or so babies cry less," says Elaine Zwelling, RN, PhD, director of the Lamaze International Childbirth Educator Certification Program at the University of South Florida.

She adores your face.

Newborns don't do much, but they eat. At meals, their eyes seek a little entertainment, and the main dinner attraction is Mom or Dad. "One of the first objects a baby will focus on is a face," says Zwelling, who is also a member of the Pampers Parenting Institute. Baby's vision field is 10 to 12 inches, which puts her in the right spot for gazing up from the breast or bottle. "The first time my baby smiled at me while nursing, it pierced my heart," says Ninotchka Beavers, a mom in Dallas. Baby drinks you in along with milk, and she falls in love with what she sees.

When she cries, you comfort her.

"You can't spoil an infant," Zwelling says firmly. No matter what an older generation may say, it's fine to run to your newborn each and every time she cries. The more cuddling and comforting, the better. "To be able to be spoiled," Zwelling adds, "you have to have enough cognitive memory and thought processes to think, Last time I cried, she picked me up, so if I do it again... Infants just aren't there yet." Once you have a toddler, though, it might be a different story!

Smiling with Newborn

- Phyllis