Atmospheric Infancy

In this article we establish intersubjective meaning-making in infancy as atmospheric. Through qualitative descriptions of five mother–infant dyads in a video-recorded, experimental setting when the infant is 4, 7, 10, and 13 months, we discovered atmospheric appearances with a developmental pattern of atmospheric variations. These appearances, we argue, are contextual and intersubjective monologues. The monologues are similar to what Daniel Stern describes with his concept of “vitality affects,” but they arise as a unified force that envelops the mother and child. As such, we present a new way to address meaning-making in infancy.