Your newborn may be a wonder to behold, and will grow and develop at an incredible rate, but he or she already has some amazing skills that you may not know about.
Here’s a few facts about the newest member of the family…
- Your baby has a keen sense of smell and will recognise you by your smell, rather than sight in these first days.
- She will firmly grasp anything that touches the palm of her hand. And if you stroke the sole of her foot, the foot will also curl around, as if trying to grasp something.
- Babies have a very strong sucking reflex so that they can feed. Just putting pressure on the palate with a finger will make her start sucking strongly.
- Your baby already has a keen sense of hearing and will probably move her head in response to noise. She will love to hear you talk, and will especially like high-pitched voices – that “goo goo ga ga” baby talk you swore you would never use! She will soon begin to distinguish her parents’ voices from others. Babies seem to respond to music and sounds they heard while in the womb – and may even be calmed by music played while their mothers relaxed during
- She can see (in black and white), but may look as if she is squinting or cross-eyed because the muscles of the eyes are not strong enough yet.
- Within a few days she can focus on objects and faces about eight inches/20 cm away (the distance from her face to yours during breastfeeding).
- She will particularly like to look at faces and patterns. So put mobiles and toys with strong black and white prints (remember she hasn’t yet got full colour vision yet) in her sight range. Don’t worry too much about expensive toys, you can always draw your own patterns with a thick black marker on white card and secure them using the side of the mattress in her cot or crib.
- She can respond to your smiles and chat by nodding, sticking out her tongue and moving her body. Soon, if you stick out your tongue she will mimic you!
- If a baby feels like she is falling, or is startled by a loud noise she will throw out her arms and legs and arch her back. She will then curl back inwards. This is called the “Moro” or startle reflex.
- After a few days if you hold your baby upright and touch her feet against a flat surface she will start to move her legs in a stepping motion.
@bump2birth2baby Louise Ní Chríodáin is the co-author of ebook From Bump to Birth and After Birth – a guide to minding mother and baby which has just launched. Written with Margaret Hanahoe, Assistant Director of Midwifery at the National Maternity Hospital.
