When your baby is born, he is very small and his options seem very limited. Yet there are already many things that your baby can do. He can already hear, smell, see, taste and make small movements. As a parent you notice very little of it, but your newborn baby is in full development and will evolve at a very rapid pace. Your baby is more active than you think and the sensory skills are already very present. The coming months will be important in the further development of your baby’s motor skills and mental skills. Your baby is already quite developed on a sensory level. All senses are present. It is now important to further develop these senses in the coming months and years.
Vision: limited vision to 20 centimeters
A newborn can already see, but not yet clearly. A newborn can see about eight inches away. When the mother is breastfeeding, the baby can see the mother’s face perfectly. Everything that is closer or further away, your baby cannot yet see clearly and is not really sharp. In bright light, your baby will startle by making startling movements. Unexpected and abrupt movements can even make him cry.
Hearing: he prefers to hear familiar voices
Your baby can already hear during pregnancy. A newborn will react strongly to sudden and loud noises. So loud music is bad for him. Your baby feels happy when he recognizes familiar voices. Low tones are very tolerable for your baby. Your baby will recognize the mother’s voice more quickly than that of strangers.
Smelling: smelling the mother
A newborn can already smell at birth. He doesn’t like sharp odors. The baby will very quickly recognize the smell of the mother or the smell of the person who takes care of him most in the initial stages. Naturally, he prefers this familiar scent.
Feel: warm and soft feel best
Your newborn baby can already feel. He perfectly senses the difference between hot and cold. He can also distinguish between soft and hard objects. Naturally, your baby prefers warm and soft. Your baby thoroughly enjoys the touch of the skin. While in the bath, your baby thoroughly enjoys all the physical touches. During pregnancy, your baby felt a constant rocking sensation in the womb. That’s why your baby loves rocking in his crib so much. Learned young is done old.
Taste: a newborn baby has a sweet tooth
An adult person can perfectly distinguish between sweet, salty, sour and bitter. However, not yet a newborn. A baby has a clear preference for sweets. He will ingest all sweet tastes. If you give him something salty, sour or bitter, he will turn his head away or start to cry.
Other typical features in newborn babies
- Your baby is more active at birth than you think. Some reflexes are identified in newborns. These are reflexes that healthy babies show during the first weeks. For example, a walking reflex, a grasping reflex, a stepping reflex and a search reflex can be distinguished.
- Many babies lose a lot of hair during the first few weeks. Afterwards, this hair will grow back and sometimes even in a different color.
- Due to the pressure during childbirth, it is entirely possible that the head is somewhat deformed. This can also be the result of using a suction cup during childbirth. After a few days the skull will take on a normal shape.
- Some babies have a yellow tinge of skin color. Bilirubin is responsible for the yellow skin color in babies. In case of a yellow house color, the babies are placed under a lamp for several hours a day, also called phototherapy.
- Colic is common in newborn babies. This is partly because the intestines are not yet fully developed. In case of colic, it is advisable to burp your baby again. You can also place him on his tummy or give him a massage. After about three months, the cramps will gradually disappear because around this period digestion starts to run smoothly.
