21 Weird Things About Babies You Should Know

When a child steps out of the comfort of the mother’s body, the baby is scared and trying to comprehend many things, knowing who to trust and who not to trust.

They’ll pick an interest in your face and voice, then soon begin to communicate and give you little clues when they are tired or hungry or awake and alert.

As they grow, it is the responsibility of parents to make them understand that the world is a friendly place where their needs will be addressed.

However, you need to understand some things about babies before you can put them in a position to trust your lead.

That said, this article explores 21 weird things about babies you should know as a parent. Things that’ll help you understand them very well.

1. Baby’s Brains Are Different For Either A Boy Or Girl

Things About Babies You Should Know
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How you care for your baby plays a significant role in your baby’s intelligence. It starts with taking good care of yourself during pregnancy and after pregnancy. Breastfeeding has proven to be of great importance in the development of the intelligence of every child, irrespective of gender. 

Research shows girls might have more acute senses, making them naturally better listeners and observers than boys. At the same time, newborn boys’ brains may develop more quickly than newborn girls’ during their first three months, particularly in regions that regulate mobility.

2. Baby Boys Tend To Weigh More

The weight of an average full-term male baby at birth is 3.3 kilograms, while the full-term female baby is about 3.2 kilograms. It’s not much, but it’s a difference.

3. Babies Learn Much Faster Than Adults

Learning begins when babies are born, and there’s even some evidence there’s learning inside the womb. For example, your unborn child already learned to recognize your voice and possibly your spouse’s before she was born.

According to a study, the more utterance she hears throughout her first few days, weeks, and months, the more proficient in a language she will likely be when she starts school. As she learns more about the world around her, her brain connects ideas at an amazing rate. You should seize the opportunity to teach your baby a lot, as your baby loves hearing your voice.

4. Newborns Are Short-Sighted

Things About Babies You Should Know
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Literally, your baby can’t see things farther than 30cm. It’s just light and shifting shapes to the baby. The baby can see around 20–30 cm (8–12 cm). So your baby can see your eyes when you feed her. This is one of the reasons breastfeeding helps in mother-child bonding, unlike regular feeding, where there is almost no 30cm eye contact.

When you move a toy in front of your baby’s face for one or two months, she can fix her gaze on it. So, in about three months after birth, she will have a considerably better close-up vision.

5. Swim Skills Are Present From Birth In Infants.

While submerged, newborns automatically retain their breath and may even make splashes with their legs and arms. They know this cause they just left a similar environment where they have been swimming in their mother’s bellies for many months.

 You can observe these innate skills in action if you enroll your child in swimming lessons! Although you can take your baby swimming whenever you wish, you should wait till after your six-week checkup if you intend to take her yourself.

6. Babies Grow Mustaches In The Womb

The lanugo hair is present at birth and quickly sheds off in preterm infants. The infant develops a mustache around four months, eventually covering his entire body as Lanugo. It all falls before the baby is born and is consumed by them. This first diarrhea includes digested hair.

7. Infants First Recognize The Color Red.

The only color that babies can first recognize is the color red. This is because it’s the only color that can actually focus on their retina. The next colors they see are purple and blue. The rest are more blurry visions to them.

While some experts contend that infants can only see in black, white, and grey, others argue that babies can see multiple colors, but they will be very blurry.

8. Babies Will Sleep, On Average, 5400 Hrs In The 1st Year.

Every infant is unique. Some can sleep for 8 hours straight, while some can account for bits. The point is they sleep a lot. There are 8760 hrs in a year; ensure your baby gets 5400 hrs of sleep that same year. The number of hours they sleep will reduce as the months go by, but they’ll sleep most of the day in the first trimester.

9. Infants Have Supersized Body Parts

Compared to an adult human skull, a newborn’s head represents around one-fourth of his body length. The size of their eyes is 75% that of their mature adult eyes. As a result, the baby’s eyes and head will remain large for the first year. 

10. They Can Breathe And Swallow At The Same Time

Things About Babies You Should Know
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The larynx is significantly greater in the nasal cavity until about three months, functioning somewhat like a snorkel so neonates can breathe and swallow simultaneously.

The larynx then lowers in the throat, facilitating speaking (and, regrettably, choking) for your child. This is why your baby can suckle breast milk consistently and not pull back for air.

11. There’s No Such Thing As Normal “Baby Sleep.”

The average sleeping time for a neonate is about 20 hours in a 24-hour day. So, yes, they almost always sleep and get tired so easily. However, it’s not usually a straight 20-hour sleep; instead, there are intervals during the day as at night.

The baby will begin sleeping more at night when her internal system recognizes the night as calm and for sleep. Then she’ll become awake for more time during the day.

 You can do many things to promote excellent sleep patterns in the 4th month, such as identifying her sleepy signs and putting her to bed before she becomes overtired.

12. They Remember Sounds They Heard In Uterus

Have you ever seen your baby cheer up on your favorite TV show? Good, that’s because she’s been hearing the intro for a long time in your belly.

Whatever you watch the most while you’re pregnant, like Sponge bulb, Henry danger, and other TV show series, they can recognize the sound of the intros. Their hearing ability is almost twice their hearing when they are still inside your belly. 

13. Babies Go Through Around 3360 Nappies In The First Year.

Babies typically urinate every 20 minutes because their bladder hasn’t fully developed. Good thing Red Nose Baby Wipes are so gentle on the baby’s skin, and nappies are so absorbent when it’s time to change.

14. Newborns Have Natural Aquatic Instincts When In The Water!

The bradycardic response is present at birth, a “diving reflex” that helps babies instinctively adjust to their underwater circumstances. For example, Bub will naturally lower his heart rate and hold his breath when underwater.

Even more amazing is that infants can actually swallow and breathe simultaneously during their initial few months of life, much like fish. Kids acquire this skill while still inside the womb, but they lose it approximately at six months.

15. They May Sleep With Their Eyes Open

 The reason this occurs is unknown to experts, but it may have to do with them spending a greater proportion of their time in REM sleep than adults do. So your baby may appear to be sleeping with her eyes open, but this is quite normal.

16. Their Hearts Beat Super Fast

Things About Babies You Should Know
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From newborns to the elderly, newborns have the highest heart rate. They have a heart rate of 100 to 150 b/m. The average adult has a heart rate of about 60 to 70 b/m.

The difference in the heart rate is because of babies’ very high metabolic rates as they speedily and constantly grow. So, do not panic when you notice your baby’s heart rate is faster than yours but panic when yours is lower than hers.

17. Nappies Can Hide Other Surprises Too.

Everything is quite normal throughout the early stages of your baby’s life. But, if your baby girl still has discharge after six weeks or if your boy’s genitals remain swollen after a couple of days, then you should see your doctor.

Newborn girls can have a creamy white secretion or even a short period during their early days because they are also born carrying a few of their mom’s hormones. In addition, infants’ genitals may first appear slightly enlarged due to the additional fluid present in their bodies at birth.

18. Female Babies Get Their Period

 As a result, many female newborns lose their uterine lining, make some milk, and even experience a brief period. It can happen during the first 15 days after delivery; a whitish discharge from female infants that is odorless and possibly viscous is considered normal.

This is because the babies absorb hormones from the mother while they are still in the uterus. So they still need to filter through some estrogen after they are delivered. Newborns can also experience galactorrhea (milk discharge). Although frightening, there isn’t anything to be concerned about.

This dairy will naturally dry out since these substances are usually digested within two weeks. The baby’s body doesn’t make them. It’s crucial to avoid pressing on the infant’s breast to extract this milk because doing so can cause infections.

19. A Baby’s Cries & Gurgles Will Reveal Its Nationality

You might tell whether the infant is Spanish, American, or Nigerian from the cries & gurgles of the baby. Why? This is because, during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, the baby picks up the mother’s tongue.

20. A Newborn Baby Can Crawl

The “Breast Crawl.” It is the first instinctive act of the baby from birth. Within the first few minutes after delivery, if a newborn baby is placed skin-to-skin on his mother’s chest, the baby will move toward the mother’s nipple. Infants accomplish this by pushing upward with their arms or moving their legs like they’re stepping.

21. All Newborn Babies Can Have Enlarged Breasts.

This results from their exposure to maternal hormones while still in the womb. Once the baby is no longer exposed to such hormones, the breasts will shrink. However, the swollen breast lasts only about a month; the maternal estrogen represses.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you shouldn’t be worried about irregularities in your baby in the first few weeks of birth. Most of these irregularities are normal and will subside after a short while. However, you should see your doctor when these irregularities persist for over three months. 

It would be best if you had also read about some very interesting things about babies in the 3rd trimester and newborns.

 The baseline is that you should pay much attention to your newborn baby.

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