10 Shocking Things You Might Not Know About Newborns
They are born with body hair. Some babies will be born with thick body hair called lanugo. This will eventually fall out. My baby even had a ridge of hair down the back of her ears that made her look like an elf!
A newborn's eyesight is not that great. They can look into your eyes, but they need to get very close before they can see any sort of detail, like eyes on a face. Their vision is blurry and they cant yet see color fully. For this reason, some people say that black and white patterns are best for the best kind of décor for newbies. Their vision will develop over the next couple of months.
Newborns have a remarkable sense of smell. Right now, they rely on sound and smell to interact with the world around them.
A newborn can, and should nurse right after being born. My daughter sought out a nipple and immediately started suckling within her first hour of life. Surprisingly, they associate the smell of amniotic fluid present on their hands with the smell of the nipple.
A newborn's face can change drastically over the next few months. My daughter had a very prominent eyebrow ridge when she was born. Over time it went away and her very hooked nose became a very cute, sloped, button nose! Their heads are generally misshapen from passing through the birth canal. Though even cesarean section newborns will experience some changes here. The bones that make up their skull isn't quite hardened, and there is a “soft spot” at the top of their head where the bones haven't joined together, leaving a space between them to facilitate movement during vaginal birth. This spot is referred to as a fontanel. It will take several months for their skulls to fully form.
A newborns eyes and hair are subject to change even months after they are born. Most babies are born with very dark blue eyes. Over time they will slowly turn their permanent color. Since this is such a gradual process, their eyes will change literally on a daily basis. This often holds true for hair color as well. For instance, some newborns will exhibit dark brown hair on their head, which later becomes lighter, even possibly turning blonde, months later.
Newborns poop may start out very dark brownish-green and sticky.This is called "meconium". This is processing out the nutrients they received while in the womb. However, once this passes, their poop will tend to look like mustard mixed with tofu, and not be very smelly at first; especially if they are fed breast milk.
Some newborns will have baby acne. They may exhibit little red bumps all over their face. The best thing to do is allow this to go away on its own. Their body is processing out excess hormones. My daughter even looked like she had white spots all over her nose. Its called milia...and its perfectly harmless. Its was explained to me that her “pores are still developing”. Again, this went away over time on its own.
After their first bath, they may be prone to “lizard skin”. This is because they were in a very wet environment for 9 months. Now they are being exposed to the air for the first time. In addition to this, they were born covered in a substance that protected their skin from bacteria and acted as a humectant. However this is washed away with their first bath, which is why it is best to wait before bathing them for the first time. You may have the urge to help the natural process along with lotions, creams, or other treatments. But it is recommended that you allow your child's natural moisturizers to kick in and they will start becoming more “baby soft” over a short period of time.
After their first few months of life, they have a 50% chance of developing what looks like a severe case of dandruff on the top of their head, called “cradle cap”.This is a natural and harmless process. If you would like to try to get rid of it, I have a very simple recipe that you can use to help it on its way HERE.
So as you can see, you are giving birth to an alien being with many odd and quirky traits! If you can make it through the first few months, they should “normalize” and shed their tentacles, revealing iconic, adorable little babies like you see in the movies!
