12 fun facts you might not know about your newborn

So, you’ve got yourself a newborn baby… congratulations!

Mums often feel very daunted by the mammoth task of looking after a newborn the minute they leave the hospital and the care of the midwives. These little humans we create don’t come with a manual on how to raise them, but, they do come with some interesting facts that may help you feel like you understand them a little better…

1. Double in weight

By the time they reach 5 months, these little milk monsters will have doubled in weight! It’s the one time in life that rolls on thighs and wrists are adorable, am I right?

2. Menstruate

Your newborn daughter will most likely have a little mini period on day 2 or 3 of life. This is caused by the withdrawal of hormones that she was exposed in-utero. It’s totally normal and you can breathe easy knowing they won’t have another period for at least another decade.

3. Erections

When you’re pregnant with a boy it’s already weird enough knowing you are growing a little penis in there, but did you know that they can get erections while they in utero too?

Newborn boys will also have erections, on a daily basis. Most likely when you are changing their nappies. This, too, is nothing to worry about, as long as it goes down quickly and doesn’t make him uncomfortable.

4. Big eyes

Ever noticed the size of a baby’s eyes in comparison to their hands or feet? This is because they are already at 75% the size of their adult eyes.

5. No knee caps

Babies are born without the bony knee cap (patella) adults have. They have a soft piece of cartilage which fully develops by age 12.

6. More bones

Speaking of bones and cartilage, babies have many more bones then they will once they are adults. At birth they have 305 bones, some of which eventually fuse together to form the 200 bones that adults have. The majority of a baby’s skeleton is made of cartilage, which explains why young children seem to bounce better than adults!

7. Don’t cry tears

Up until 3 weeks of age a baby’s cry is just a sound.

8. Multitasking

They have the amazing ability to swallow and breathe at the same time! At around 7 months old they outgrow this.

9. May babies are the heaviest

Like some magical phenomenon, May babies on average are born 200 grams heavier than babies born on any other month.

10. Extra taste buds

Newborns are born with taste buds, not only on their tongue, but the sides of their mouth and the roof. Astoundingly though, they are unable to taste salt until they are around 4 months of age.

11. Lactate

Another strange reaction to the withdrawal of the hormones from being in-utero, it is not uncommon for babies of either gender to lactate. Sometimes called witches milk, it usually subsides by the second week of life.

12. Addictive smell

No longer the crazy, clucky aunt or friend… it has been scientifically proven that a newborn’s smell is addictive! It triggers the same reward circuits in the brain that comes from say, satisfying a food craving, or having sex.

So while we cannot give you a parenting manual, hopefully we have given you some insight into the life of a newborn.

Enjoy your precious bundle!

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