Newborns don't "think" about kisses consciously but experience them as powerful physical sensations that trigger bonding, safety, and contentment, releasing oxytocin (the love hormone) and reducing stress, building secure attachments, and laying groundwork for future emotional health, even if they don't grasp the meaning of a kiss yet. They feel love through touch, smell, and sound, associating kisses with comfort, warmth, and their needs being met, responding with coos, smiles, or calm.
They do understand a kiss as a sign of affection, though some kids this young are comfortable with a kiss and some are not. Some might feel better showing affection with a hug, a wave or a babyish, ``I love you!''.
Babies are highly receptive to non-verbal cues from their parents. Communicating love can involve maintaining eye contact, gentle caresses, holding, and, yes, kissing. These non-verbal gestures create a sense of safety, comfort, and love that resonate deeply with babies.
The hardest week with a newborn is often considered the first six weeks, especially weeks 2-3, due to extreme sleep deprivation, constant feeding demands, learning baby's cues, postpartum recovery, and a peak in inconsolable crying (the "witching hour"), making parents feel overwhelmed as they adjust to a new, exhausting routine. While the first week is tough, the challenges often intensify as the baby becomes more alert but still fussy, with major developmental hurdles like cluster feeding and increased fussiness peaking around 6-8 weeks.
The short answer is to wait until the baby is 3 months old. The longer answer is as follows: The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) generally advises parents and siblings to avoid kissing newborns, especially on the face, for the first few months of life due to their still-developing immune systems.
These guidelines emphasise: Hand Hygiene: Always wash your hands before touching a baby. Avoid Kissing: Refrain from kissing a baby unless you are their parent or main carer. Even then, avoid kissing if you're unwell.
The 2-hour rule for babies means they shouldn't stay in a car seat (or travel system seat) for more than two hours at a time, whether in or out of the car, because the semi-upright position can strain their developing spine and restrict their breathing, increasing the risk of low oxygen levels, especially for newborns and preemies. For long journeys, parents should take breaks every two hours to take the baby out, allow them to lie flat for a while, stretch, and feed, ensuring they get proper head/neck support and circulation.
The 5-3-3 rule is a loose guideline for structuring a baby's sleep schedule: 5 hours of wake time before the first nap, 3 hours of wake time before the second nap, and 3 hours before bedtime.
It can last a few minutes to a couple of hours. For most babies, the witching hour starts to occur around 2-3 weeks and peaks at 6 weeks. It will typically completely resolve by 3-4 months.
Here are six sweet indicators that you've won your baby's heart completely:
The 7 key danger signs for newborns, often highlighted by organizations like the WHO, are not feeding well, convulsions, fast breathing, severe chest indrawing, lethargy/unconsciousness (movement only when stimulated), high or low temperature, and jaundice (yellow skin/soles) or signs of local infection like an infected umbilical stump, requiring immediate medical attention.
That wide-eyed, round-mouthed “O face” your baby pulls isn't just for dramatic effect—it's actually part of newborn talking. This funny little expression usually means your baby's intrigued, alert, or trying to make sense of what they're seeing. It's their way of saying, “Whoa, what's that?”—without the vocabulary.
Separation anxiety, on the other hand, can cause much longer phases of clinginess. According to the AAP, many children begin having some feelings of separation anxiety around the time they're 8 months old, with the phase peaking between 10 and 18 months and mostly resolving by the time a child turns 2.
Staring at you, copying you, drooling on your cheek: all infant signs of affection. Just because your child is too young to say words at this age, it doesn't mean they can't say “I love you” in some other way. Their actions and ways of showing love may even be better than hearing those three little words.
They use you as a shield.
Don't be surprised if your baby buries their head in your chest when someone new appears on the scene. "Stranger anxiety" is a normal phase, and turning to you for protection means your baby loves you and trusts you to keep them safe.
The 40-day rule after birth, often called confinement or "The Golden Month," is a widespread cultural tradition emphasizing a mother's deep rest, healing, and bonding with her newborn, with family often handling chores and visitors, promoting physical recovery (like stopping bleeding) and mental well-being, rooted in ancient practices from Asia, Latin America, and religious traditions like Judaism and Christianity. Key aspects involve nourishing the mother, sheltering her from stress, and focusing solely on resting and bonding, a stark contrast to Western pressures to "bounce back" quickly.
Why Does SIDS Peak at 2-4 Months? The widely accepted explanation for the SIDS peak has to do with the timeline of brain development. “Up to 4 months old, the part of the brain that controls breathing and wakefulness is under a lot of development,” Juliet explains.
Babies start in 'active sleep' (with faster, uneven breathing) and move into a deeper sleep after about 20 minutes. That's a good time to transfer them into their sleeping place. Many babies don't like being put down into a cot.
Never leave your infant alone in the home—even for a minute.
Newborns should get 14–17 hours of sleep over a 24-hour period, says the National Sleep Foundation. Some newborns may sleep up to 18–19 hours a day. Newborns wake every couple of hours to eat. Breastfed babies feed often, about every 2–3 hours.
Never shake your baby, whether in play or in frustration. Shaking can cause bleeding in the brain and sometimes death. If you need to wake your baby, don't do it by shaking. Instead, tickle your baby's feet or blow gently on a cheek.
“It's important to consider, especially in the early weeks of a baby's life,” says pediatrician Camille Sabella, MD. “An infant's immune system doesn't mature until they're about two to three months old,” Dr. Sabella says.
For First Baby