Babies are born with all senses, but they vary in strength. Their sense of smell is one of the strongest, and will continue to get stronger for the first 8 years of their life. It's also an essential sense to help them feel comforted and promote the development of their other senses, especially taste and vision.
Vision is developing quickly but is believed to be the weakest of the senses. Motor skills develop as your baby's muscles and nerves work together.
And you, the parents, are their guides.” Some senses (such as smell and taste) are at their most powerful at birth, and hearing fully matures at 1 month, while sight develops gradually over the first year.
Most people find the first six to eight weeks to be the hardest with a new baby. And, although people may not openly discuss many of the challenges in these early weeks of parenthood (if at all), there are a number of common hurdles you may face at this time.
The first three months with your baby often seem the hardest. Sleep-deprived parents can feel overwhelmed, but that is normal and you will quickly learn how to read your baby's cues and personality. Don't worry about “spoiling” your baby at this stage. The more responsive you are, the more secure your baby will feel.
Of course, every baby is different, but many Moms find it's the first 6 weeks that are the hardest. Particularly once the novelty has worn off, visitors are dying down and Dad is back at work. This often coincides with a more alert baby that tires easily, is more prone to fussiness and colic and harder to settle.
Most babies naturally prefer the parent who's their primary caregiver, the person they count on to meet their most basic and essential needs. This is especially true after 6 months when separation anxiety starts to set in.
As a newborn, babies have no sense of themselves as individuals. Your baby thinks that the two of you are one and doesn't realize that the tiny hands and feet waving before them are their own.
They Are Trying to Communicate
As early as three months, babies learn to recognize their parents or primary caregivers. And there staring is their way to communicate. Babies can't quite interact yet for the first few months, so their staring is their way of communicating with you.
Baby's First Fears
Newborns have two fears: loud noises and falling. "Babies' brains and nerves grow rapidly in the first two years of life, but they are born with very immature nervous systems," says Dr. Brown.
Studies have found that newborns have a keen sense of smell. Babies like sweet smells and dislike acidic or bitter smells. This parallels preferences in taste. Within the first few days they will show fondness for the smell of their own mother, especially to her breast milk.
Babytalk | A baby's bond with its mother may start with the sense of smell. One of my favorite things to do is show mothers how their baby can smell them from as far away as 1 to 2 feet.
Do Babies Feel Love? In short, yes: Babies do feel love. Even though it will be quite a while before they're able to verbalize their feelings, they can and do understand emotional attachment. Affection, for example can be felt.
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) or Active Sleep
The vast majority of newborns' smiles during sleep appear to occur when the eyes are moving rapidly, as they would during a dream. Studies suggest that adults smile in response to positive dream imagery.
Your baby finds comfort in your arms
When an infant can be soothed by your voice or physical comfort, this is another way she shows she trusts you. Infants identify caretakers by sight, smell, and sound, and when any of these provide a level of comfort to a baby it is evidence of an established bond.
Only between about 3 and 7 months of age do babies start to show a strong preference or attachment for mothers, fathers or members of their own family in general.
Babies can tell who has close relationships based on one clue: saliva. Sharing food and kissing are among the signals babies use to interpret their social world, according to a new study.
By 3 months, they will smile back at you. By 4 to 6 months, they will turn to you and expect you to respond when upset. By 7 or 8 months, they will have a special response just for you (they may also be upset by strangers). Your baby may also start to respond to your stress, anger or sadness.
Genetically, you actually carry more of your mother's genes than your father's. That's because of little organelles that live within your cells, the mitochondria, which you only receive from your mother.
Only one pair, chromosome 23 determines the gender. Genetically, a person actually carries more of his/her mother's genes than his/her father's. The reason is little organelles that live within cells, the? mitochondria, which are only received from a mother.
They express and build trust and hence are good communicators. Moms encourage their sons to express their feelings and are quite patient to them. Compared to dads, moms are usually soft-spoken and good listeners. Moms not only nurture their children but they also take care of their homeworks, playtime and other things.
While it'll get easier with each passing day, you can expect caring for your newborn will be much easier by the time they're about 3 months old. As you're waiting with anticipation for when caring for your newborn gets easier, it's important to make sure you're taking good care of yourself.
Older parents are generally less at risk for depression than younger ones. Parents still in their early 20s appear to have the hardest time because they are struggling with their own move from adolescence to adulthood while at the same time learning to be parents.
Most babies will have a period of increased fussiness starting at around 2 weeks of age and usually peaking between 6-8 weeks of age. Although, this is a normal developmental stage for infants it can be very stressful for parents and caregivers.
Kissing your baby has a lot of emotional benefits. When a mother shows her baby love by kisses, hugs and the like, it shows the baby that being sensitive to others needs and feelings is important. This in turn can help them relate as well as interact better with those around them.