15 amazing facts about babies
This page contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small amount of money if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our articles and reviews are written independently by the Netmums editorial team.
Your baby isn’t just amazing in your eyes; they’re a tiny powerhouse, growing and developing at an incredible rate and capable of way more than you ever realised.
Be prepared to be blown away by your extraordinary bundle of joy ...
1 Their brain is on a growth spurt
Your baby has a lot of learning to do in their first year, which explains why their brain grows so quickly. In the first 12 months, it’ll more than double in size, and by the time they’re one it’ll already be 60 per cent of its adult size.
2 Their hearing is super-sensitive
Newborns may not be able to see well at first, but what their eyes lack, their ears make up for. They’re born with sophisticated hearing and can tell where in the room a sound is coming from. And that's a skill they have within 10 minutes of being born.
FREE NEWBORN NAPPIES
Need advice?
Our health visitors and nursery nurses are online Monday to Friday evenings to answer your queries on feeding, sleep and child health.
3 They have a great sense of humour
Babies have an infectious ability to find everything hilarious, from funny faces to dropping bits of food out of their highchair (again, and again, and again …). On average, they laugh about 300 times a day, compared to just 60 times for adults. Ah, if only we could bottle those giggles!
4 They're stronger than Tarzan
Newborns have such a strong grasp that when they grip onto your fingers, you could dangle them in mid-air and they’d be able to hang on like an Olympic gymnast on the horizontal bar. Not that we recommend trying this at home, though …
5 They can't cry
No, really! They might wail a lot, but when they’re born, babies don’t cry actual tears. Take a closer look next time they scream and you'll see for yourself!
Proper emotional teardrops only appear at around two to four months of age.
6 They can multitask
Ever wondered how your baby can get through a 30-minute breastfeed or down a whole bottle without pausing for breath? It’s because until they’re about seven months old, they have the ability to breathe and swallow at the same time.
Genius!
7 They can forage for their own food
The idea of a newborn being able to crawl may sound absurd, but if you lay a baby on their mother’s tummy as soon as they're born, they’ll instinctively find their way to the breast within an hour or so, using the smell of her milk to help them navigate.
Who needs SatNav?!
8 They have an amazing sense of taste
Adults have about 10,000 taste buds, mainly clustered on the tongue, but babies have around 30,000 spread all over the inside of their mouths. It makes weaning an intense experience, which is why they pull such a comical array of faces when they’re getting used to different flavours.
9 They can swim under water!
After nine months floating in amniotic fluid, babies are well used to being in water by the time they're born. In fact, they hold on to something called a ‘dive reflex’ - a survival skill that develops in the womb and means they instinctively hold their breath and open their eyes when they’re submerged.
That's why it's never too soon to start taking them swimming!
10 They're bonier than you
Weird but true: babies are born with about 300 bones, but by adulthood, they only have 206. As they get older, many of the bones in their skull and neck fuse together and become one.
11 But they don’t have kneecaps!
If you were to x-ray your baby’s legs, you’d see that they don’t have proper kneecaps. When they’re born, their kneecaps are made from soft cartilage, but as they get older and start bearing weight, the cartilage hardens into bone. So that’s why your newborn is so bendy!
12 They all speak the same language
When babies start to babble, they all make the same sounds, regardless of where they live or what language their parents speak. It’s only as they get older that they lose the ability to make the sounds that they don’t hear spoken around them, so if you want your baby to be multilingual, start early!
13 They grow so fast
The average baby will double their birth weight by six months old, and triple it by their first birthday. That explains why they’re always hungry!
14 They need your touch
Babies crave closeness, and for good reason! Studies have shown that babies who get lots of physical contact grow up to have better attention spans, memory and the ability to learn.
What better excuse for a cuddle - as if we needed one!
15 They love you from day one
Right from the start, your baby will recognise your voice, and prefer it to anyone else’s. They can also identify you by your scent, and their pupils dilate as soon as they’re born: a sign that they’re instantly besotted.
And we'll bet that the feeling is mutual!
