Fathers and mothers already know that newborns can actually remember their mother's voice which they often hear when they are in the womb, you know. How amazing, right? Want to know other unique facts about babies and their development? Check out this article, come on!

The birth of a baby not only brings a lot of happiness, but also a "surprise" for the parents who care for it. The surprise concerns new things that happen during the early days of a baby's life in the world.

Various Unique Facts About Babies and Their Development



Here are some unique facts about newborns and their development that you need to know:

1. Babies learn to talk from the womb

Babies can hear their mother's voice and other sounds outside the womb from the age of 23-24 weeks in the womb. In fact, for most babies, their mother's voice is their favorite sound. It's no wonder that newborns look happy when they listen to their mother talk or sing.

So, even though babies generally only start to be able to talk at around 1 year of age, actually they have learned to speak since they were in the womb by listening to Mother's voice.

2. Newborns cry without tears

Crying may be synonymous with shedding tears, but not in newborns. In fact, they have not been able to shed tears. So, when crying, newborns usually just moan and scream.

This is because the baby's tear glands are not fully developed, so they cannot produce enough tears to be released when crying. New babies will shed tears when they are more than 3-4 weeks old.

3. The baby's first stool is dark green and odorless

You don't need to worry if your newborn's stool is dark green or almost black. You see, this condition is very normal, really. The baby's first stool (meconium) consists of mucus, amniotic fluid, skin cells, bile, and lanugo (baby's fine hair), which the baby swallowed while he was still in the womb.

Usually, the first stool is also odorless because there are no bacteria in the intestine yet. Normal bacteria in a baby's gut just start to grow after he gets his first milk.

Within a few days after the baby feeds, the stool will begin to turn green, yellow or brown in color, with a denser texture and smell like normal feces.



4. Babies have more bones than adults

A newborn baby has 300 bones, while an adult has only 206 bones. A baby's bone count will decrease as he gets older because some of his bones will fuse together.

For example, early in life, a baby's skull is made up of three bones connected by cartilage. This is to make it easier for the baby to get out of the birth canal. Well, these bones will eventually unite and form one solid bone.

5. Newborns can only see clearly from a very close distance

The sense of sight takes longer to develop than the other senses. This is the reason why newborns can only see clearly objects that are 20–30 cm away from their faces. Beyond that, everything still looked like a faint shadow.

When a baby is one or two months old, a new baby is able to focus his eyes on a toy or other object that is placed in front of his eyes. When entering the end of the 3rd month or before the age of 4 months, then the baby begins to be able to see the shape and color of objects more clearly.

6. The size of the newborn's stomach is very small

At birth, the size of the baby's stomach is still very small, about the size of a walnut. This is the reason why newborns need to be breastfed frequently because they do not yet have enough space in their stomach to accommodate large amounts of milk at once.

In fact, even small air bubbles can take up space in the baby's stomach. Hence, the baby needs to be burped before and after feeding. Generally, a baby's stomach will continue to grow and develop rapidly until it is the size of a chicken egg when he is 2 or 3 weeks old.

7. The brain development of baby boys is different from baby girls

Although still being debated, research results show that baby boys' brains tend to grow faster than girls' brains in the first three months of life. It is also stated that the part of the brain that grows faster is the frontal lobe which controls body movements.

Meanwhile, newborn girls are known to have sharper senses. They can see and hear better than baby boys. Baby girls are also said to have better speech abilities than baby boys.

However, this difference does not mean that boys and girls are different. Baby's growth and development is still influenced by parenting, nutrition, and the interaction between the baby and the surrounding environment.



8. Newborns will sleep up to 18 hours

Most newborns spend more time sleeping. The sleep needs of each baby are not the same, but the average is around 15-17 hours per day.

A newborn's bedtime is erratic and he can sleep at any time. However, when a baby has started to learn to distinguish between day and night, it is usually easier for him to sleep in a place that has dim light and a quiet atmosphere.

Apart from the amazing facts above, there are many more unique and amazing things about newborns. For example, newborns cannot taste salt until they are 5 months old, have birthmarks, and prefer to sleep on their right side.

By knowing unique facts about babies and their development, it is hoped that every parent can better understand what happens during the first months of their baby's life in the world and the process of their growth and development.

If Mom and Dad find things that worry them during the process of their little one's growth and development or suspect that he has obstacles in his development, don't hesitate to consult a doctor.