Amazing Things That Newborn Baby’s Can Do

At birth or within the first weeks, healthy newborns usually:

1. See objects 8-12 inches away (the distance from breast or bottle to mom’s or dad’s face). So smile often!

2. Can hear and may move their heads and eyes to hear or see something of interest, or turn their heads if their breathing is blocked (but sometimes not enough to prevent suffocation).

3. Can recognize their parents’ voices. I loved singing to my babies.

4. Can taste and smell and have shown preferences for their own mother’s milk and dislikes for strong, offensive odors.

5. Can pull back when pinched or pricked.

6. Can yawn and sneeze. So cute!

7. Have a startle reflex in which the arms and legs may shoot out or their body may stiffen when startled by a loud noise or other stimulation.

8. Have a rooting reflex in which touching the baby’s lips gets him or her to open its mouth for feeding, perhaps smacking lips, sucking and breathing excitedly.

9. Have a protective reflex in which their tongues push out any object in their mouths (such as pacifiers). This reflex is designed to protect them against choking.

10. Have a stepping reflex if held upright and a crawling reflex in which they appear to sort-of crawl when placed on their stomach.

11. Have a grasping reflex in which they tighten their little hands around a finger or other object.

12. Have a righting reflex in which when pulled up by the arms, they can pull their head up, despite a floppy neck.

13. Get a big kick out of faces, their own or other people’s, and may be able to imitate expressions a few days after birth.

14. Prefer the contrast of black-and-white patterns, especially the edges and in the shapes of bulls-eyes, diagonal stripes, faces or checkerboards.

Of course, your baby will be exceptional, but if you want to know what is usually too much to expect of other, more average babies one month or younger, they cannot or do not:

1. Smile on purpose (this takes about six weeks, though parents often swear it’s sooner).

2. See very far away (you’ll notice as baby’s eyes begin to focus further away).

3. Lift head up (maybe a bit by end of month, but little neck control yet).

4. Sit alone when put down in sitting position (at about 5-6 months age).

5. Eat any solids, and will choke if given them (feeding solids sometimes starts at about 4 or 5 months).

6. Drool (drooling may start at about 3 months).

7. Have teeth (rarely a newborn is born with a tooth, but most infants get first teeth at 4-12 months).

8. Hold, pick up or grab objects (by 6 months, though, you may be wishing for a baby straitjacket at the grocery store).

9. Beg, whine and cry for heavily advertised toys.

10. Watch TV not yet anyway!