We may be a little biased, but we think babies are pretty awesome! Besides their adorable faces and their new baby smell, below are some surprising facts about babies that make them even more awesome in our book.
Babies have more bones than adults.
A newborn baby has approximately 300 bones, and a fully-grown adult has 206 bones. How is this possible?
When babies are first born, many of their bones are not yet fused together. So, what is considered one fully formed bone in an adult body may be several different unfused bones in a baby’s body. A perfect example of this is a baby’s “soft spot” at birth, otherwise known as their fontanelle. The areas of the skull that are soft in a newborn are areas where their skull has not yet fused together- making it even more important to protect a newborns head!
Babies can sometimes leak breastmilk after birth.
Seeing this for the first time in the hospital was freaky- to say the least!
Apparently, it is relatively normal. Because mother’s hormones are so high during pregnancy, sometimes leftover hormones can be circulating in baby’s bloodstream after birth. This excess hormone can cause the baby to leak breastmilk. Many people also refer to this as “witch’s milk”, and it will go away within two weeks.
Female babies can menstruate.
Similar to leaking breastmilk, some baby girls can have a “mini” period two to three days after birth.
Why is this?
You guessed it- hormones. An abrupt removal of mother’s hormones after birth can sometimes cause a small amount of discharge. Don’t panic, it is completely normal.
Babies can’t taste salt.
Because a baby cannot speak, there is no way to know this for sure. However, scientists have researched babies’ reactions to salt and there seems to be little correlation between salt and a baby’s reaction. This either means that the baby cannot taste the salt, or he just doesn’t care about it! Scientists say that the baby starts reacting to salt and therefore “tasting” it around two to six months.
Some researchers theorize that because of this, a baby’s exposure to salty foods during the 2-6 month time period can potentially affect future salt cravings. However, since these theories have not yet been confirmed, it is up to parents to decide!
Side note: The strongest reactions from a baby came from the sweet and bitter tastes- no surprise there!
Babies can swallow and breathe at the same time.
The larynx, or voice box, is higher up in the nasal cavity of a baby than in an adult. Because of this, it is possible for babies to breathe and swallow at the same time!
This may help partially explain why babies can get SO gassy. If they can both eat and breath at the same time, it makes sense there would be more gas bubbles getting swallowed into the stomach. This also may help partially explain why GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) is so common in newborns. If the anatomy is designed to allow open passages, then acid can more frequently reflux back up into the mouth.
Around four months of age, the baby’s larynx will start to move towards normal adult position.
Babies foreskins are used in cosmetics and facial treatments.
Although this is new to us and rather shocking, apparently it is nothing new to the skin care industry.
Because foreskin has powerful “fibroblast” cells that stimulate new cell growth, they are perfect for skin care products designed for anti-aging. Just one donated foreskin can make a million facial treatments!
Foreskin cells are also used to treat slow healing skin wounds like ulcers and burns. Pretty amazing!
Foreskin facial, anyone?
Quick Facts:
Only 5 % of babies are born on their due date- that’s low!
50% are born within one week of the due date, and 90% within two weeks.
The most popular day for babies to be born is Tuesday, followed closely by Monday.
On average, May babies are the heaviest.
Babies have a powerful sense of smell and can identify their mother's breast milk by scent.
Babies can only see about 15–18 inches away, which is the distance between a mother's face and her baby's face when breastfeeding (aww!).
Moral of the story: we think babies are cool!
Like, share, and comment below to let us know if you agree!
Jeri Ford, RN, BSN, CPN
Special thanks to our sources:
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