We read a million and one baby facts in the lead-up to birth. There’s so much to learn when you’re preparing for that intimidating first leap into parenthood. But, every so often in your fact-seeking trails, there’s a tiny titbit of knowledge that surprises you.
We trawled the internet for some fascinating facts about babies that surprised us.
It’s not a necessity to know these facts in order to look after your baby, but some of them can explain a lot of curious questions that pop up in your head.
Read on, and we hope you learn something new today!
1. Babies have 300 bones!
With the adult human skeleton having 206 bones in total, babies trump us in numbers by having 94 more than adults! As babies grow, some of their bones actually fuse together to create bigger bones.
But, because of this growing process…
2. Babies don’t have any kneecaps!
Yes, their squishy little legs feel softer for a reason! This is mainly because baby bones consist of more cartilage than solid bone, and is generally more flexible than adult bone.
Their knees (through the early growing years) are very likely to take a bump or two with the ground! Think of it as a biological explanation as to why some toddlers can take a real beating to their knees and bounce right back up (whilst we might be feeling it again for the next week or two….) In summary, it’s more likely to protect them as they grow and start learning to crawl and walk.
Like mentioned above, their bones fuse together as they grow. According to Dr Eric Edmonds, babies develop their kneecaps between the ages of 2 and 6 years old (as referenced in this Healthline article)
3. Des faits sur les bébés- babies cry with an accent
It’s hard to believe that a baby has an accent even while they are crying. However, as it turns out, babies cry to the melody of their parents native tongue. Babies are often trying desperately to imitate their parents, and so this makes perfect sense when we think about it. Still, it’s difficult to imagine a French baby crying differently from an English one!
4. But, babies don’t produce tears when they cry at first
Newborns just haven’t quite developed the ability when they’re first born. However, they should start to produce tears within being 1 to 3 months old (according to Healthline)
5. Unnerving baby facts – babies go through an average of 3,360 nappies in their first year!
That’s a whole lot of nappy changes and wiped bottoms!
On average, babies go through about 8 nappies a day! It surely felt like a lot when you seem to be endlessly changing them, but I’m sure even you are surprised by that figure…
6. A baby’s stomach is the size of a walnut
According to this NHS article:
A new-born baby’s stomach is only the size of a walnut, so they need to feed little and often.
Now that feels ridiculously small. No wonder that babies have numerous more feeds through the day (and night!).
7. When a mother and baby look into each other’s eyes, their heartbeats co-ordinate in seconds!
Do you ever feel so connected to your baby that it’s a little bit scary?
Well, it turns out that when you are truly connected eye-to-eye with your little one, you actually begin to sync up! How sweet is that?
8. Wondering about using dry shampoo again to wash your hair? Cute baby facts: babies love your smell!
Babies developed their senses of smell and taste before they were even born. They will love the way that their mother smells naturally, and it might be one of the reasons that they tend to feel calmer and safer when their mum is holding them close.
Because of this, in the first few weeks of having your baby it might be worth avoiding any strong smelling toiletries!
9. September 26th is the most common birthday for babies
Now, you might need to do a little bit of maths to figure out why this one is the case. Count back 9 months from September 26th and…
Yup! That little baby is a slightly delayed gift after a very Merry Christmas. But could you have really asked for anything better?
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