From pregnancy through to early life, when does your baby start to develop their 5 senses?
We talk a lot about the importance of sensory toys, classes and activities to help your little ones develop and grow. Sensory development takes up a lot of early childhood, and there’s lots we can do to help them learn. But when does that development naturally begin? When will your baby begin to see, hear, smell touch and taste? And what will your baby pick up on their own?
We were curious, and we’re sure you are too, so we did a bit of research and this is what we found.
Sight
The development of sight begins within the womb. It may not be much, and it will be incredibly dark, but in your third trimester of pregnancy, your baby will start to be able to detect light and begin to make out shapes. According to Parents.com, They may even start to see their own arm and leg movement depending on your body type.
Once your baby is born, their sight still won’t be perfect. They will have incredibly blurry vision, as Newborns can only really see that which is around 10 inches away from their face. They also won’t quite be able to understand colours yet, seeing everything in different shades of grey.
However, their eyes adapt quickly, and by 2 months, they can see a further distance and will be able to see all the colours of the rainbow.
As their sense of sight continues to mature, babies will start to track moving objects and eventually develop depth perception. By 6 months, they can see objects in three dimensions and begin to understand spatial relationships.
Sound
According to Healthychildren.org, an unborn baby will start to hear noises around their mother’s body, (including their heartbeat) at around 18 weeks. About ten weeks after that, they’ll then start to hear some noises just outside of your body, like your voice. It explains why newborn babies find their mother’s heartbeat and voice so comforting, doesn’t it?
Unsurprisingly (as they start to develop their hearing as a fetus), babies are born with the ability to hear, but it’s not all there yet. Newborns can recognize their mother’s voice and other familiar sounds, but they won’t understand what you’re saying. They can also be easily startled by loud or unexpected noises (though this might still be incredibly relatable for us parents too…).
As their hearing improves, babies will start to turn their head towards sounds and respond to their name. By 6 months, they can distinguish between different tones, pitches and can even recognize simple words.
Smell
Your baby’s sense of smell will begin to develop around your third trimester of pregnancy, when they start to pick up on the smells of the foods you eat.
Newborns have a well-developed sense of smell and can recognize familiar scent- like their parents! Their parents’ scent is comforting, so you might notice them turn their head toward you and start moving their mouth (as if nursing), or simply to use you as a sense of comfort to stop crying.
Over time, babies become more sensitive to different scents and can differentiate between pleasant and unpleasant smells. By the time they are 6 months old, you should be able to notice them having preferences over smells they like and dislike.
Taste
According to this article by Baby Center, your fetus will start to develop their taste buds as early as 8 weeks old! But, even though this is when they start developing, they won’t be transmitting any tastes yet as the nerves are still in development. This will start to happen around 30 weeks however, when babies can start to taste the foods that are flowing in your bloodstream.
Newborns have a preference for sweet tastes, and they can differentiate between taste (mostly between sweet and sour). This may be a natural effect, as it often means that babies are drawn to breastmilk or formula. However, their sense of taste is not fully developed at birth, and it takes time for them to develop a taste for different foods.
It is recommended that babies are introduced to solid foods between 4 and 6 months of age, at which point they can begin to explore and develop their taste preferences.
Touch
Similar to their sense of taste, a fetus will start to develop their sense of touch at around 8 weeks old. It makes sense that touch is one of the first of the 5 senses to get your baby started, as it will be one of the first ways to connect them with you! Starting around their mouth, and then over the following weeks more and more of the head. By the time they are 14 weeks old, most of their head should have developed a sense of touch.
As so much development is done in the womb, a newborn baby’s sense of touch is highly developed at birth. They can feel different textures, temperatures, and pressures, and they use this sense to explore their environment. Touch is also an essential part of bonding and attachment between a baby and their caregiver. Through touch, a baby can feel comforted, safe, and loved.
During their first few months, your baby will be exploring different textures of foods and materials, and by 6 months, you’ll struggle to stop your baby from grabbing and exploring everything within reach. Their curiosity will known no bounds (and neither will their grip!)
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