Key points:
1. Babies often fall asleep in cars due to the vestibular system’s confusion between motion and visual stillness.
2. Babies cry when you leave because they lack object permanence until around 6-18 months.
3. Babies have innate swimming reflexes in their first 6 months of life.
4. Newborns have as many neurons as stars in the Milky Way, with synapse connections increasing in early childhood.
5. Babies recognize their caregivers through hearing, scent, and gradually improving vision, even in the early stages.
You surely have noticed that your baby can do many amazing things at such a young age. Babies are full of surprises! Read these interesting facts about babies and solve some of the mysteries that surround your little one!
5 facts about babies
1. If your baby is having trouble sleeping and you take them for a car ride, have you noticed that almost magically they fall asleep?
The reason for this is that the vestibular system (in charge of balance and spatial control) tells your baby’s brain that they’re moving. Since your baby can only see the inside of the car, the visual system is sending signals to the brain that they’re standing still. This confusion causes your baby to go to sleep. Even though this method is effective, it is not recommended because your baby probably won’t get deep, restorative sleep.
2. Have you ever asked yourself why your baby makes a scene every time you leave the room even if it’s just for a little while? Or why does Peek-a-boo amuse your baby so much?
This happens because your baby doesn’t understand object permanence yet. This means that if something is out of your baby’s sight, they will assume it doesn’t exist. “Out of sight, out of mind”, right? That also explains why separations are hard; your little one thinks you stop existing once you leave. As babies grow, they realize that their parents come back eventually. Babies gain the ability to know that something exists, whether it is in their field of vision or not, between 6 and 12 months.
3. Did you know babies have a natural ability to swim?
This is because, during the first 6 months of life, humans have two types of reflexes in the water. The first is the swimming reflex. That means that your little one moves their arms and legs in a swimming motion if you carry them in the water tummy-side down. The second reflex is the dive reflex that allows your baby to remain underwater longer than an average adult can; holding their breath and opening their eyes.
4. Have you asked yourself how many neural synapses your baby has compared to you?
On average, newborns have 100 billion neurons, that’s approximately the same number of stars in the Milky Way! The number of neurons remains the same in adults. However, the number of neural connections or synapses is higher when your child is 2-4 years old. The neural network is prepared to learn anything, like languages, playing instruments, and sports. When your kid becomes an adult, the number of synapses reduces to one-third of what they were because only the remaining ones were reinforced.
5. Have you ever wondered how your baby recognizes you if their vision hasn’t fully developed yet?
Before your baby is born (at around 7 months of pregnancy), they start hearing your voice, and that’s why they’re able to recognize you from day one! Also, your little one starts recognizing your scent after only 3 days of being born. Not only can they recognize your smell, but it’s their favorite one too! Babies can also recognize what their mothers or caregivers look like! Even if, at first, they see blurry shapes, in normal light they can see very near objects pretty well, so they can see the face of the person that’s feeding them!
Did you know these facts about babies? I’m sure you now understand a little bit more about your little one, how they experience some things in the world and how special this stage is for them!
2 Responses
My baby of about 8mknths plus hardly sllep at night,but when she finally sleeps,she doesn’t sleep for long say about 10 to 15 minutes…
Secondly,she will be forced to take her meal at anytime her mother wants to feed her…
What can be done to correct this… Or it’s a normal process for toddler as they grow?
Thanks,
Best regards.
Hi, Solomon! Have you already established a bedtime routine? This will help your daughter to relax, know that it’s time to sleep, and to prepare for that transition. Put her to bed at 8:00 pm and try to do so while she is still awake. This way, she’ll learn to fall asleep alone and, if she wakes in the middle of the night, she might rock himself back to sleep. You must be exhausted! Remember that this is temporary and that if you reinforce the bedtime routine, your baby will learn to sleep through the night =) We have a few articles in our catalog about sleep and how to get your baby to sleep for longer periods of time during the night. Check the “Sleep” section of our blog to find out more!