You and your baby discover a new world during her first few months. As she adapts to life outside your womb, you learn to parent, meeting her needs for food, sleep, comfort and care. MedlinePlus emphasizes the importance of well-baby visits in these early days as your baby goes through the changes of her early life.
Newborn
KidsHealth describes your newborn baby as looking as though he has "just been in a fist-fight." His bluish feet, swollen genitals and puffy eyes are the result of excess fluid in his body, and his head looks squashed or pointed. During his first weeks, this newborn appearance diminishes and his brain lays down pathways between his nerve cells as he learns new physical, sensory, language and social skills. He grows 1 to 1.5 inches every month.
Physical Skills
At first, your baby startles at sudden noise or light, roots for food, sucks strongly and grasps with her hand. During her first three months these reflex actions diminish as she matures and learns to open and close her hands, put them to her mouth, stretch and kick her legs. At three months she can prop herself up on her arms when lying on her stomach.
Sensory and Language Skills
Your newborn can see, hear, smell, touch and taste at birth. He sees in black and white and in the early days, his eyes may cross. During his first few weeks, he learns to focus, looking carefully at your face and following a moving object. He turns his head toward sounds and makes many noises of his own, including cooing and gurgling. He copies you when you put out your tongue and he begins to imitate your sounds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Social Skills
Your infant quickly learns to recognize your voice and turns to you when she hears you, calmed by your voice. She smiles at you, though her main communication is through crying. You may start to recognize her different cries and their different meanings. She makes eye contact with you, and by three months, she watches your face closely as you talk. She enjoys play and may cry when it stops.
Expert Insight
Your baby needs plenty of sleep in his early days: up to 16 hours a day, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. At first, he spends an equal amount of time in dreaming and in dreamless sleep. When he wakes, he cycles through different states of alertness. While fully active and attentive, he enjoys play, but when he cries or frets, he needs soothing, changing or feeding. You may find it hard to distract him with toys. In his second or third month, as his nervous system develops, his sleep changes to a more mature pattern. He dreams far less and when he wakes, he responds more readily to play and learning opportunities.
