In every 3 seconds, somewhere in any part of the world, a baby is born. From a certain perspective, this is a really scary fact, but if you looked deeper, there’s no doubt that babies are the cutest little things ever and there’s no denying the joy they bring to their families and to the world. From the way babies recognizes a face to their first smile, here are some of the most interesting and unique fun facts you need to know that will help in understanding little ones better.
1. A Baby’s Eye Colour Can Change Over Time
Yes, you heard right. The color of the iris is determined by a protein called melanin. Humans have special cells in their body called melanocytes which travel around the body secreting melanin. If the melanocytes in the baby’s body secretes a little melanin, the baby will have blue eyes and if they secrete a little more, the baby eyes may turn green or hazel or they may even secrete a lot more and the baby will have brown eyes or in some cases they may turn very dark. This process can take between 6 months to 1 year so parents really cannot tell the true eye colour of a baby during this period.
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2. Babies Have Natural Instincts for Music
Apparently, babies are born with a natural ability to recognize rhythmic tunes and can instinctively respond to them. Their initial inability to move properly does not hinder in any way their ability to recognize and respond to music and popular research has it that they may even find music more engaging than speech.
3. Only Human Babies Smile
Now isn’t that the cutest fact. Only human babies have the ability to smile at their parents. Now tell my why you shouldn’t feel special when you have a baby and at some point, that beautiful new human being officially decides to gift you with a lovely smile.
4. Stomach Size
If you ever wonder why are babies fed often? That is because, the stomachs of babies can be compared to the size of a walnut. No wonder you have to feed them all the time.
5. Incredible Growth Rate
Babies grow at an incredible 1-1.5 cm every month and if this incredible growth rate is continued till adulthood, adult humans would reach an average 167 feet!
6. Babies are Born Without Kneecaps
Frightening, right? Well, apparently babies are born without kneecaps but have cartilage structures that resemble kneecaps and these cartilages are not fully developed until the baby is at least six months old. This is the reason why babies crawl with only their arms initially.
7. They Have 300 Bones at Birth
This is a bit mind boggling, considering that adult humans have 94 bones less. So where do all these bones go to as the babies grow up? They fuse together during growth.
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8. Newborns Have Natural Aquatic Instincts
There’s a biological term known as “Bradycardic Response” which causes the body of babies to naturally adapt to their environment when immersed in water. In this state their heart rates slow down and they instinctively hold their breaths underwater. It is even more fascinating that just like fish they can swallow and breathe at the same time for the first few months after they’re born. This ability is learned in womb and later lost around the sixth month after their birth.
9. Babies are Born with Self-awareness
This awareness helps them recognize the difference between their bodies and those of other people around them. You can run a mini-experiment by drawing a red dot on their forehead (red, because red is the first colour a baby recognizes) and standing with them in front of a mirror. If they try to remove the red dot then they are self-aware.
10. They are Always Sleepy
In the first year alone, babies have around 3,336 naps and they also tend to urinate every 20 minutes until their bladders begin to develop. No wonder napkins had to be invented.
11. Newborns do Not Shed Tears
Wondering why babies do not shed tears when they cry? Little ones can cry, scream or any other thing but tears cannot be released or created for about 3 weeks. That’s because at this point, their tear ducts haven’t been fully developed.
We hope you enjoyed reading these intriguing and fun baby facts. If we have missed some baby facts, please tell us by commenting below.
This content is in association with Babies Are Beautiful.
