Baby Bottle Rack Tree

Your voice is your baby’s favourite sound, and she’ll love to hear you talk and sing to her. It’s never too early to start reading to your baby, and the more words she hears now, the better her language skills are likely to be later on.

2. Babies are born with the ability to swim
Newborns naturally hold their breath when underwater, and even splash about with their arms and legs. If you take your baby to a swimming class you’ll see these innate talents in action!

Your baby can go swimming as soon as you like, but if you’re planning on taking her yourself, wait until after your six-week check. It’s important to make sure you’re healing well before going in the pool.

When you do go swimming with your baby, make sure that she doesn’t get too chilly. Choose a special baby pool with warm water, or try a baby wetsuit instead of a regular swimming costume.

3. Birthmarks are surprisingly common
About a third of babies are born with a birthmark of some kind. The most common type is a stork mark (pictured), also known as a salmon patch or angel kiss. This is a pale pink patch on your baby’s face or neck, which may appear more red when she cries. Stork marks usually disappear within six months.

Most birthmarks are harmless and will disappear on their own, though some can be a sign of a condition that needs treatment. If your baby has a birthmark, or any unexplained bumps or colouring on her skin, ask your GP to take a look.

4. Newborns are short-sighted
Newborn babies can only see clearly about 20cm to 30cm (8in to 12in) in front of their faces. Everything else is a blur of light, shape and movement. Fortunately, this is the perfect distance for your baby to gaze into your eyes as you feed her!

By the time your baby’s one month or two months old, she’ll be able to focus her eyes on a toy when you move it in front of her face. And by the end of the fourth trimester, she’ll be able to see close-up colours and shapes much more clearly.

Help your baby to explore her developing vision by showing her toys with bold patterns in bright, vivid colours.

5. Babies have more bones than adults
Your baby was born with about 300 bones. As she grows, many of these will get harder, and some will fuse together.

For example, the skull starts as three pieces of bone joined by cartilage, so that it can fit through the birth canal. This is why your baby’s head has soft spots. But these pieces eventually join to make one solid bone.

By the time your baby reaches adulthood, she’s likely to have just 206 bones in her body.

6. Breastfeeding takes practice
Babies need to learn how to feed from the breast, just as you need to learn how to help them latch on. This can make the first few weeks of breastfeeding tricky and uncomfortable, but it does get easier with time.

Babies have tiny tummies, and need to feed often at first. So if you’re breastfeeding, you’re likely to spend a lot of time with your baby at your breast in the early weeks. Be prepared, and remember that there’s plenty of support available.

7. Babies’ stomachs are surprisingly tiny
A newborn’s stomach is only the size of a hazelnut. This explains why very young babies need to feed so often – they just don’t have room in their tiny tummies to drink all the milk they need at once! It also means that even the smallest of air bubbles takes up precious space, which is why your baby may need winding during and after feeds.

Your baby’s stomach will grow quickly, reaching the size of an apricot by the end of the first week, and the size of a large hen’s egg by the end of two weeks. However, she’ll still need to feed at night until she’s at least six months old.

8. It’s normal for newborns to lose weight
Some breastfeeding mums worry that if their newborn loses weight in the first few days, it means they’re not getting enough breastmilk. This isn’t true.

In the first few days after your baby’s born, it’s normal for her to lose between five per cent and 10 per cent of her body weight.Most babies get back to their birth weight by the time they’re about two weeks old.

9. Baby poo changes over time
Your baby’s first poos are made up of a dark, sticky substance called meconium. After that, what you find in your baby’s nappy will depend on whether you’re breastfeeding or formula-feeding. One unsung benefit of breastfeeding is that it tends to make baby poo less smelly!

Try not to worry too much about how often your baby does a poo. It may be several times a day, it may be once every three days. The important thing is just to figure out what’s normal for your baby, and look out for any changes.

Our baby poo photo gallery may not be pretty, but it’s great for helping you work out what’s normal and what may need further attention.

10. Nappies can hide other surprises, too
Babies are born with extra fluid in their bodies, which can cause their genitals to be a bit swollen for the first few days. Baby girls are also born with some of their mother’s hormones, and this can sometimes result in a creamy white discharge, or even a mini period in the first few days.