10 Interesting Facts About Babies – Part Two

Are you ready to learn some more amazing facts about your little one? In part one, we revealed 10 fascinating facts about your little miracle. We discovered that they know how to crawl the minute they’re born and more bizarrely, that they grow a moustache in the womb! Missed out on the first part? Don’t worry, you can catch it here. 

So what other interesting facts about your baby does part two have in store? Read on to find out…

1. Babies Have Their Own Unique Cry

All babies sound the same when they cry right? Wrong! It turns out, each infant has their own unique cry that their mother is capable of identifying. So, say your little one was in a room full of other babies and they all started to cry – you’d be able to identify which baby was yours by their cry alone.

This is something you largely associate with animals. In the animal kingdom, mothers are able to distinguish their infants cries in case they go missing. It’s easy for baby animals to get lost and wander off. However, humans don’t have the same evolutionary need. Our infants can’t just get up and walk away. So, the reason why we are able to distinguish between our own babies cries and somebody else’s isn’t clear. However, it is a pretty cool fact to know!

It’s not just mothers who can identify their own infants cry either – dads can do it too! Research has shown fathers are just as capable of identifying their child, provided they are spending at least four hours each day with them.

2. A Baby’s Eyes Are Already 75% Of Their Adult Size From Birth

When your little one is born, their eyes are already nearly fully grown. They measure around 75% of their adult size. That’s why you often notice people commenting on an infant’s “big beautiful eyes”.

However, while they may be large, they cannot see as well as you can. Up until the age of around six months, a baby’s vision is said to be approximately 20/400. It is only after six months they can develop 20/20 vision.

3. Babies Can Identify Between Good And Bad Behavior

It’s a common belief that children learn good and bad behavior from their parents. However, research has blown this theory right out of the water, claiming that babies are actually capable of determining good and evil behavior from the age of six months.

Results showed six month old babies were capable of making their own moral decisions, leading experts to think we are actually born with a moral compass. The research was carried out using puppets. One was shown as being helpful and good, while the other was shown to exhibit bad behaviour. When the babies were given the choice of which puppet they wanted afterwards, a majority 80% chose the good puppet.

4. They Can Sense Each Other’s Feelings

You probably already know that if you’re stressed out, your little one is too. That’s because they are capable of sensing other people’s feelings. It’s not just yours either – they can also sense how other babies feel.

It only takes a few months for infants to be able to tell the difference between happiness and sadness facial expressions. However, it’s not until they’re nearly a year old that they can actually sense how people feel.

What’s most surprising however, is the fact that they don’t just sense it – they actually care about others feelings too.

5. Babies Can Only See In Black And White

This is likely one of the most surprising facts you’ll come across. I don’t know about you, but I assumed all babies saw what we saw – in bright beautiful colors. After all, isn’t that why most baby toys are created in bright, colorful designs? Well, apparently not!

During the first week of your little one’s life, all they can see is various shades of grey. It actually takes months for your little one’s eyesight to develop fully. However, after that first week they will start being able to determine yellow, green, orange and red.

6. Most Babies Have Birthmarks

Birthmarks are often said to be quite rare in babies, when in fact the opposite is true! It’s actually rarer for a baby to be born without any birthmarks at all. It’s estimated that 80% of infants are born with some kind of birthmark, with most of these made up of port-wine stains and stork bites.

7. Your Baby Could Heal You In The Womb

One fact that’s going to make you love your little one even more is that while in the womb, they have the power to heal you. If you develop any organ damage, your baby can direct stem cells to repair it. Now, before you start praising your little one, it’s worth noting that they likely aren’t consciously doing this. 😉

However, it’s still pretty amazing when you think about it.

You will of course, come across many sceptics claiming this is isn’t. However, it’s true that it does in fact occur, there just isn’t much research out there that looks deeply enough into the process.

8. Your Baby Cries In Your Accent

So here’s a strange one – your baby already has a little of your accent and it shows in their cry. It comes out as more of a pattern, which could explain why all babies have their own unique cries that their mother can identify over all others.

This was actually discovered by researchers from the University of Würzburg in Germany. They found that it is in the last three months of pregnancy that the baby develops their mother’s native tongue.

9. They Are Sleepier Than You Might Think

It’s well known that babies sleep a lot, though granted not as often as you might like! However, did you know that your baby will only be alert for approximately three minutes out of every hour? This becomes even less during the night time. So, the majority of the time your little one is just too sleepy to concentrate on anything – it’s a hard life!

10. The Heaviest Baby To Be Delivered Was 22lbs 8oz

Ok, so this last fact isn’t directly related to your baby, but it definitely deserves a mention! In 1955, a healthy boy was born in Aversa, Italy, weighing an eye-watering 22lbs 8oz! Let’s all take a minute of silence for the brave woman who gave birth to this not-so-little miracle!

Conclusion

So there you have it – 10 more amazing, interesting facts about babies you may not have known. Do you have any of your own little facts we haven’t mentioned? Share them below, we’d all love to hear them!