We enter the world as helpless little things. Every touch, smell and sound is a strange and terrifying experience. Newborns must learn to navigate the outside world quickly.
If you’re an expectant parent, you may be interested to know exactly how your little one will develop as soon as they enter the world.
Here are the physical, cognitive and emotional developments that all newborns go through within their first month of life.
Physical Development
Newborns go through various stages of physical development as soon as they are born. In fact, it is more like they are continuing their growth in the womb in the outside world.
Now that they are no longer in a confined space, they can truly grow to their full potential. Here are the typical physical milestones for a healthy newborn baby.
Reflexes
From birth, babies are already genetically programmed with a range of survival skills that allow them to quickly adapt to their new environment. These include the rooting reflex, which helps them to find food (i.e. breast milk).
They do this by turning their head when their mother touches their cheek. It is a biological signal that tells them where they can find nourishment.
This is one of the first few signs of a newborn’s healthy physical milestone. Another survival skill is the grasping reflex. This allows them to hold onto objects when placed in their palms.
These natural reflexes typically disappear as the baby learns to move their own body in a more voluntary way.
Growth Spurt
Babies grow fast as soon as they exit the womb. Due to the high amount of growth hormones still in their bodies, this is normal.
Rapid growth spurts are all part of their physical development. You may think nothing much will change just within 28 days or less, but if you keep your eyes open, you may be surprised.
In the first month alone, a newborn can put on between 142 to 170 grams of weight per week. Their height also increases, growing anywhere from 3 to 4 centimeters.
Your newborn will have to feed multiple times a day as a result of their energy requirements. Thanks to the nutrient-rich contents of breast milk, they’ll have everything they need to accommodate their rapid growth spurts.
Cognitive Development
As their brains are still growing, a newborn’s memory, attention and executive functions have not yet developed. They still primarily navigate the world in a confused and disoriented way.
This is how infants progress through their cognitive development during the newborn phase.
Sensory Learning
Newborns learn about their new world through the most basic of means: their senses. Responses to external stimuli give them the foundation for more complex interactions.
But for now, their brains are still getting used to the sensations around them: sound, sight, smell, taste, temperature, touch etc.
Cognitive development in newborns might start off in the most simplest ways but quickly picks up speed just within the first month of life.
They soon develop basic skills that enable them to interact with their caregivers and surroundings. For instance, newborns quickly develop a preference for certain tastes such as sweet over bitter.
They also tend to prefer the sound of familiar voice, such as the voice of their mother and father. Even though they do not know exactly what is being said, listening to the sounds still lays important groundwork for language development later down the line.
That is why it is important for parents to talk to and interact with their baby even if your little ones don’t understand you.
Give them plenty of opportunities to explore their sensory environment, making plenty of time for bonding too.
External Stimuli
Just as they are drawn to certain sounds and tastes, so do newborns become interested in the things around them. They may stare at a glittering object for long periods of time.
Or they may look at their parents’ faces when they’re talking. Their growing brains are still trying to figure out what is happening. At only a few months old, they are not yet self-aware, in that they do not yet know they exist.
As their memory is still in the infancy stage, they still have trouble understanding things like object permanence. This is where you know the object continues to exist even if you don’t see it anymore (such as when putting it away, or hiding it).
This is why babies cry when their parents go out of a room, for instance. They do not yet grasp the idea that when something is outside their line of sight it does not mean the thing is gone forever.
Emotional Development
Just like with their physical and cognitive development, babies do not yet have vast and intricate emotional worlds.
Their feelings are often very rudimentary and simple. as they grow, they will continue to understand more complex emotional states.
Until then, here are the emotional milestones that every newborn goes through.
Basic Emotions
According to one study, newborns can experience anger, joy and fear. They found this by studying their facial expressions and other biomarkers like heart rate and breathing.
Just like with sensory learning and reflexes, these small beginnings lay the important foundation for more complex and diverse emotional responses as your child grows.
Newborns can, of course, feel other emotions such as discomfort (such as from a full diaper or from hunger) and disgust (from some unpleasant taste or smell).
However, these are still considered simple emotional reactions. Moreover, as babies are not yet taught or rather cannot learn proper self-soothing methods, they still are not able to properly emotionally regulate themselves.
That is why it is important to always be there for them when they are in distress. Otherwise, they may experience negative consequences later in life. Studies show that study who cry a lot have lower IQ when they grow up.
This is probably one of the reasons that ferberising is discouraged until after 6 months old. At this vulnerable newborn stage your child still needs plenty of reassurance, security and comfort.
New Beginnings
The first year of life is a period of remarkable growth and transformation for infants.
Early and foundational milestones such as reflexes, sensory learning and basic emotions, set the groundwork for more complex developments in later years.
Now that you are equipped with these basics, you’ll have all you need to help guide them through every stage and age, one baby step at a time.
You’ve got this, my fellow parents!
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Mamahood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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