Newborn week 1

Your new baby comes into the world with an amazing set of built-in skills, designed to help her to survive.

• When you gently stroke her cheek, her head turns and she will get ready for your breast
• Place your breast in her mouth and she will start to suck and swallow
• If an object moves towards her face, she will blink her eyes
• Hold her under the arms, with the base of her feet just touching a solid surface and she will step as if walking
• If she hears a loud noise, she will throw out her arms and open her fingers as she arches her back
• When the bottom of her foot is stroked, her toes fan outwards and then curl.

All these reflexes disappear before your baby's first birthday, and most well before.

Seeing is believing

Almost from the moment they are born, babies prefer the sound of their mother's voice to anybody else's. This suggests that your baby listens to you while she's still in the womb.

She listens more when you talk to her directly. It's probably because you instinctively speak in a higher pitch voice and make eye contact.

Listen to this

Your newborn's vision lets her see what's important - you. Everything in the distance will be a blur, but your face just 20-25cm away is in perfect focus. Research shows that when she's recovered from the birth, a newborn will spend up to an hour just staring at your face.

Look at your baby

• When at rest your new baby will hold her hands in a fist position with the thumbs turned in
• Her fingers will fan outwards as she moves her arms around
• If you gently place your finger on her palm, your baby will grasp it very tightly
• A baby who has a wrinkled thumb when born has been sucking it in the womb.

Did you know?

• Your newborn baby has an incredible 'grasp reflex' - so strong she is able to cling on to your forefingers with her hands and hang in mid-air. But it's not a good idea to test this because the reflex action can fade very quickly, sometimes in just a few days.

Things to do

• After your baby has had her bath, gently kiss her tummy, toes and fingers. The gentle stimulation will help her to develop awareness of the different parts of her body.
• When your baby is awake, place her in different positions - on her back, tummy and sides. This gives her the chance to see the world from a fresh angle and to exercise different muscles.