25 Reasons Babies Rock
1. They survive with holes in their skulls
You know those soft spots on baby’s head? There are actually two “holes,” one at the back of the head and the other at the top, called the fontanels. Baby’s skull isn’t fully united at first so he can make that trek down the birth canal. The soft spots are a little freaky in the beginning, but they close up — the one at the back within two to six months and the one on the top by about 18 months.
2. They can turn a cynical person into a pile of mush
You might have a friend who’s the most stoic person ever. But when he meets your baby, he’s oohing, aahing and busting out his high-pitched voice with the rest of us.
3. They have incredible brains
During the first few years of life, an infant’s brain nearly triples in size. Not only is your baby’s brain going through a weight growth spurt, it’s filled with 100 billion neurons, able to soak up knowledge like a sponge. As your newborn develops into a toddler, you’ll see his super brain learn language, motion and emotion in a heck of a short time frame.
4. They’re easily amused
Take advantage of this time before your baby becomes a preteen and starts rolling his eyes at you every chance he gets. Simple things like peekaboo or making silly noises will get him laughing or kicking his legs in glee.
5. They explore everything mouth-first
Touch is the first sense baby develops, and it’s very acute — especially in baby’s mouth. By one month of age, babies can get a mental picture of the things they’ve put in their mouths.
6. They’re mama’s boys (or girls!)
During the middle of pregnancy, baby can start hearing things in the womb. New research shows that when they’re born, babies already recognize their mother’s voice and can distinguish it from others. So baby loves you first (and probably best).
7. Their transition from slothy blob to walker is fast and furious
One day, baby is a blob who doesn’t do much more than flail. About a month later, he can lift his head. At five months, he’s rolling over. By seven months, he can sit up on his own. And as early as eight months, he can stand. Magically, at 13 months, he may begin walking. (And in the decades we’ve been alive, most of us still haven’t figured out how to juggle!)
8. They have adorable smiles
Babies start smiling at about two months old. And that will brighten up any bad day.
9. They grow exponentially
Your eight-pound baby may have measured 20 inches at birth, but by the time he’s four months old, he’ll likely gain up to six pounds, as well as more than four inches.
By age six months, babies are typically double their birth weight, and by one
year, they’ll have tripled it!
10. They smell ridiculously good
New-baby smell should be bottled and sold as a pricey perfume.
11. They can make a mess and get away with it (sorta)
Have you ever seen photos of kids destroying things? Maybe flushing some family heirloom down the toilet or getting in the mud with your dog? Whatever it is, they make a whole lot of messes. And even if baby draws with permanent marker all over your new white couch, you’ll forgive him pretty quickly.
12. They quickly teach themselves how to see
Baby’s vision will go through a lot of changes during the first month. Babies are born with peripheral vision, but they’ll have the ability to focus on specific things by one month.
13. They’re comedians
How many YouTube videos have you seen of babies doing funny things? Some of those videos have more views than our favorite stand-up comics’ clips.
14. They make you see the world through rose-colored glasses
Your baby burped four times this morning? Rocked on all fours almost making it to a crawl? In your previous, prebaby life, those things may not have seemed like such a big deal, but now, they’re completely amazing,
15. They have impressive metabolisms
As hungry as you get, you probably don’t eat every two hours — and definitely not throughout the night. Babies can, and do — having about 12 meals a day in the first few weeks, even waking from sleep to do so. Don’t worry — baby will eventually space out those feedings. (And you’ll sleep more. We promise.)
16. They inspire you to thank your own parents
Now you know what it’s like on the other side, and very little about it is easy.
17. They’re chatterboxes
At infancy, he communicated primarily by crying, but by 24 months, a baby’s vocabulary may reach 50 words or more.
18. They turn adults into blubbering idiots
Put baby in front of almost any adult, and with one smile or coo, the grown-up will likely be reduced to baby talk. We’re not sure how babies hold such power over us, but Swedish scientists did find that smiles are contagious.
19. They can have dual personalities
One minute they’re smiling and giggling. The next they’re throwing an apocalyptic tantrum. Talk about mood swings!
20. They have superstrength
Babies learn how to grasp by three months, and once they have a hold of something, it can be difficult getting them to let go, especially if it’s the long hair of an innocent bystander (yowch!).
21. They get you some good perks
If you’re holding a cute baby, you just might find that you get away with more (see number 2), like jumping a long line at the grocery store or getting offered that last empty seat on the train.
22. They work magic
Kind of like Houdini, babies have the amazing ability to get into things you’d never have expected. Turn your back for a second and your incredible little infant has crawled into a cabinet or swallowed a penny hidden in the deepest crevices of your couch. (So be sure to baby-proof!)
23. They get away with not having any manners
Anyone who’s not a baby would never be able to grab someone’s boob in public or fart without excusing herself. We already know that babies can practically get away with murder (see number 11), but the stuff you’d never even think of attempting? Baby can do that.
24. They’re resilient
When they’re first starting to walk, babies take tumbles all the time. And sometimes you’ll be shocked at how he gets back up without so much as a tear.
25. They make your heart grow a thousand times bigger
Okay, so it’s corny. But doesn’t having a kid make you feel even more love than you ever thought you were capable of?
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