10 fun and amazing facts about newborns.

There are a variety of things that make newborns distinct little beings. I've rounded up 10 fun facts about newborns.

1 ) Babies cry with accents.  There is research to suggest that babies pick up their parent’s regional accents in utero and that is reflected first in their cries and then in their babble.  

2) Babies are born without knee caps.  They have structure of cartilage that will become their boney knee cap, but it doesn’t form until they are 6 months.  

3) A baby is born with about 300 bones, while most adults have 206. The bones in babies skull are not fused at birth which helps them to fit through the pelvis. Their skull bones will finish fusing around 18 months. Other bones will finish fusing closer to adulthood. 

4) Babies aren’t born smiling. When do babies begin to smile? Usually between 6-8 weeks of age.

5) Newborns have no tears. The don’t produce tears until about three weeks old when their tear ducts develop fully.

6) Babies may recognize melodies they heard in utero. There are some studies that suggest that newborns can remember things from in utero longer than was thought, including the melodies to songs they heard while in their mother’s womb.

7) Babies aren’t always born with the eye color they will permanently have. Babies' eyes change color the most over the first 6 months, but the color can continue to change for their first couple years of life. Darker skinned babies are usually born with brown eyes, while light-skinned newborns are usually born with blue or gray eyes. All eye colors will darken or change as a baby grows older.

8) Babies are born with about 70 reflexes at birth. These reflexes are involuntary movements in response to particular stimulus that helps them survive. The sucking reflex helps them breast fed from birth (and is developed in utero). Another reflex is the moro reflex which is also known as the startle reflex. The rooting reflex helps them find the nipple for breastfeeding; if you stroke your babies check or mouth they will turn their head toward your hand and open their mouth as though looking for a nipple.

9) The hormones of birth affect babies too. Because of this, newborn baby girls can have a mini period post birth. And both boys and girls sometimes lactate in the first few days postpartum.

10) Babies' bodies are not the same proportion as adults. At birth a newborn’s head makes up 10% of their total body weight.

What was the coolest thing you observed about your newborn?