What a Healthy Newborn Looks Like
Newborn babies
don’t usually look like the cute babies in diaper ads. Newborns’ heads are often more pointed than
round. Their skin may be wrinkly and reddish in color. This is normal.
In the center of
your baby’s head is a “soft spot” where the skull bones have not yet joined. This allows your baby’s
head to be flexible during the birthing process. The skull bones will grow together to cover this
spot as your baby grows. Meantime, the soft spot allows your baby’s brain to grow.
Sometimes there are dark red patches on the baby’s eyelids. They can also be on the
bridge of the nose or back of the neck. No one knows what causes these. They usually go away during
the first year.
Some babies are born bald, some have thin hair, and others are born with
thick, dark hair. For many babies, this first hair rubs off. For others, the color may change.
Eye color can also change after birth. Eye color is usually set by the end of the first
year.
The umbilical cord that is left on the navel at birth will drop off in five to 10
days. The place where it falls off will become your baby’s belly button.
Sometimes baby
girls bleed from the vagina. Sometimes boys or girls will have swollen breasts. They may even
produce a few drops of milk at birth. Hormones from the mother cause this. The discharge is harmless
and will soon disappear.
This content has been provided freely by CMC. Click Healthy Start, Grow Smart—Your Newborn for
your free download. Click GreatDad
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