- When you have a newborn baby
you are going to notice that at some stages in their day
they do things which seem a little strange.
When parents see these
they often become worried or concerned
and think that they need to do something
to help their little one.
Now, this can be extremely stressful for parents,
but it doesn't need to be.
In this video, I wanna help you with that
by sharing with you five strange behaviors newborns do,
and for each of these behaviors,
whether or not it's something you need to be concerned about
and what you do or don't need to do about it.
But before we cover what these strange behaviors are
that parents often get concerned about,
another area of parents get concerned about
is their child achieving developmental milestones,
so make sure you click on the free developmental checklist
in the description box below,
so you'll know what to be expecting
in your baby's first year of life.
So the first strange thing we're gonna talk about
often causes parents to worry
about their little one's vision.
What you will notice is that your baby's eyes
occasionally appear to cross,
or look in a different direction to the other eye.
This does not mean that your little one
has a vision impairment or a vision problem.
What it does indicate is that
their muscles are not yet strong enough
to hold them straight,
and they're still learning how to use their eyes together.
What you should notice is that your little one
might appear cross eyed for only fleeting periods.
It shouldn't be constant
and it should resolve by four to six months of age.
If you notice that your little one
constantly appears to be cross eyed,
or one of their eyes is turning in or out,
or it extends past that four to six month age range,
then it is important to go and get their vision checked.
The second strange behavior
that often causes parents great concern
and leads them to think that
their little one is having a seizure
is when they see their little one
suddenly throw back their heads
and their arms and legs out to the side
and then bring them in and start to cry.
Now, this movement in itself can be quite severe,
and it can be scary when you see it for the very first time,
but what parents are seeing is actually the startle reflex,
or the Moro reflex.
Now this is a normal neurological response
that newborns have in response to a loud noise,
sudden movement, bright lights, or a strong smell,
and this typically resolves gradually by four months of age.
Another strange thing that parents will often notice
with their newborn is that
their hands and feet are extremely cold.
Now for us as adults, when our hands and feet are cold, it generally means we are cold too.
But for newborns, extremely cold hands and feet
is quite normal,
and it's not a sign that they are cold.
Rather it's an indication that their body is still growing,
and they have a little bit of an immature circulation system
which will improve over time.
Another strange behavior,
which often leads to parents becoming extremely concerned
that their newborn is getting sick
or has an allergy is sneezing.
Now, newborns sneeze a lot,
and they're not sneezing because they're getting sick
or because they have an allergy.
Rather it's protective reflex that they have
to clear out their nasal passage
when it's become irritated by
some common irritants in the environment.
So that might be dust or fluff in the air,
or a strong smell.
Sneezing can also help to reopen
a temporarily closed nostril,
which happens sometimes when they are feeding
and their face is against the breast or the bottle.
That nostril temporarily closes,
and they sneeze to reopen it.
Parents also become extremely concerned when they notice
their little one's hands for the first time,
and what they see is their little one's hands are fisted
and those thumbs are resting inside the palm.
Now, this is a completely normal hand position
that you will notice in your newborn,
and over the next few months,
what you'll see is your little one's hands
will gradually start to open,
and those thumbs will come out.
We do want the thumbs to be out by three months of age.
If they are not yet out
that is an indication that you might need to go
and get them seen by an occupational therapist
or a physiotherapist to look at their hands.
But one way that you can help
to encourage your little one's hands to open up
and get those thumbs out is by doing tummy time.
Now, tummy can be extremely hard,
so if you want tips on how to make that
so much easier for your newborn,
then make sure you click on this video.
Remember to get that free PDF document
in the description box below,
and I will see you next week
where I'll share more parenting tips and tricks.
(bright music)