what your baby can see, hear, taste and feel

Newborn babies can see, hear, taste, smell and feel. They can move their arms and legs (though they cannot control the movements) and they can suck!

They let you know how they are feeling and what they need by crying. Usually when a newborn cries, the best thing to check is if they are hungry or need their nappy changed and if they need to be held and comforted by you.

seeing

Your baby can see quite well at birth, especially things that are close.
She will be able to see your face and will soon learn to recognise you.
She will be able to see objects that are further away, but they will be blurred. Her distance vision will develop over the next few months.
Babies can see different colours, but as they do not understand colours they may like simple shapes, each in one colour.
In the first few weeks, a baby’s eyes often cross, or wander in different directions some of the time.
By the age of three months the eyes should be lined up so that they both look at the same object.
If a young baby’s eyes are turned in or out most of the time, or if a baby over three months old has turned eyes, the baby needs to have her eyes checked.
Some babies and young children have turned eyes some of the time (more often when they are tired or unwell). These babies should also have their eyes checked.
Babies’ eyes may change colour and you may not know what colour their eyes will be for several months.

hearing

Your baby has been hearing since well before birth. She is familiar with your voice and the sounds of your household.
Soft noises often help calm babies while sudden, loud noises startle them.
Babies seem to like high voices and animated faces.
Your baby can hear voices, but she cannot understand any words yet. Talking to your baby from the time that she is born will help her start to understand that sounds make words and have meaning.
Listen to your baby’s noises and sounds and copy them. When you copy your baby it is like saying “I can hear you” and a way for you to start to teach your baby to talk.

smell and taste

Babies are born with senses of smell and taste. They know the smell and taste of their mother’s milk, and they may refuse to drink if the milk tastes different.
Babies can tell different tastes such as salty, sweet, sour and bitter.
They don’t like unpleasant tastes such as some medicines.
They do not need salt or sugar on their foods when they start eating solids.
Babies should never, ever be given any drugs or medications before checking with your doctor.

feeling

Babies are sensitive to touch and can feel pain from the time they are born.
Touch your baby in a gentle, caring way and they will feel loved and cared for – and settle better.
Nappy rash is very painful for babies, and they will be quite unsettled.

moving

Most of a baby’s movements are random and the baby is not able to control them at first. These are called reflexes.
Babies arms stretch out and their backs arch and their heads go back – this is the ‘startle’ reflex.
Babies also grip things that are put in their hands – this is the grasp reflex. These reflexes decrease over the first few months as they get more conscious control of their movements.
When something touches her face she will turn towards it (the rooting reflex) and she will suck on it. Sucking is a reflex too; your baby will suck on things that are put into her mouth. Some babies will even be sucking their thumbs when they are newborns. Babies need to suck so that they can survive.
Babies also have a ‘tongue thrust’ reflex. When something is placed in their mouth, they will, in the early months, tend to push it out using their tongue. This often happens when they start on solids. It does not mean that they don’t like the taste of the food; it is because they need to learn to control their tongue.
Most babies will start to smile by the time they are around six weeks old, and will be able to move their head a little.

quick tips

Every baby is different – even in the same family.
Watch and learn from your own baby.
Babies grow and learn faster than they will at any other stage of life.
Take time to enjoy the new things your baby is learning and doing.

Always ask for help if you have any worries about your baby.