How do children under one year old feel? How does a newborn baby feel? Breastfed baby: Love as imitation

The birth of a new person is the greatest miracle. Parents are ready to endlessly examine every feature of their baby’s face and be happy if he smiles back. But does the baby do this consciously? How do you know what's going on in that tiny head? When does a child begin to recognize his mother? Many parents draw a parallel between this ability and vision. But the possibilities of exploring the world are not limited to this.

A newborn baby does not immediately recognize his mother, but he learns this very quickly.

It has been scientifically proven that, while still in their mother’s belly, children already have a fairly developed nervous system. They can hear, but the sounds will be somewhat muffled. The mother's voice is perceived by the fetus during her pregnancy. Therefore, it is recommended to talk with the little person even before his birth. Already at this stage an emotional connection is established.

At first, the baby begins to recognize his mother only by her voice.

How many months will he be able to distinguish his native intonations from the world of foreign sounds? When does a child recognize his mother's voice? Depends on individual development. Most often - at three months. But there may also be deviations from the norm.

If a child does not respond well to sounds, and after three months does not turn his head when his mother calls him, you should consult a doctor. Perhaps the cause is hearing impairment.

How tasty and pleasant

In the first minutes of life, when the baby touches his mother, new sensations are added. Her smell, soft skin, warm milk make him happy. The little person recognizes his mother through tactile and taste experiences. For up to one month, he can search for the breast while in his grandmother’s arms. Then, when the newborn begins to recognize his mother, he will no longer confuse her smell with anyone. Some pediatricians say that his sense of smell develops very early. The baby begins to sense the smell of the closest person already on the third day of life.

You can use this feature to calm him down. A handkerchief dipped in mother's milk will do. It should be placed on the pillow next to the newborn.

An early developed sense of smell allows the baby to recognize its mother.

The world is beautiful

The most important moment comes when the little person is already following his mother with his eyes. No parent will doubt that the baby has begun to recognize him. Although vision is formed during pregnancy, in a newborn it has limited capabilities that develop gradually.

When showing objects to your child, you must hold them at a distance of 25 cm, no closer, right in front of your face. Otherwise, strabismus begins to develop.

Many people are concerned about the question: “How many months must pass before the mother begins to be visually recognized?” To do this, you can compare some data. Age is given in months.

• First second . Ability to briefly focus attention on large, close objects. The world is seen in black and white.
• Third . The gaze focuses on both near and distant objects. People have different facial features and bright colors (especially red and yellow). Binocular vision is finally formed - two eyes see simultaneously.
• Third fourth. Recognizing parents by their faces.
• Fourth fifth. Interest in moving objects. Tracking them.
• Fifth - sixth. The ability to distinguish basic colors and shapes, emotions and moods of others.
• Seventh – ninth. Identification of features of objects by shape, color, size.
• Eighth - tenth. Recognizing people who are often in the house.

After this age threshold, children clearly draw the line between “friend and stranger.” And the smile of a stranger can be answered with loud crying.

Summary

Now it is very easy to understand when a baby can begin to recognize its mother. This usually happens around the fourth month. And after another three or four weeks, her image becomes complete. Smiling, the baby sends greetings not to the whole world, but to the only person closest to him. He does this consciously. Although many women are sure that the very first smile of a newborn has its recipient. Who knows…

How does a child feel during the birth process? Childbirth is a major event not only for the mother herself, but also for the child. However, women are ready to talk for hours about “how I gave birth” in great detail, while for some reason losing sight of the experiences and sensations of their baby.

The first stage of labor through the eyes of a child: “The safe world has come to an end!”

The child is accustomed to his 9-month existence in his mother’s belly, where he is comfortable, pleasant, and at ease. He sees a dim light, hears a heartbeat, and most importantly, feels safe. Gradually, the safe little world becomes cramped; at a certain point, the walls of the familiar home begin to shake and shrink, expelling the tiny resident from his home.

Imagine your house is on fire or there is an earthquake. Would you be scared? Did you feel uncomfortable and insecure? So is the baby, he needs the support of his mother, who will give him strength and confidence in a successful outcome.

How can a mother help her child?

Even if you have to, try to calm down and not be nervous. As a result of negative experiences, your brain releases stress hormones - catecholamines, which are immediately transmitted through a chemical chain to the child, and he experiences the whole gamut of negative emotions. Agree that they cannot calm the baby down and improve his condition. Remember that usually childbirth last from the moment of the first contraction for at least 8 hours, so the first mild contractions are just the beginning and a simple rehearsal. There is just time and opportunity to remember and apply. If the contractions are not strong, do household chores, take a walk with your husband, the main thing is not to sit or lie, so as not to provoke stagnation of blood in the pelvic area. Move to improve blood circulation and provide oxygen to your baby. Be sure to stroke your tummy and talk to your baby. The soothing sound and tone of your voice will improve your baby's overall well-being.

The second stage of labor through the eyes of the child: The state of confrontation.

Now the real thing begins first stage of labor - contractions. You no longer doubt whether this is a training stage or whether labor has really begun. At the stage of contractions, mother and child become a source of pain for each other. Both experience feelings of fear, loneliness, pain, hunger, thirst, lack of oxygen and other possible negative emotions.

How might a child feel?

Imagine being wrapped in a tight cocoon from head to toe, being constantly squeezed by a huge vice. Terrible! During childbirth, the force that presses on the baby is about 50 kg, which is 15 times its own weight! The pressure is greatest on the baby's head, but the child still continues on his way and moves forward along the narrow, cramped corridor... into life!

How can a mother help her child?

Apply all the knowledge about how to relieve labor pain and how to alleviate your condition. P, which can partially relieve discomfort and help the child correctly enter the birth canal and move through it successfully, quickly and easily. If you want to hang on your husband’s neck, get on all fours, or bounce on a fitball, do so. The technique of combining movement, breathing and singing long sounds or songs helps a lot. This technique relieves pain and unnecessary tension, and as a result facilitates the dilation of the cervix and speeds up the birth process itself. Even if it is very painful and difficult for you, try not to forget about the purpose of your torment - think about the child, stroke your belly and talk to the baby. He also really needs your help and support.

The third stage of labor through the eyes of the child: The stage of cooperation.

At this stage of labor, pushing and the actual birth of your baby occur. It is in these moments that the child receives a “baptism of fire” and learns to fight for himself and win.

How might a child feel?

Imagine that you are moving through a very narrow and cramped tunnel, at the end of which there is not the proverbial light at all, but a tight and tight gate, which essentially needs to be pulled on yourself, and only then will it be possible to release a stiff neck, straighten and stretch out the compressed limbs and ...take your first breath.

How can a mother help her child?

At this stage, the mother needs to fully concentrate on breathing and tensing the abdominal muscles so that each new contraction is as productive as possible. The doctor and midwife will definitely help and remind you what to do and how to breathe correctly when pushing to help the baby be born as quickly and safely as possible.

The third stage of labor through the eyes of the child: Separation from the mother

This stage occurs immediately after the birth of the child.

How might a child feel?

The baby, gently pressed to his mother’s chest, feels safe again, hears the familiar sounds of his mother’s speech, feels her pleasant warmth and mother’s smell. At this moment, the baby is not alien to the feeling of joy, and the feeling of victory and achieving a goal.

How can a mother help her child?

A baby can get such emotions if he avoids unnecessary extremes: hanging by the legs, loud voices and screams, bright lights, a slap on the butt and other dubious greeting elements. After leaving the mother’s tummy, the baby should immediately appear on it, tasting the first drops of colostrum, feeling the mother’s breath on his skin and feeling her touch. If there are no complications, nothing will prevent such a scenario. Remember that you have the right to your wishes during childbirth and can remind your doctor of them.

What about the “Caesareans”?

According to Stanislav Grof, the author of the theory of matrices, children born by Caesarean section receive a truncated birth experience, since they do not have the last two stages - cooperation and isolation. The child is born without experiencing pressure from contractions, he made no effort moving along the birth canal. Often it is carefully removed from the mother’s belly, practically undisturbed, without preparation for the transition to a new stage of life and new living conditions. The author of the theory believes that such children will need more attention and help, especially in terms of compensating for lost experience during childbirth, and for this purpose special games and activities are offered.

How does the baby understand that labor has begun?

Modern science believes that the baby, or rather, his body, initiates labor itself. Of course, the fetus has no experience of birth, but in most cases, during childbirth, without complications, it does everything correctly - this is how nature arranged it. When the first contractions begin, the expectant mother produces oxytocin, a substance that we know as the love hormone. He comes to the baby and calms him down, because childbirth is also a great emotional and physical stress for the child. However, all the shocks that await a child during childbirth are within the limits of his capabilities.

How does the fetus feel during contractions?

Supposedly, children feel something like a tight hug, more discomfort than pain. Doctors suggest that adults experience such sensations when they try to crawl under a fence. During contractions, the baby receives less and less oxygen from the placenta (this is normal), and this has a calming effect on him - he falls into a kind of trance, some babies can even sleep while the cervix is ​​dilating.

What does he hear and see while he is being born?

This issue has been little studied. It is known that children hear their mother and other relatives even before birth. During the time spent in the womb, the baby gets used to his mother’s voice and can recognize it at such a difficult moment for him as birth. Nothing concrete is known about vision during childbirth either: doctors say that immediately after birth, the child sees everything unclearly, the picture before his eyes is blurred. However, at a distance from the mother's chest to the face, he is already beginning to see more clearly - and this is not by chance, this is how the baby establishes the first eye contact with his most important person.

How does a baby breathe while passing through the birth canal?

In the womb, the lungs do not work; they are filled with fluid. During childbirth, the baby continues to receive oxygen from the mother, that is, through the placenta. But his lungs are already preparing to take their first breath - the fluid gradually drains away during childbirth, allowing the respiratory organs to expand. After birth, the placenta ceases to perform its function, the pressure drops, and blood begins to flow into the lungs in the required volumes.

How does the baby move during labor?

Shortly before labor begins, the baby descends into the entrance to the pelvis, and when the uterus begins to contract, the fetus begins a journey through the birth canal. During this time, he manages to press his head to the chest in order to squeeze into a narrower section of the pelvis, and then turn over to face the mother’s spine. If the baby lies facing the mother's belly, contractions may become more painful, then doctors may ask the woman in labor to walk around so that the fetus can still take a normal position. Before birth, the baby makes several more movements: he straightens his neck, and when the head is born, he turns sideways (doctors often help the baby do this half-rotation), and then, pushing off from the bottom of the uterus, he emerges entirely.

Is your baby scared?

It is believed that children feel discomfort from the fact that life in the womb is over and that the womb ceases to be a cozy home. Some psychologists are inclined to believe that because of this, the baby experiences fear of loss during childbirth, afraid that he will no longer have a mother. But no one knows for sure. It is known, however, that the birth itself becomes a shock for a child, and the intensity of these sensations depends on how noisy and light the room is.

Is your baby in pain during childbirth?

Scientists have found that children are able to feel pain even before birth, from about the 20th week of pregnancy. However, little is known about the baby's sensations during the birth process. Scientists believe that the child does not feel pain as such, and certainly does not experience the pain of childbirth that accompanies a woman.

How does he manage to get out through such a small hole?

It's all about the mobility of the skull bones. It seems to consist of small tiles that change their position, allowing the baby to move along the birth canal. After a natural birth, the head of any newborn is slightly deformed, but after a couple of days everything will return to normal. In addition, a comfortable position helps the baby to be born (we are talking about children in the cephalic position) - he tries to shrink so as to become as small as possible.

A newborn baby perceives the world around him as a stream of rapidly changing sensations. All feelings, sounds, images are unfamiliar to him and are not interconnected. The baby has no sense of time, sensation and cannot separate himself from the world around him. His system of thinking lacks cause and effect. Events happen as if on their own, independently of each other. The child is hungry and hears his own crying. Is this cry born within his being or comes from somewhere outside? Maybe both the crying and the feeling of hunger disappear because mom came? The child does not know the answer and cannot ask a question... Since frustration causes crying, and crying is followed by consolation, a connection between these events is gradually built in the child's mind. He sees you at his crib and already feels that a feeling of comfort and peace will come. After some time, the baby will begin to intuitively feel safe, knowing that his desires will be satisfied. As your child's trust in you increases, your confidence in your abilities increases. You are already able to correctly assess his inclinations, you know his strengths, you can adapt to the pace of the baby’s development and satisfy his needs. You now become the most important person in his life who understands his needs and character. During the first days and weeks, the bond of love between you and your baby grows stronger. This warm and tender relationship will be his first lesson in love. Throughout his life, he will draw energy from them and build relationships with the outside world on their basis.

Motor skills

A newborn baby is not able to eat or move independently, but he is far from helpless. He enters the world with a fairly large set of behavior patterns based on unconditioned reflexes. Most of them are vital for the baby. For example, if a newborn baby is stroked on the cheek, he turns his head and looks for the pacifier with his lips. If you put the pacifier in your mouth, your baby will automatically start sucking on it. Another set of reflexes protects the baby from physical harm. If your baby covers his nose and mouth, he will turn his head from side to side. When any object comes close to his face, he automatically blinks his eyes. Some reflexes of a newborn are not of vital importance, but it is by them that the level of development of the child can be determined. While examining a newly born baby, the pediatrician holds him in different positions, suddenly makes loud sounds, and runs his finger over the baby’s foot. By how the child reacts to these and other actions, the doctor is convinced that the newborn’s reflexes are normal and the nervous system is in order. While most of the reflexes inherent in a newborn disappear during the first year of life, some of them become the basis for acquired forms of behavior. At first, the baby sucks instinctively, but as he gains experience, he adapts and changes his actions depending on specific conditions. The same can be said about the grasping reflex. A newborn baby clenches his fingers the same way every time, no matter what object is placed in his palm. However, when the baby is four months old, he will already learn to control his movements. He will first focus on the object, then reach out and grab it. We tend to believe that all newborns begin their development from the same starting point, but they differ markedly from each other in the level of motor activity. Some children are surprisingly lethargic and passive. Lying on their stomach or back, they remain almost motionless until they are lifted and shifted. Others, on the contrary, show noticeable activity. If such a child is placed face down in a crib, he will slowly but persistently move towards the head of the crib until he hits the very corner. Very active children may reflexively roll over from their stomach to their back. Another important difference in newborns is the level of muscle tone. Some children look very tense: their knees are constantly bent, their arms are tightly pressed to their body, their fingers are tightly clenched into fists. Others are more relaxed, the muscle tone of their limbs is not so strong. The third difference between newborns is the degree of development of their sensory-motor system. Some children, especially young ones or those born prematurely, are very easily disturbed. At any, even the most insignificant noise, they shudder with their entire being, and their arms and legs begin to move erratically. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, a shiver runs through their body. Other babies look well developed from birth. They seem to know how to put their hand in or near their mouth and often do this to calm themselves down. When they move their legs, their movements are orderly and rhythmic. The different levels of development of motor skills, muscle tone and sensory-motor system that are observed in newborns reflect features in the organization of the nervous system. Children who are active, well developed and have normal muscle tone are considered easy children by their parents. Passive, underdeveloped children with sluggish or, conversely, too tense muscle tone, which is observed in the first months of life, are much more difficult to care for. Fortunately, thanks to the caring care and patience of their parents, most children overcome these difficulties and quickly catch up with their peers in their development.

Ability to see, hear, feel

A child is born with an innate repertoire of reactions that help him adapt to the world around him. He squints his eyes when a bright light comes on or an object comes close to his face. Over a short distance, he can follow with his gaze a moving object or a human face. A newborn child also has the innate ability to receive new information through his senses. It is curious that he even shows certain preferences among what he sees. In general, babies prefer dotted configurations and are particularly attracted to moving objects and black and white combinations. Think about the amazing properties the human eye has. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that a child initially has a unique ability to establish eye contact with his parents. Along with innate visual abilities, the newborn also has remarkable hearing. We are not only confident that the baby hears from the moment of birth, but there is every reason to assume that he hears while still in the womb. The newborn turns his head in the direction from which the sound is coming, especially if it is an unfamiliar sound, and, conversely, turns away from repeated, loud or continuous sounds. Even more amazing is the fact that a child is able to distinguish a human voice from any other sound. In other words, in addition to the innate ability to look into your eyes, the child also has the ability to hear your voice. However, despite the fact that a newborn is able to perceive sound and turn in the direction from which it is coming, its visual and auditory systems are not sufficiently coordinated. If a child hears a noise whose source is right in front of him, he will not instinctively look for it. Such coordination takes time to develop. By giving the child the opportunity to get acquainted with objects that attract his attention both by their appearance and their sound, parents lay the foundation in the baby’s mind for the ability to connect what he sees with what he hears. So far we have been talking about the child’s ability to see and hear. Now it’s time to talk about other sensations: taste, smell and touch. Children love sweets and refuse salty, sour and bitter foods. In addition, they turn away from strong and pungent odors. It is also known that newborns react to various types of touch. While vigorous rubbing with a terry towel excites the baby, a gentle massage can put him to sleep. By running your fingertips or a piece of soft silk fabric over your body, you can bring it into a state of calm wakefulness. It is especially pleasant for the baby to feel the touch of human skin. Many mothers who breastfeed their children say that the baby begins to suck more actively if his hand lies on the mother’s chest. We have described several typical ways in which children respond to different types of stimuli, with the child's reactions to them manifesting differently depending on specific conditions. Dr. Prechtl and Dr. Brazelton, as well as other researchers who study newborns, note that children have different levels of excitability. This level of excitability determines the behavioral characteristics of children. When the child wakes up, he may be calmly awake or actively awake, or he may scream or cry. How a newborn reacts to what is happening in the world around him depends most of all on the degree of his arousal. A child who is in a state of calm wakefulness, hearing the bell, will immediately stop his actions and try to turn towards the sound. The same baby, in an excited or irritated state, may simply not notice the bell.

We understand our child

The period of infancy is the time when both the child and parents adapt to each other. Caring for a baby forces adults to organize their daily routine in a new way. The newborn adapts both physically and psychologically to life outside the mother's body. An integral part of this process is the child’s self-regulation. He learns to independently regulate the degree of his activity, so as to smoothly transition from sleep to wakefulness and vice versa. In the first weeks after the birth of your baby, you will spend a lot of energy trying to help your baby master these transitional states. A wide-awake child reacts to sounds by looking intently at the faces of those around him, and seems to have an attentive and intelligent gaze. At such moments, the baby’s energy is aimed at perceiving information, and then the parents have the opportunity to study and communicate With him. However, too intense exercise can tire your child out. The newborn cannot get out of the state of excitement on his own. Therefore, it is especially important that parents feel in time that the baby needs rest. If his mouth wrinkles, his fists clench and he nervously moves his legs, then it’s time to rest. Periods of activity and rest in a child’s life should alternate. By creating the right daily routine, you will help your baby move from one state to another in a natural way. After feeding, for example, you can hold him in an upright position, leaning him against your shoulder, or pick him up and gently rock him. Sometimes a child can come to a state of rest even after a strong cry. If the awakened baby begins to be capricious and it is clear that he is about to cry, parents, as a rule, try in every possible way to prevent this. However, in some cases it will be more appropriate to give the opportunity to shout properly. Apparently, crying relieves stress in a child and helps him move from one state to another. Even if he cries immediately after a nap, missing the state of calm wakefulness, after crying he can find it. However, as a rule, it can be very difficult for a newborn to come out of the screaming state without outside help. All children need help to calm down. However, each of them requires an individual approach. Some children become quiet if their parents carefully take them in their arms or wrap them in a warm, soft blanket. Others, on the contrary, become irritated by any restriction of freedom and calm down much more quickly when they are placed on a flat surface, without covering or impeding their movements. Most babies enjoy being carried or rocked. However, each child must have his own approach. Consider which of the following methods is best for your child. Walk around the room holding the baby to your shoulder. Hold the baby in weight, rocking from side to side. Hold it at your shoulder and rhythmically pat it on the back. Place the baby on your lap and rhythmically move them up and down or from side to side, or gently pat the baby's buttocks. Sitting in a rocking chair, place the child face down on your lap or, pressing it to your shoulder, hold it in an upright position, slowly rocking. Rock quickly and rhythmically in a rocking chair. Place the baby in the stroller and push it back and forth. Take a walk with your child in a stroller or a special backpack. Place the baby in a hanging homemade gamachok and rock it gently. Take your child for a ride in the car. Sounds, as well as movements, have a calming effect on children, but here, too, kids have their own preferences. Some people calm down more quickly when they hear the continuous sounds of a clock ticking, a washing machine, sounds that imitate a heartbeat, etc. Others respond better to quiet conversation, monotonous singing or a quiet whisper. There are also children who like music - lullabies, recordings of classical works, melodies from music boxes. So far we have talked about how caring and loving parents help newborns adapt to life outside the womb. In turn, the child also influences the lives of adults. He helps them adapt to their new role as parents. With the birth of a child, they acquire a new social status, and a very close relationship is built between them and the baby. A child can communicate about his internal state in only two ways - smiling and crying. The development process of these methods is almost the same. In the first weeks of a baby’s life, they appear as if by themselves, which reflects his reaction to the physiological processes that occur in his body. A cry is a sign of discomfort or pain, a smile is evidence that the child is at rest and enjoying himself. Gradually the balance begins to shift. Crying and smiling are increasingly regulated by external factors, and as a result, the child begins, of course, without words, to directly communicate with his parents. It is especially interesting to observe how the smile changes in the first one to two months of a child’s life. Initially, a wandering smile appears on the baby’s face during sleep. Then, at two weeks of age, he begins to smile when his eyes are open, which usually occurs after feeding. In this case, a smile, as a rule, is accompanied by a glassy, ​​absent look. By the third or fourth week, qualitative changes occur in the smile. The child responds to the loud voice of the parents, with whom he establishes visual contact, and in the end the baby rewards the adults with a very conscious smile. A child who is happy, calm and in touch with his environment most of the time instills confidence and optimism in parents. A nervous and capricious baby, who is not easy to calm down, despite the caring attitude of adults, causes them much more problems. Those parents who have their first child often associate the child’s irritability with the fact that they are inexperienced and do not know how to handle him correctly. As soon as they understand that the baby’s increased excitability depends on the internal physiological processes occurring in his body, they will regain self-confidence. This will help them get through the challenges that await them in the first weeks of a child's life. Through trial and error, parents gain experience and find their own way to calm their baby - by swaddling, vigorously rocking, or simply giving him the opportunity to scream for a while until he falls asleep. It is very important that parents understand from the very beginning that the difficulties experienced by the child in the first year of life are in no way related to the characteristics of his behavior and character in the future. During the first month of a baby's life, most parents sometimes experience negative emotions. A young mother suffering from constant crying, childbirth and sleepless nights may become depressed or irritable towards other family members. The father, despite his proud smile, may sometimes feel that the baby not only limits his freedom, but also deprives his wife of attention and care. As children get older, they sleep longer and parents adapt to different daily routines. After the first difficult period, when the relationship between parents and baby is just developing, family members will be able to fully reward each other with the joy of communication.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR NEWBORN

The most difficult task facing a newborn child during the first month of his life is to adapt to conditions outside the mother's body. Most of the time the baby sleeps. Having woken up, he begins to behave in accordance with his internal physiological state. Periods of active wakefulness, when the child is ready to perceive new information, are rare and short-lived. Therefore, you should not plan activities with your newborn in advance, just try to use the opportunity. This opportunity appears when the child is full and in a good mood. Remember that children have different thresholds for excitability, and if you overtire your baby, he may begin to worry, scream and cry.

Practical advice

Engage your child no more than necessary He needs human warmth, and therefore he loves to be held. Try to find out how your baby feels about this. Some babies become nervous and irritable when held for too long. It happens that a fussy baby calms down if he is placed in a comfortable children's backpack. However, if the baby is very rarely held, he may become lethargic and apathetic. Change baby's position When your child is awake, try to vary his positions. Let him lie on his stomach for a while, then on his back or side. Being in different positions, the baby will learn to move his arms and legs. Children's calendar Hang a calendar and pencil near the changing table or dressing table. You can record each new achievement of your child in a separate column. Enjoy the time you spend with your baby Laugh and have fun with your child. Sometimes he seems to be able to express his joy. Don't be afraid to spoil your child Try to quickly fulfill his wishes. If you give your baby enough attention when he needs it, he won't bother you again. Handle your baby with care When returning home from the hospital, bring your newborn in a comfortable, reliable car.

Daily routine

Feeding time Keep a good mood Regardless of whether you breastfeed or bottle-feed your baby, try to do it in a way that makes both your baby and you feel calm and comfortable. Remember that your baby knows better than you when he is full, so don't try to force him to eat a little more. Avoid coercion so as not to lose the child's trust. Reach out and touch While your baby is eating, gently stroke his head, shoulders and fingers, then he will associate feeding with your gentle touches. Some children love to listen to singing while eating, while others, when they hear their mother’s voice, stop sucking. If your baby is easily distracted, hold off on singing until after meals or while your baby is burping. Bathing First baths Bathe your baby in a baby bath. (Ask your doctor before giving your baby your first bath.) While bathing, hum softly while rubbing gently with a soft sponge or cloth. If your baby is slipping and needs soft bedding, place a towel in the bottom of the tub. Communication through touch After swimming, it is good to have a massage. Using baby cream or vegetable oil, gently massage your baby's shoulders, arms, legs, feet, back, stomach and buttocks. Keep doing this as long as your child is in a good mood. Swaddling/dressing Kisses on the tummy When changing your baby's diapers, gently kiss his tummy, fingers and toes. These gentle touches help your baby become aware of his body parts. At the same time, he not only feels his body, but also feels your love. Undress the child Don't wrap your baby up. If the room is 20-25 degrees, he will feel good in a light shirt and diaper. Children overheat, sweat and feel discomfort if they are dressed too warmly. Time relax Turn on the radio for your child When putting your baby in the crib, turn on the radio, tape recorder, or start a music box. Quiet music will calm him down. Record the noise of the washing machine on tape. Instead of buying an expensive toy that makes sounds, record the noise of your dishwasher or washing machine on tape. The monotonous hum that the child hears will help him calm down and fall asleep. Give your baby a musical toy If, from a very early age, a child associates sleep time with a soft musical toy, it will become an integral element of this process. As they get older, some babies struggle when being put in their crib, and this toy will help them calm down and fall asleep. Use a pacifier Give your baby a pacifier before bed. Children who are accustomed to a pacifier from an early age are able to fall asleep on their own. If your baby refuses the pacifier, you can only put it in his mouth for a few minutes at first until he gets used to it. If your child continues to persist, find another way. Walking in a stroller If the weather permits, take your child for a walk, pushing him in a stroller. Constant movement will help him fall asleep. A game of shadows Children often wake up at night. Leave the night lamp burning - soft light will allow the child to observe the bizarre outlines of surrounding objects. Diapers and soft pillows Over the last few months of utero, the baby has become accustomed to sleeping in close quarters. Therefore, he will feel good if he is swaddled or covered with pillows. Many stores sell hanging hammocks that can be attached inside a regular crib. Some of them are equipped with a special device that creates the illusion of the mother’s heart beating in the child. The rhythmic sounds remind the baby of those he heard while in the womb; this calms him down and he falls asleep.

A person’s age in China is calculated completely differently than in the West: on the very first birthday, the baby’s age is not 12, but 21 months. 9 months in the mother's body also counts. Because for the Chinese, prenatal development is also life. For us, life begins at birth. Although for embryologists, gynecologists, psychologists and future parents, those 9 months that the baby spends in the mother’s belly are part of his and their life.
Most people have no doubt that the tiny creature, whose little heart begins to beat on its own just 4 weeks after conception, is something much more than a collection of cells.

Pregnancy is an amazing experience. There's a tiny person inside of you! As the months continue, your unborn baby will develop and grow incredibly. What your baby is capable of doing in the womb will surely blow your mind! When a child cooks, they learn about themselves and their environment - the womb. They move around, take in their cozy room and experiment with their new abilities, such as moving their arms and legs, opening their eyes and listening to the voices of their mom and dad.

Life begins not at birth, but at conception

As the end of those long nine months starts to seem closer than ever, baby will be able to do some pretty cool things. It is capable of performing many of the functions it will do after birth, which is currently happening in your belly. The child is preparing for life outside.

After just 12 weeks, the baby already has tiny hands in the mother’s body, and a layer of tactile cells on each fingertip. And facial features take on an individual character.

How developed the baby's body is in the mother's belly becomes obvious if you examine babies born prematurely. Babies born at 25 weeks are missing only the fatty tissue under the skin and stable pulmonary vesicles. And anyone who examines their touchingly intelligent faces recognizes, without hesitating for a second, that they can express the entire palette of human feelings. Babies wrinkle their foreheads and moan pitifully when their blood is taken, they relax and even try to smile when they lie on their mother’s chest and feel her heartbeat.

She is practicing skills that she will take with her as she makes her journey through the birth canal. We know that babies love to kick, hit and do things that feel like cartwheels, but they do so much more that many expecting moms don't even realize it's happening. This is wonderful and extremely. And they do much more. Keep reading to see everything the baby is like while it's hanging in the womb!

While it may come as a shock to expecting parents, some believe that unborn babies can feel pain and pleasure during their long stay in the womb. Since some experts say that babies can feel pleasure, especially after the fifteen week mark, they will perform activities in the womb to essentially explore and feel good.

Infants born at term have the same developed senses as those born prematurely. “On the one hand, the uterus is like a protective shelter,” says Ludwig Janus, a psychotherapist and president of the International Scientific Society of Prenatal and Perinatal Medicine and Psychology in Heidelberg, Germany. - “But in the mother’s body the child is not cut off from the world around him.” This means: he participates in the life of his mother, feels what is happening around him - where he will soon be born. For a woman, this awareness can be exciting and exciting, and sometimes a little burdensome. Many people from time to time ask themselves questions such as “is the baby in my belly experiencing the same things that I am experiencing?” “Does he feel my doubts, anxiety and worry, my fatigue?” “What should I do to make him feel good?” Modern science is trying to provide answers to such questions.

Many believe that the actions of unborn children are somewhat purposeful and that there may be a form of masturbation. Boy babies are often seen on ultrasounds with their hands between their legs. Of course, we may never know whether or not it is true that unborn babies masturbate in the womb, but it has been part of the ongoing debate as to whether abortion should be banned after the fifteen week mark, since then accurate masturbation indicates that that children feel pleasure and therefore feel pain.

Formation of the child’s physical health

When we're tired, we often let out a cute yawn. Well, our babies in the womb do the same thing! As your baby's central nervous system begins to develop, they will be able to do more, which will resemble how they will behave once they are born. This includes being able to yawn.

Here are the three most important discoveries made by German scientists:
1. Undoubtedly, there is a material connection between mother and baby.
The baby in the belly not only receives nutrition from the mother's body, but also a huge amount of information. The placenta transmits the mother's emotions to the baby through hormones. For example, if the expectant mother is nervous, the level of cortisol (a hormone responsible for maintaining the body's energy resources) in the blood increases. When analyzing blood from the umbilical cord, doctors can determine: with a lag of several pulse beats, stress is transmitted from mother to baby.

Your unborn children practice these skills. In fact, many doctors and experts believe that yawning helps a baby promote its functioning and brain development. Therefore, in this case, yawning occurs not only because the child is tired, but also performs a much more important function.

If you are one of the lucky ones, you may actually see your baby yawn during the ultrasound. It's very impressive to see such normal, everyday work that a baby does in the womb! Many expect mothers to report a sudden kick from their baby. It may be a quick shock or feel almost as if the child was simply startled out of a sleepy dream. Just as certain sounds or noises can make us jump if they catch us by surprise, the same goes for babies in the womb!

Babies in the belly react differently to stress: some become restless and their movements more nervous. Others gather into a ball, picking up their arms and legs closer to their body. The baby also directly takes part in the positive experiences of the mother: endorphin and other hormones of happiness penetrate into the baby’s uterus as soon as his mother can relax, rejoice and be happy. Embryologists have found that receptors for recognizing happiness hormones mature in the baby’s brain quite early and quickly. Brain studies have shown that the amplitude of the curves decreases if the expectant mother (starting from the 20th week), at the request of the researchers, imagines a particularly pleasant situation or thinks about something particularly pleasant. The child, therefore, can also enjoy these sensations with her.
2. Sense organs develop. The child understands and feels his mother better and better.

Every new life is unique

If everything is quiet and suddenly you turn on the TV loudly, the phone rings, music starts playing, a car horn honks or more noises start playing, you may notice that your baby will "jump" into the womb. They flinch whether they are just relaxing or sleeping. Either way, the external stimuli surprised them and you felt a reaction!

This striking phenomenon in unborn children appears to occur towards the end of pregnancy. Once born, you will have amazing reflexes that you may have brought with you from the womb. Does the thought of a baby crying in the womb make you a little teary-eyed? Unborn babies cry while spending time in the womb. It may be strange to think that a baby, not yet born, is actually crying in its mother's belly, but it is true.

First, the sense of touch awakens: already in the seventh week, the skin is able to perceive sensations and respond to them. The child can feel that he is surrounded by amniotic fluid, his body “listens” to the rhythm of the internal organs of the mother’s body and resonates with the beats of her heart.

At the 25th week, the hearing organs are already fully developed. Every mother has experienced this: if you turn on the mixer or slam the car door hard, the baby in your stomach shudders.

It's their way of communicating their needs, whether they're hungry, tired, need a change, or just want to be held. Babies begin to lead the cry, practicing this all important skill while still in the womb! How can we tell when our baby is crying in the womb? Well, most likely, the mother will not feel that her baby is crying. Researchers have discovered through ultrasound that babies cry. It is a quiet cry that is characterized by distressed tongues in the open mouth, gasping here and there and even with a quivering lower lip.

Your child spends nine long months with you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There are no breaks or one time. It's no surprise that children recognize and remember their mother's voice. Doctors often encourage mothers to talk to their unborn baby, sing them songs, and even read them a story. While this may seem silly, it can be fun and a way to get your baby to remember your voice as soon as he or she arrives in this world.

Quite early, children can distinguish between “negative” and “positive” sounds. His mother’s kind words always reach him: if she talks to the baby in her stomach, he calms down or trembles joyfully. Professor Manfred Hansmann, head of the university gynecological clinic in Bonn and a “pioneer” in the field of infant ultrasound examination, has been researching the close connection between mother and baby in her belly for many years. “After the ultrasound examination, I ask women to lie down for a few minutes and talk loudly to the child. If I look at the screen at the same time, most babies are calm, their heart rate decreases, and their facial features become less tense.
3. There is an intuitive connection between mother and unborn child.
All researchers who study the mental development of a child proceed from the fact that mother and child are inextricably linked from the inside. Even when this connection cannot be proven scientifically - by biochemical analysis or ultrasound. “The baby in the womb perceives the mother’s state of mind and feels her thoughts,” says Dr. Thomas Reinert, a specialist in psychotherapeutic medicine at the Welbert Clinic (Wuppertal), who has been researching life before birth for many years.

During an ultrasound scan, when the baby hears the mother's voice, the heart rate may slow down. This may indicate that the baby will relax when they know their mother is there after hearing her voice. This is pretty phenomenal, so keep talking!

Sometimes, expecting parents to get a spectacular ultrasound picture, it's their little thumb sucking while in the womb! Babies are constantly experimenting during their wonderful time in the soft world of the womb. They move their hands, touch their faces. They will soon learn how to put their hand in their mouth.

During positive, harmonious periods of pregnancy, the expectant mother enjoys this internal contact with the baby. In less prosperous periods, such closeness worries pregnant women, as they realize that their worries, which are always enough, cannot be hidden from the baby. “The feelings of the expectant mother are reflected in the child,” explains Dr. Thomas Reinert. If the baby in the mother's body feels only rejection, later, most likely, he will have difficulty loving himself.
What impressions will the baby bring with him into this world?

And if you're lucky, you'll get to see some of them in action during a fun ultrasound session. This is another way for babies to prepare for the outside world. In fact, unborn babies can learn to suck their thumb quite early, perhaps before they reach the 20-week mark. It's quite amazing, especially when you see it in action!

Suction of the thumb in the womb can become a large vessel once born. As with many other things your unborn baby does in the womb, they practice the moment they make that journey through the birth canal and join us in life “out there”! Your baby will remain with his eyes closed for most of his time in your belly. Not much anyway!

Love and reliability are the components of success - and then your baby will blossom!

Every mother wants the baby to develop normally in her body and be born a happy being. Only often circumstances do not contribute to this. Even a desired child can, on occasion, cause trouble for his mother. And the baby has to endure all this in his stomach? Isn't it better to suppress negative emotions by all means and means?

After about seven months, your baby will be able to open his eyes. Again, not much can be seen in his small space, but he should be able to see and even react to light. If you shine a bright light, such as a flashlight, on your belly, you may just feel your baby move. Most likely, he doesn't like the light and moves away from it.

It's amazing to know that your baby will begin to open and close her eyes in preparation for blinking and seeing as soon as she arrives. The old saying goes that you eat, your unborn child eats. This is true because you feed the baby through the umbilical cord. But in some cases, certain flavors remain very common and can be tasted by your baby while in the womb. These aromas are actually found in amniotic fluid.

“No, no mother should force herself to do this,” says Dr. Reinert. After his research, he will never reproach the expectant mother. But the child’s feelings should not be neglected in order to completely remove the blame from the mother.

The baby in the womb shares the mother’s feelings if she doesn’t feel well. This thought alone makes me sick. But the findings of Dr. Reinert and his colleagues are comforting. The child in the mother's body lives in moments. Just as quickly as he becomes despondent, feeling his mother’s anxiety, just as instantly his mood changes along with his mother’s if she is happy again. And even short periods of peace and tranquility have a healing effect on him. If difficult times have come to an end, the baby in the belly feels “over the moon,” as Dr. Reinert says. “He feels that happiness exists, and that together with his mother he is on the way to this wonderful state.”

So many flavors, from spicy to sweet, salty and sour, can make their way to your baby's developing taste buds. Exhausted garlic pizza? Your child will have garlic breath for sure! Can't get enough chocolate cake slices?

Get ready to be a future chocolate connoisseur! In fact, the researchers found that, as expected, mothers who ate carrots turned out to have babies who actually enjoyed eating carrots more than infants whose mothers rarely or never kneaded carrots. So be sure to watch what you eat and enjoy it!

Already in the mother’s body the strength of spirit is manifested: not to despair if something doesn’t go well, but to confidently hope for future moments of happiness.

The following optimistic discoveries are the result of a study on the topic “Experiencing the World in the Mother’s Body” conducted in 2005 at the University of Trier by psychiatrist and biologist Dr. Margarita Rieger.
There is no relationship between the baby's birth weight, head circumference, overall vitality of the baby and the mother's stress during pregnancy. The thesis that the health of the child depends on the mental state of the expectant mother turns out to be untenable.
Conflicting feelings and difficult periods in a mother’s life do not harm the baby’s state of mind. Only long and prolonged stress can shake a child’s trust in the world around him. Such children cry more often and longer during the first time after birth. Or they are drowsy and their interest in the world around them quickly fades.
The mother's body has special mechanisms to protect the child from stress. During the second three months of pregnancy, a certain enzyme develops in the placenta. It is able to blunt to a certain extent the effect of cortisol in the blood, the stress hormone, and thus protects the baby. Only if stress continues for a very long time do these mechanisms fail.

Pregnant moms know that as the months go on and your belly grows, it means less room for your baby to move around. These are definitely comfy and cozy seats surrounded by all that amniotic fluid. There's no need to worry, but babies are made to curl up and be cute and hunched over.

“Does the fetus have taste sensations? It’s hard to believe that he can distinguish taste, but I’ve also heard this.”

While your baby makes himself beautiful and cuddly, he does wonderful things as he grows and develops. Kicks and punches are the name of the game, and sometimes a lot of them! Sometimes this can be inconvenient for the expecting mother. This can be fun to play with your child. Sometimes if a child kicks and you push away, she will kick again!

Almost all newborns engage in behaviors that give them a sense of security that is familiar to their mother's body. For example, even the smallest ones crawl as close as possible in their strollers and cribs to the wooden or wicker upholstery and press their heads closely against it (as if squeezing themselves in). What are they looking for? A sensation that is accustomed to in the mother’s body, closely surrounded by the bones of the small pelvis. The vast majority are born with a firm conviction - mother is warmth, closeness, protection, her love carries me. Even if for nine months in the mother’s body the child experienced sadness and depression with his mother. Newborns give their mother an amazing proof of their trust: they react to nothing as vividly as to her voice. Hearing it makes them happy.

It's incredible to know that you can interact with your baby like this before she's born. Your baby is once again preparing for the outside world in a hugely important and amazingly surprising way - he is already training to breathe just nine weeks into his life in the womb! Unborn babies get all the oxygen they need through the umbilical cord. But the umbilical cord won't stay with them once they arrive, so it's important to know they're practicing their breathing skills.

Babies practice breathing by making facial and mouth movements that can be seen on ultrasound. The fact that they only do this for a short time during pregnancy is incredible. Once your baby is born, their practice will pay off. The temperature change from the womb to the world causes them to suddenly breathe, but don't worry, they have been practicing for months!

All mothers, both after and before the birth of their baby, worry about their health and well-being, well-being and mood. Pregnant women should never be upset, but some external circumstances, hormonal disruptions and changes in mood, affect the moral well-being of the mother. So the question is what a baby feels in the womb when she cries, occurs frequently.

We know that babies recognize their mother's voice, after all, they hear her voice basically all the time! Even more incredible is that unborn babies can actually recognize stories they heard, as well as songs that were sung or played to them in the womb.

You may have heard of moms reading books on their stomachs. Well, although it may seem strange, it is actually a wonderful thing. Read the same story to your baby, feel the impact and move. When babies are read the same story, even by a different person, their heart rate slows, indicating that they recognize what they are hearing!

The baby is closely connected with its mother both before and after birth. Feels her mood and its changes, reacts to them, sympathizes and empathizes with troubles. Starting from the 29th week of pregnancy, the child has already developed all his senses, he smells and tastes, touches the space around him and even distinguishes changes in lighting. Therefore, you should not be upset and cry during pregnancy. Your behavior during pregnancy will affect the future well-being of your baby. You should be careful with your emotions, protect yourself from nervous shock and stress.

There are many books about pregnancy, childbirth and newborns. They are written by qualified doctors: psychologists and pediatricians. Of course, you can trust them, but you should not miss the presence of individual indicators of the mother and fetus. And so, many experts argue that the moral connection between mother and child is very dense and close. But besides the emotional connection, there is also a physical one. When a mother is happy, an “injection” of a hormone, endorphin, occurs into her blood, and accordingly, it also enters the blood of the baby in the womb, his mood improves. Children in their mother’s belly know how to rejoice and smile just like their mother.

Unfortunately, the baby in the womb feels not only joyful emotions, but also sadness and stress. When a mother is stressed, she is not in the mood, something depresses her, and the hormone cortisol, or cortisone, comes in. These hormones also enter the child’s blood from the mother, and accordingly, the mother, without meaning to, passes on her bad mood to the unborn baby. And he can be sad and cry, which has been scientifically proven.

A child can also get a nervous shock from his mother. When she is scared, adrenaline enters her blood, and it also enters the child’s blood. The baby begins to get nervous and afraid, suffers and struggles. Such stress is always deposited in the subconscious and affects the moral well-being and psyche of the baby.

You can hurt a baby in the womb. Even if the mother is a little upset, this directly affects the baby. How does what she tells, sings, and lets you listen to? The child feels not only care and love, but also disappointment and negativity. That's why when mom cries, baby cries with her. The baby reacts to the tone of voice, movements and even breathing. You should be extremely careful with what you say and listen to, what you look at and even what you think about during pregnancy. The slightest difference affects the character and behavior of the child in the future. It is worth purchasing a board book with fairy tales, and limiting all films that cause a bad mood, fear and tears.