15 Newborn Baby Facts That Sound Fake, But Are 100% True

Their nipples can leak milk.

1. A newborn baby's stomach can only hold about one teaspoon when they are first born.

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Initially, their stomach is about the size of a shooter marble. Their stomach rapidly grows to the size of about a chicken egg by their tenth day of life.

2. Even though newborn babies cry a lot, they don't produce any tears.

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Newborns only produce enough tears to lubricate and protect their eyes, so you won't see any excess tears rolling down their cheeks when they cry. Babies should develop actual teardrops between the ages of one and three months old.

3. Newborn female babies may have a mini period.

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In utero, some of the mother's high estrogen levels may get passed onto the fetus, stimulating the baby's uterus. When this happens, baby girls can have what is called a "mini period" where their uterus sheds a little bit of blood.

4. They don't technically have kneecaps.

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Babies are born with cartilage rather than kneecaps. The cartilage eventually becomes hard and creates the bony kneecaps adults have.

5. And their tonsils have tastebuds.

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Newborn babies have a very sensitive sense of taste because, not only do they have tastebuds on their tongues, but they also have them on their tonsils and in the back of their throats. They are able to distinguish between bitter and sweet flavors.

6. Their first poop doesn't stink – and it looks like tar.

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A baby's first poop is called meconium, which is a sticky, tar-like substance. It is a baby's body expelling everything that filled their intestines while inside the uterus.

7. All newborn babies can have enlarged breasts.

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It is normal for both male and female newborns to have enlarged – or swollen – breasts. This is because they have been exposed to maternal hormones inside the womb. In short, the hormones that cause a mother's breasts to swell can be carried on to the baby. After a few weeks, however, the baby's breast tissue should de-swell since there is no more exposure to the hormones.

8. And their nipples can leak milk.

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Again, since babies may still have their mother's hormones in their system for a few weeks after birth, their boobs may continue to grow and real breast milk may be expressed from them.

9. Most babies are born with cone-shaped heads.

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The bones in the skull of a newborn are made to move so they can easily pass through the tight birth canal. The elongated "cone head" is a result of the baby being pushed through the birth canal. Usually, the shape of their head will round out after a few days.

10. Newborns can only see objects that are 8-15 inches away from them.

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They also prefer to look at faces instead of shapes or objects. Right after birth, babies only see in black and white and shades of grey. Babies develop longer distance vision and start seeing colors around four months old.

11. And all babies are born with grey or blue eyes.

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The color of a baby's eyes is based on a protein called melanin. We all have specialized cells in our bodies called melanocytes that secrete melanin. Since a baby has spent its whole life in the dark, their melanocytes will respond to light when they are born. If a baby secretes a small amount of melanin, they will have blue eyes. If they secrete a bit more, their eyes will be green or hazel. And if a lot of melanin is secreted, their eyes will be brown. It takes about a year for melanocytes to create a baby's eye color.

12. Most newborn babies have fine hair all over their bodies.

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Called lanugo, this fine hair is produced during the last stage of pregnancy. The hair usually covers a baby's back, shoulders, ears, and forehead. Most full-term babies are born with this "peach fuzz" and it will fall out within the first few weeks to moths of life.

13. Even though newborns sleep 14 to 18 hours a day, it is only in one to two hour increments.

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Babies sleep in very small increments during the first few months of life. Usually they are awake for only one to two hours and then they sleep for one to two hours. Hence, why new parents are so exhausted.

14. Newborns don't intentionally smile.

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Their first smiles aren't in response to anything – they just reflex smiles. These smiles are similar to a twitch or quick arm movement as the baby's body is learning how to move all of its parts. Babies are able to intentionally smile from happiness or laughter around two months old.

15. A newborn baby has 300 bones in their body, while a full-grown adult only has 206.

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Some of the bones babies have are made up of cartilage that allows them to be less prone to bone breaks while they are learning to crawl and walk. As they grow, those bones fuse together to form the 206 bones that adults have.

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