Your baby 0-4 weeks
Your newborn baby will spend much of the time asleep, but when he is awake he will be
learning at a phenomenal rate. Looking, hearing, moving and touching in this amazing world
outside your womb are all new and rewarding experiences for him.
What your baby can do
- Recognise and distinguish the smell of your own breast milk from that of other mothers
- See, though not very clearly at first. At birth he will focus best at around 20 to 30
centimetres; just about the distance where adults instinctively put their faces when
talking to a baby
- Hear and recognise the sounds of his mother language. Even before birth babies seem to
know when their mother’s own language is being spoken and when she is speaking in
another language
- By two weeks he may begin to recognise his parents
- By six to eight weeks your baby will begin to smile
- From six weeks he will follow with his eyes when something moves slowly in front of him
- Your newborn baby will be startled by sudden loud sounds, but soothed by repetitive ones
How you can help
- During the early weeks the best you can do for your baby is to love him and respond to
him when he needs you, whether it is for feeding, changing, cuddling or comforting
- Your baby will enjoy being carried in a sling as you move about, especially if you talk
to him as you go
- The sounds that babies like best are high-pitched, sing-song voices so sing and talk to
him as much as you can
- Try singing him nursery rhymes like ‘Round and round the garden’ and repeating
the same gentle stroking movements each time. This will soothe him and at the same time
allow him to begin to anticipate what comes next - a valuable learning experience
Toys for this stage
In these first few weeks the best toys are things that move, are curvy and have high
contrast. Many manufacturers now make first toys in black and white. This is because your
baby's eyesight isn't finely tuned yet, and simple shapes with a good contrast are easier
for him to see.
- Faces fit the bill perfectly, and are the ideal ‘toy’ for
your newborn
- Mobiles: place a black and white mobile above his cot, or if it’s
warm enough, roll his pushchair under a tree so that when he wakes from
a sleep he has something interesting to watch
Developmental Tests
Parents in England are offered the opportunity to have their child's
hearing tested shortly after birth. This has been the case since March
2006.
In addition, parents should be offered the newborn
physical examination within 72 hours of birth. This check includes
a general top-to-toe physical check plus more specific checks of the eyes,
heart, hips and, in boys, the testes (checking for cataract and retinoblastoma,
congenital heart disease, developmental dysplasia of the hips and undescended
testes).
This physical examination is repeated at six
to eight weeks of age as some conditions can develop later (and this
is usually done by a GP). National standards for the newborn physical
examination were launched in March 2008 and parents should expect to be
offered the examination for their baby.
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