The First Minutes

Flickr: Hobo Mama

Flickr: Nadja von Massow

Flickr: Jon Hayes

The first minutes after the baby comes into this world are so exhilarating and emotional for the parents. Everything seems to come together and the life is full of dreams and plans in that moment.The baby is really busy in first few hours. The lungs kick-start when the baby cries or just splutters for the first time. The newborn is then thoroughly dried with warm towels so as to not lose heat, and when clear that he/she looks active and normal, the baby goes to the mother. Once placed on mother's abdomen or between mother's breasts, baby apparently feels safe and the transition from life in womb to outside the uterus is much easier.Every baby is different. Some babies need help to begin to nurse and others find their way to the nipple quickly. Apparently every newborn, when placed on mother's abdomen, soon after birth, has the ability to find mother's breast all on her own and to decide when to take the first breastfeed. This is called 'Breast Crawl'. They often use small push-ups as they maneuver their own way to reach the nipple. It is such an amazing this to watch and usually the parents find it worth the wait. While doing a crawl, there are those moments when mother and the baby gaze at each other. This is a precious experience that parents will always remember.In first hour or so of birth, infants usually are in a very quiet state if placed close to the mother. They would hardly cry. They will make those cute little sounds to show they are hungry, and make eye contact with parents once in a while. And once they are tired, they will go back to sleep again.VisionHow far can a newborn see? The vision of a newborn is a little fuzzy. They cannot see too far. Infants can only see a few inches away. They prefer high contrast items. They may also be attracted to bright primary colors. So this is the time, to hold the baby close to your face and watch them imitate your facial expression in their own cute little ways. The vision gets better and more focused with each passing month.HearingThe baby is well acquainted with the sound of their mother as the sound travels easily through womb. Their sense of hearing is very strong in last few hours of birth. But their hearing power is not good enough yet for outside womb, so they respond better to high pitched and exaggerated sound. This may be because it reminds them of the soothing whooshing noises in the womb. But they are most likely to respond to familiar voices that he/she heard when in the womb.Taste, Smell and TouchYour baby's taste buds develop in the womb because they were exposed to your diet through your amniotic fluid. The same taste of food also passes through your breast milk. A newborn has a strong sense of smell as well. They can distinguish between the smell of their mother and any other woman. An embryo develops its first sense of touch just before the eighth week. Slowly each part of body will start responding to touch while still in the womb. A newborn responds to various aspects of touch. And since the hands and lips have largest number of touch receptors, a newborn enjoys sucking to their own thumb.As the newborn grows, parents grow and change. You will fall in love with your baby a little bit more every single day. Baby begins to respond slowly and a strong emotional bond builds between the baby and the parents. Gradually the baby develops the foundation of strong and wonderful attachment with the family.