{"id":18176,"date":"2024-03-27T11:00:58","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T16:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=18176"},"modified":"2024-03-17T17:15:44","modified_gmt":"2024-03-17T22:15:44","slug":"weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"Weird things about your baby that are actually normal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newborns do a lot of things that may seem weird or scary. They\u2019re new to the world, so there\u2019s a lot that they aren\u2019t used to. As a parent, you may worry about whether something your baby does is weird or normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor babies, there\u2019s a range of what\u2019s normal,\u201d said Luis Garcia Tillan, MD<\/a>, a pediatrician at OSF HealthCare.<\/p>\n

As a first-time parent, experiencing your newborn\u2019s quirks for the first time can be alarming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want to make sure that your baby falls within that range of normal,\u201d Dr. Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Sleeping<\/h2>\n

Sometimes you may be sure your baby\u2019s asleep, but their eyes are open. It\u2019s not super common, but it is normal for babies to sleep with their eyes open sometimes.<\/p>\n

Newborns need lots of sleep<\/a>. When they\u2019re first born, your baby doesn\u2019t know the difference between night and day. That\u2019s often why babies sleep all day and are awake a lot throughout the night.<\/p>\n

It may not be the most fun part of parenting, but it\u2019s perfectly normal for your baby to wake up throughout the night. Not only are they learning the difference between night and day, but they also need to eat more frequently during the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cBabies need to wake up about every three hours to eat. They don\u2019t eat as much in one feeding because their tummies are so small. They can only eat a little bit at a time. So, they need to eat more frequently,\u201d Dr. Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Eating<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re breastfeeding<\/a> your baby, you may have heard that your baby\u2019s face and body should be positioned toward your breast,<\/a> so your baby doesn\u2019t have to turn their head to feed. It may seem like they wouldn\u2019t be able to breathe while they\u2019re eating, but that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n

\n

Not sure if that’s normal?<\/p>\n

Talk to your baby’s pediatrician<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

That\u2019s because babies can breathe through their nose while they\u2019re eating.<\/p>\n

Babies also get hiccups often after they eat. Because they get their nutrients through nothing but liquids, they take in extra air. This causes gas. Often it comes out as hiccups, burps and gas. It\u2019s normal for your baby to be gassy. It likely causes your baby a little discomfort, so they may act fussy when they\u2019re extra gassy.<\/p>\n

Diapers<\/h2>\n

If your baby is producing colorful poops<\/a>, there\u2019s usually nothing to worry about. Breastfed<\/a> babies have seedy, yellowish poops. Bottle-fed<\/a> babies have a little bit more solid, brownish poops.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce your baby starts eating solid foods around 6 months old, their diapers will look as colorful as the food they ate,\u201d Dr. Garcia said.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s normal development?<\/h2>\n

Your baby\u2019s eyes<\/h3>\n

Sometimes your baby might go cross eyed for a bit. It can be scary, but it\u2019s completely normal. Your baby\u2019s eyes are still developing. In fact, they can\u2019t focus close up until they\u2019re near 3 months old when their eye muscles are stronger.<\/p>\n

In the first month, your baby will enjoy making eye contact with you, but their vision isn\u2019t very focused at this point. Things about 8 to 10 inches away from their sight are more focused than what\u2019s close up.<\/p>\n

By 2 months, they should be able to see your face.<\/p>\n

Your baby\u2019s bones<\/h3>\n

Have you noticed that your baby is a little \u2026 floppy? That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to support your baby\u2019s head. Their necks are not strong enough to support their big heads.<\/p>\n

Even though they seem so flexible and squishy, babies actually have more bones than adults do. Adults have around 200 bones, and babies have about 300 bones. Babies are born with tiny bones that eventually fuse together.<\/p>\n

That squishiness that makes babies so fun to hold is actually a very important part of your baby\u2019s development. Babies are mostly filled with cartilage while their bones are growing. This is good for their bodies while they learn how to do things like crawl and walk.<\/p>\n

Crawling on our hands and knees might be painful for adults. But babies\u2019 knees are mostly cartilage, so it\u2019s like they\u2019re wearing knee pads.<\/p>\n

Your baby\u2019s breathing<\/h3>\n

Your baby\u2019s heart rate is higher than yours. Their bodies are growing very quickly, so their breathing keeps pace. If it looks like your baby is breathing really fast, there shouldn\u2019t be anything to worry about. However, if it looks like your baby is breathing more from their ribs than their belly, then you may want to talk to your pediatrician about it.<\/p>\n

Your baby\u2019s arms and legs<\/h3>\n

Babies make a lot of twitchy movements. It may look like your baby is attempting to learn how to swim on dry land, but those are just their normal movements.<\/p>\n

They have no control over the movements their bodies make.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes babies even keep themselves up when they\u2019re supposed to be sleeping because their arms and legs won\u2019t stop moving. That\u2019s when swaddling<\/a> can make them more comfortable,\u201d Dr. Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Your baby\u2019s skin<\/h3>\n

Babies have very sensitive skin, so little irritations are likely to pop up.<\/p>\n

If your baby has dry, flaky skin or oily, scaly patches on their scalp, it\u2019s probably cradle cap<\/a>, which is completely normal. Don\u2019t pick or scratch dry patches. If your baby has cradle cap, gently wash their head with water. There\u2019s no need to use any lotions. And avoid putting a hat on your baby unless it\u2019s necessary.<\/p>\n

Your baby will also likely have baby acne. Baby acne looks like small red or white bumps on your baby\u2019s cheeks, chin or forehead. Don\u2019t pick at these. You can put baby face lotion on the affected areas if it becomes a problem. Most baby acne goes away on its own.<\/p>\n

Babies are weird, but a lot of the things your baby does are completely normal. If you have any concerns about something you don\u2019t think is normal, talk to your baby\u2019s pediatrician.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Newborns do a lot of things that may seem weird or scary. They\u2019re new to the world, so there\u2019s a lot that they aren\u2019t used to. As a parent, you may worry about whether something your baby does is weird or normal. \u201cFor babies, there\u2019s a range of what\u2019s normal,\u201d said Luis Garcia Tillan, MD, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":18266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[118,116],"tags":[942,754],"coauthors":[1051],"class_list":["post-18176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birthing-center","category-pediatrics","tag-newborns","tag-parenting"],"yoast_head":"\nWeird things about your baby that are actually normal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some things, like hiccupping, acne and a flaky scalp, are actually normal for babies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Weird things about your baby that are actually normal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some things, like hiccupping, acne and a flaky scalp, are actually normal for babies.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OSF HealthCare Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-27T16:00:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_2278794293-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Faley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Faley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal\/\",\"name\":\"Weird things about your baby that are actually normal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_2278794293.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-27T16:00:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc2dbf158eb9b99f4767d395620eca6d\"},\"description\":\"Some things, like hiccupping, acne and a flaky scalp, are actually normal for babies.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/weird-things-about-your-baby-that-are-actually-normal\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_2278794293.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/shutterstock_2278794293.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":810,\"caption\":\"Pediatrician doctor examines newborn with stethoscope. 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