We all know that every birth and every baby is an absolute miracle. But after having our second baby Hugh back in November (and spending many a sleepless night reading up about his development and wondering how we created such a perfect human) I’m now starting to think that babies are even more amazing than I initially thought.
First of all, while scrolling through my phone looking back at photos of Teddy – the below are of him at around 7 months (he’s now two and a half!) – I was shocked by how similar both him and Hugh look.
And as I’ve written about before, the science of babies’ development is frankly mind-boggling. Like the fact that babies are born with more bones than adults[1]. Or the fact that babies are born with 10,000 taste buds[2] (which decline later in age to the meagre 5,000 that you have as an adult), which has always amazed me.
But it’s not just the science-y bits that make babies so wonderful in my view…it’s also the things that every parent inherently feels about our little bundles of joy, but can’t logically explain.
Like, why does every single newborn baby smell so damn delicious? What’s all that about?
And why, just by having a baby in front of you, do grown men and women instantly lose control of their vocal chords and their grasp of the English language, and start speaking in high pitched baby talk instead?
Or why, as parents, we’ve evolved to instantaneously fall in love with this tiny person that we’ve literally only just met?
All things I can’t explain, but know first-hand to be true!
Now, part of the reason I’ve become so interested in babies’ development over the past few weeks, is because I’ve recently signed up to a really exciting partnership with SMA® Nutrition, who are passionate about babies and their development.
And we want to hear from you about your little one’s development!
SMA® Nutrition has been a leader in baby nutrition research for over 100 years, so it’s no surprise that the wonder of baby is a theme that’s really close to their heart.
SMA® Nutrition has recently relaunched its product range, which features a brand new look and feel, which makes it easier to identify the product that’s best for your little one. SMA® PRO Growing Up Milk, for example, is nutritionally enriched to help support young children’s healthy growth up until their 4th birthday. It contains vitamin D and calcium to support the normal growth and development of bones, and Omega 3 & 6† and iodine to help support normal growth. It also contains a blend of vitamins, including A, C & D to help support the normal function of a child’s immune system. SMA® PRO Growing Up Milk is also enriched with iron to help support normal cognitive development in a child’s brain.
To celebrate the relaunch of the brand’s Growing Up Milk, we want to find out from real parents up and down the country what they think are the most wonderful and amazing things about babies.
Maybe it’s one of the things I’ve mentioned above. Perhaps it’s a fact you heard in a pub quiz or learnt from your own late-night reading. Or maybe it’s just something wonderful that you’ve observed first hand on your parenting journey so far, that made you think “Wow, aren’t babies amazing?!”.
Whatever springs to mind, we want to hear from you, so please join in and share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below!
Cheers!
This sponsored post has been written in collaboration with SMA® Nutrition
IMPORTANT NOTICE: SMA® PRO Growing Up Milk is suitable for young children from 1-3 years, as part of a healthy balanced diet and it is not a breast milk substitute.
†The beneficial effect of essential fatty acids is obtained with a daily intake of 10 g of Linoleic acid and 2 g of a-linolenic acid.
References:
1) Peate I, Gormley-Fleming E., eds (2015). Fundamentals of Children’s Anatomy and Physiology: A Textbook for Nursing and Healthcare Students, page 404. UK, Wiley Blackwell.
2) Martini, F.H. (2005) Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology. New Jersey, NJ: Benjamin Cummings.
These facts are fascinating! Also – another one that’s incredible is how a baby can mimic their patients facial expressions for the first couple of hours of their lives, and can copy them sticking out their tongue, before this ability is lost after a few hours ♀️
Author
Oooh I hadn’t heard that one either! Love it
Newborn babies really are easier than toddlers – make the most of it!
They do smell great too.
Author
True dat! Hugh is soooo easy compared to Teddy right now!
Oh and the fact that babies brains take in more in the first five years than we do for the rest of our lives!
Author
Ooooh – I didn’t know that one. AMAZING
The fact that first borns look like the dad to start with to make the dad bond with them and stay?! This is of course from cave man times!!
Author
Love that one Meg! Although weirdly when Teddy was born, I hardly recognised him (and the similarities didn’t come until much later)…looking at pictures of Rosie though, he looked just like her as a baby. Hugh is much more me though!
This is totally true!! The moment Arlo was handed to me after his birth I was convinced he looked exactly like me… It was almost scary!
I look back at pictures of that moment, and in reality he looked like a shrivelled prune … But to me, for those five minutes, I was convinced i was looking at a mini replica of me!! (or maybe I just have a face of a shrivelled prune)
Once the weird vision of seeing my own face in this tiny new ball of skin wore off, I was also very happy to discover Arlo has inherited my oddly long and bulbous second toe… A strange point of pride for me!
Author
Haha! I was the same with Teddy…thought he was the cutest thing in the world…but looking back, definite prune vibes
My little one looks exactly like her Dad .. I feel for her!! Jokes.
Thanks for all the info about SMA You the Daddy – really didn’t know so much research went into it all, so important for our little ones development!
I always find it fascinating that you can dunk a baby underwater when swimming and they just take it in their stride… and yeah they smell great ha ha. You have a beautiful family Giles.
Author
Great one Skinner! I loved doing that with Teddy, much to Rosie’s horror!
A newborn baby can grab onto a washing line and hold its own bodyweight.
Author
I love that one!