Strange Things About Newborns That Are Actually Quite Normal

Labor and delivery are complicated processes. No matter how much you read or solicit advice from people you know, there will always be something you didn’t expect. We try to be as prepared as possible, but we can’t know everything. When you experience something new with your newborn, your first instinct will be to worry. Before you rush to your doctor, here are a few strange occurrences that are actually quite normal.

1. Frequent sneezing.

If your baby is constantly sneezing, it doesn’t mean she’s sick. She is new to this world and her body is extra sensitive to the environment. She might be trying to get rid of foreign particles that her body isn’t used to, or working to get rid of extra mucus or amniotic fluid that’s caught in her respiratory system. You shouldn’t worry unless the sneezing is accompanied by wheezing.

2. Sudden jerking movements.

Random spasms may be startling to watch, but they’re par for the course of a developing body. She doesn’t know how to operate her own body yet, so she has to experiment. She’ll also be developing her startle reflex, which you’ll see her doing randomly or when she hears a loud noise. Be sure to swaddle your baby so they startle themselves awake less and sleep better. You should only worry if your baby isn’t exhibiting spastic movements.

3. Misshapen heads.

Birth isn’t just tough for moms. Babies have a rough time too! A baby’s head is soft and malleable in the beginning as all the bones in skull haven’t fused together yet. In order to get through mom’s pelvis, some flattening may occur. It can also happen if she lays on her back too often during the first months. Let your baby spend more time on her tummy or your arms. If the flatness doesn’t seem to go away, your doctor may want her to wear a special helmet to correct the shape.

4. Askew eyes.

Your baby is still trying to adjust to her new abilities, including her sight. Her eyes may seem crossed or looking different directions until she gains the necessary muscle control to point them where she wants. Also, baby eyes may appear crossed when the pupils are functioning fine. Extra skin folds near the nose may be covering some of the white, making it seem like she’s looking inward. If the eyes aren’t functioning normally by six months, see your doctor.

5. Baby boobies.

Throughout pregnancy, mothers experience lots of wacky hormones, the side effects of which cause enlarged breast tissue. Anything in the mother’s body also affects the baby, so it’s not uncommon to see babies develop breast tissue. There’s no reason to stress. The hormones eventually pass and the tissue will go away in time. You might also notice swollen genitals in both boys and girls for the same reason. Speak to your doctor if you notice redness around the tissue that is accompanied by a fever.

6. Exploding poop.

Newborn waste is watery with mustard-seed-like texture. That means it doesn’t take much to send it shooting across the room. You won’t be the first parent to clean feces off a wall, fan, or tabletop. You should only be concerned if the texture, color, and consistency isn’t right for the baby’s age.

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Written by Stephanie Parker from Sleepingbaby.com, inventors of the Zipadee-Zip

The motto for Sleeping Baby, makers of the Zipadee-Zip, is: "Inspiring Dreams One Night at A time," and that, in a nutshell, is how it all started…with one little dream that has since become the Parker family's reality. When Brett and Stephanie Parker's daughter, Charlotte, was born, the feeling that welled up inside of them was indescribable; they never realized until first looking into those baby blues of hers that they were even capable of that kind of love.

When it was time to transition baby from swaddling, the Parkers tried every sleep sack on the market and every swaddle weaning trick they could find for nearly two weeks and nothing worked to get baby Charlotte to fall and stay asleep.

Stephanie became determined to restore sleep and sanity to their household and set out to find a solution that would soothe Charlotte's startle reflex and provide her the cozy womb-like environment she loved so much but still give her the freedom to roll over and wiggle around in her crib safely. Out of sheer desperation and exhaustion, the Zipadee-Zip was born. The first Zipadee-Zip(R) Stephanie put together on her little sewing machine worked like magic!

To date tens of thousands of Zipadee-Zips have been sold and all from word-of-mouth marketing. It is so rewarding for the Parkers to see other parents and babies getting the sleep they both need and deserve!

For more information, visit sleepingbaby.com.

Interested in writing a guest blog for Sleeping Baby? Send your topic idea to pr@sleepingbaby.com.

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