What your new baby can do Tim Khan A newborn baby is able to do many things and is primed to communicate with you and develop relationships.

In this article

Your baby's senses

Social baby

Your baby's reflexes

One of the joys of parenthood is watching your baby explore his new world, interacting with him and seeing his responses to you change and develop.

• Sight - at birth, if your baby's alert and healthy, he'll open his eyes and gaze at you. New babies love human faces, especially eyes. They're also attracted to bright, bold colours and sharp outlines, and any sudden movement may attract their gaze. At first, your baby sees best at a distance of between eight and 12 inches. Lock on to his gaze when you hold him.
• Touch - hold your baby so you're skin-to-skin. He'll feel your warmth and learn the difference between a female chest and a male one!
• Smell - your baby has a good sense of smell, which helps him find the nipple and begin to breastfeed; you may find your baby doesn't feed as well if you wear strong perfume.
• Hearing - shake a rattle on one side of your baby's head and he should turn his head to acknowledge it. Babies prefer gentle voices, so speak softly and slightly higher than usual. Other sounds babies like include hairdryers, vacuum cleaners and washing machines - it's thought that the rhythmic quality of such noises is what's appealing.
• Taste - babies are aware of different tastes. Breastmilk takes on subtle flavours, depending on your diet. This is probably to prepare your baby for when he eats with the rest of the family.
• Movement - your baby can make deliberate movements of his whole body, including hands, feet and head. If he's placed on your chest, he will gradually move towards the breast to suckle and feed.

As well as these physical senses, your baby is ready to try out his social skills. Talk to your baby and give him time to respond - in a short while, you'll notice you can have a 'conversation' with sounds and expressions. Nappy changing is a good time to talk and play.

You can play games with your baby from the first days and weeks:

• Dance and sway to music - try rocking and patting as well, in time to the beat.
• Sing and whisper in his ear - and make funny noises and faces at him.
• Play peek-a-boo - put your hands in front of your face, then take them away quickly and say 'peek-a-boo'. He won't understand or anticipate the sequence at first, but at about eight to ten weeks he'll start to remember what happens, and will smile and gurgle with delight.
• Play with different textures - have a box of different fabrics, such as towelling, velvet, cotton wool, a clean feather and so on. Stroke them against your baby's hands and arms, and see his responses.
• Give him something to look at when he's in his cot or pram - a mobile, perhaps, or park the pram under a leafy tree.
• Have fun in the water - the bath is a great place to play.
• Give him a relaxing massage - with oil or fine talcum after his bath.

Watch your baby's reactions to games and 'conversation'. Sometimes, he may not want to take anything more in and may turn away, cry or avoid looking at you. Respect that, and let him take some time out.

Your baby is born with reflexes, some of which disappear within a few days or weeks.

• Startle reflex - makes your baby throw his arms out and arch his back when startled or shocked.
• Rooting reflex - if you gently touch your baby on the side of his mouth, he'll turn towards the source.
• Grasping reflex - your baby's hands clench into a fist and can 'hold' small objects. His toes will curl inwards to if you stroke his inner sole; if you stroke on the outer sole, they will splay out.
• Sucking reflex - your baby will suck anything that's placed in his mouth.
• Walking or stepping reflex - if you hold your baby upright, one foot 'steps' in front of the other as if he's going to walk.
• Crawling reflex - when placed on his tummy, your baby will bend his legs underneath his body.

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