Babies make a variety of strange Baby Sounds, whether asleep or awake, and this is quite normal. Most of these are due to the immaturity of her respiratory system and will soon disappear.

Snoring Your baby may make some grunting noises when she’s asleep. This is not a true snore, and is probably caused by vibrations on the soft palate at the back of her mouth as she breathes.

Snuffling Your baby may snuffle so loudly with each breath that you think she has a cold or that she has mucus at the back of her throat. In most babies, these snuffling noises are harmless and are caused because the bridge of the nose is low and air is trying to get through very short, narrow nasal passages. As your baby grows older, the bridge of her nose will get higher and the snuffling sound will gradually disappear.

Sneezing You may also think your baby has a cold because she sneezes a lot. In fact, sneezing is common in newborn babies, particularly if they open their eyes and are exposed to bright light. This sneezing can actually be beneficial – it helps clear out your baby’s nasal passages.

Hiccups Newborn babies hiccup a lot, particularly after a feeding. This leads some mothers to fear that their baby has indigestion, but this is rarely the case. Hiccups are due to imperfect control of the diaphragm – the sheet of muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen- and they will disappear as your baby’s nervous system control of the diaphragm matures.

Once you bring your newborn home, you’ll have some sleepless nights unless you are very lucky. Although most newborns usually sleep when they are not feeding – typically spending at least 60 percent of their time asleep – some will remain active and alert for surprisingly long periods during the day and night.

One young mother was shocked to find that her new baby never dozed for longer than one or two hours at a time until she was four months old. This is a very long time for any parent to survive without a full night’s sleep, especially when your body may be in need of rest after an exhausting pregnancy and birth. If you have a very wakeful baby, be consoled by the fact that as long as she isn’t left bored on her own, every minute that she’s awake she’s learning something new – and in the long run you will be rewarded with an eager, bright child.

All babies are different, and their sleep requirements depend on individual physiology. For this reason it’s nonsensical to lay down rigid sleeping times that correspond to the average baby. As I’ve said before, the average baby doesn’t exist.

Most newborns fall asleep soon after feeding. At first, a baby’s wakefulness is likely to depend on how much feeding she needs, which in turn dependson her weight.

Assume that your baby will try cry a lot and you might be pleasantly surprised if she doesn’t. If you think she won’t cry and then she does, you may find yourself overwhelmed and disorientated.

Remember that there are really only three states your newborn baby can be in: asleep, awake and quiet, and awake and crying. If causes are tiredness, hunger, loneliness, and discomfort – she is too hot or too cold, is in an uncomfortable position, or needs changing. You must accept sometimes, though, that a baby will cry for no discernible reason. This type of crying can be the most stressful for a parent.

Responding to crying Leaving a child to cry on her own is never  a good idea, even though you will hear this advice often. If a baby is denied attention and friendship in her early weeks and months, she may grow up to be introverted, shy, and withdrawn. Research on newborns shows that if parents are slow to respond to their baby’s crying, the result may be a baby who cries more rather than less. A recent study found that babies whose crying was ignored in their first few weeks tended to cry more frequently and persistently as they grew older.

REFLEXES

One thing common to all healthy babies is a number of reflexes that can be stimulated from the very first moments after birth. Newborn Reflexes are involuntary movements that eventually , at about three months, start to be replaced by voluntary movements.

Grasp reflexIf you put something in the palm of your baby’s hand, he will clench it surprisingly tightly. The grasp of a baby is often tight enough to support his entire body weight (although you should never try this).

The rooting reflex

This is the most basic instinct: the on that helps your newborn baby find your breast and suck it. If you gently stroke your baby’s cheek he will turn his head in the direction of your finger and open his mouth. If you touch her centre of his upper lip, you will also see that his mouth opens. You might notice that your newborn baby responds in a positive way to your presence by momentarily contracting his whole face and body. As he learns to control his movements, you will see that his reactions become more directed and less random. For instance, at six weeks, instead of scrunching up his whole face, he may show you a distinct smile.

TESTING REFLEXES

Until your baby’s physical and mental capabilities develop, it will be his instinctive reflexes that provide an indication of his maturity. Doctors can test these reflexes to check your baby’s general health and see that his central nervous system is functioning well. Premature babies will not react in the same way as full – term babies. Although there are more than 70 primitive reflexes that have been identified in newborn babies, your doctor is likely to test only a selected few. The two most commonly recognized reflexes that you can easily test yourself are the rooting and the grasp reflex. Don’t try to test the More reflex at home, as this could distress your baby and make him cry.

Walking reflexIf you hold your baby under the shoulders so that he is in an upright position and his feet are allowed to touch a firm surface, he’ll move his legs in a walking action. This reflex disappears in three to six weeks, and is not what helps your child learn to walk.

Placing reflexThis is quite similar to the walking reflex. If you hold your baby in an upright position and bring the front of his leg into contact with the edge of a table, he will lift his foot as if to step on to the table. The same reflex is present in the arm; if the back of your baby’s fore arm touches the table edge, he will raise his arm.

“Crawling”

When you place your baby on his stomach, he will automatically assume what appears to be a crawling position, with his pelvis high and his knees pulled up under his abdomen.When he kicks his legs he may be able to shuffle in a vague crawling manner. It is not real crawling, however, and this behavior will disappear as soon as his legs uncurl and he lies flat.