Baby Behaviour
Newborns have their own language of sounds, movements, and cues. From crying jags and grunts to startling reflexes and early eye contact, these behaviours can be both fascinating and unnerving when you’re not sure what’s normal. This section breaks down common newborn behaviours – why they happen, what they mean, and when to call for extra help – so you can read your baby with confidence and respond with calm.
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The Normal Cry Curve
All babies cry; it peaks around 6–8 weeks, often reaching two to three hours in 24 hours, then eases by three to four months. Evening “witching-hour” fussiness is common and usually reflects fatigue, digestive adjustment, and a need for close contact – rather than pain or hunger alone.
Defining Colic
Paediatricians use the Rule of 3: crying > 3 hours a day, > 3 days a week, for > 3 weeks in an otherwise healthy, growing infant. True colic affects roughly 1 in 5 babies and resolves on its own by 4–5 months. Current evidence shows no single cause; gut immaturity, nervous-system development, and temperament all play a role.
Soothing Strategies that Work
Feed responsively but avoid frequent “comfort” over-feeds.
Hold baby upright and use gentle movement (rocking, walking, baby carrier).
White-noise, swaddling, or dim lights can lower sensory overload.
Try a warm bath or tummy massage (clockwise circles).
For breast-fed babies, a short maternal dairy-free trial may help if stools are mucousy or blood-streaked.
Pacifiers are safe once breastfeeding is established and can satisfy babies’ innate need to suck.
When Crying Warrants Review
Contact your clinician promptly if crying is accompanied by: persistent vomiting, fever, poor weight gain, breathing changes, distended abdomen, or if you feel overwhelmed despite support. Early assessment rules out medical causes (reflux disease, CMPI, urinary-tract infection) and connects families with extra help.
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Noisy but Normal
Newborns are obligate nose-breathers with narrow, mucous-lined airways, so mild snuffles, grunts, and occasional “piglet” squeaks are common – especially after feeds or when lying flat. Periodic breathing (rapid breaths followed by brief pauses up to 10 seconds) is also typical in the first few weeks as the brain’s respiratory centre matures.
The “Floppy Airway” (Laryngomalacia)
About 1 in 100 infants develop a soft, floppy voice-box cartilage that collapses slightly on each inward breath, producing a high-pitched inspiratory stridor that’s loudest when baby is excited, feeding, or lying on their back. Called laryngomalacia, it usually peaks at 4–6 months and resolves by 12–18 months as the airway stiffens. Most cases need only growth monitoring and upright feeds; severe cases with poor weight gain or breathing effort are referred to an ENT specialist.
Know the Red Flags
Seek medical review urgently if your baby shows:
Persistent recessions (sucking-in at ribs or collarbones).
Stridor or grunting that worsens when calm or asleep.
Colour change (blue or grey lips/skin).
Pauses in breathing > 15 seconds with colour or tone change.
Prompt assessment can rule out infection, bronchiolitis, or rarer structural issues.
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The Built-In Reflex Toolkit
Newborns arrive with a set of automatic behaviours that protect and prepare them for life outside the womb. The Moro reflex (sudden arm fling when startled), rooting reflex (turning toward a touch on the cheek), and grasp reflex (curling fingers around yours) are all normal and strongest in the first 8–12 weeks. You’ll also notice the stepping reflex when feet touch a firm surface and the tonic neck reflex – head turned to one side, that arm extends while the opposite arm bends. These movements fade as voluntary control develops.
Jitters, Jerks, and What’s Normal
Brief sleep twitches, hiccups, and shivers after a startle are common while the nervous system matures. They should stop when you gently hold the limb or change baby’s position. By contrast, rhythmic jerks that continue despite gentle restraint, eye-rolling, or colour change may signal a seizure and need urgent review. Lip tremors or chin quivers often occur when baby is crying hard or cold and usually settle with warmth and soothing.
When to Seek Extra Help
Contact your clinician if you see persistent floppiness or stiffness, lack of any protective reflexes by two weeks, asymmetric limb use, or movements that look repetitive and cannot be interrupted. Early assessment rules out muscular or neurological concerns and links families with physiotherapy or developmental follow-up when needed.
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Early sight: blurry but busy
At birth your baby sees best at 20–30 cm – the perfect distance for gazing at a parent’s face. Contrast, bold patterns, and gentle side-to-side movement capture their attention. By six weeks many infants briefly fix and follow a face; by three months they track smoothly and smile in response.
Crossed eyes (pseudostrabismus)
Intermittent eye crossing is common in the first three months because the eye muscles are still learning to work together, and a broad nasal bridge can create the illusion of misalignment. Occasional crossing that resolves when baby focuses is usually pseudostrabismus and improves as the bridge narrows. Persistent crossing beyond four months or one eye consistently turning in or out warrants an ophthalmology review to protect developing vision.
Sticky or watery eyes
A blocked tear duct affects up to 20% of newborns, causing continuous tearing or yellow-sticky discharge without redness. Gentle daily massage from the inner corner of the eye down the side of the nose often clears the duct by 6–12 months. Persistent redness, swelling, or green discharge may indicate infection and should be checked promptly.
Red reflex & “white pupil” checks
Midwives or paediatricians shine a light to look for the red reflex – an even orange-red glow from the back of each eye. An absent or white reflex, or a white pupil in photos, can signal cataract or retinoblastoma and needs urgent specialist review, though it is rare.
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Newborn hearing screening
Before discharge every baby is offered an automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) or oto-acoustic emission test. Tiny sensors record how the inner ear and brainstem react to soft clicks while your baby sleeps. Most newborns pass in both ears; a “refer” result simply means the test is repeated (often fluid or vernix blocked the first reading). Detecting hearing loss in the first six months allows timely fitting of hearing devices and gives speech and language the best start.
Early listening & vocal milestones
Birth to 1 month — startles or blinks to sudden sounds, settles to a familiar voice, makes brief throat grunts.
2 to 3 months — turns toward a speaker, coos, sighs and “oo-ah” sounds, smiles in response to voices.
4 to 6 months — enjoys musical toys, squeals, laughs, and strings together open-vowel coos (“ah-goo”), experiments with pitch and volume.
6 to 9 months — babbles consonant-vowel chains (“ba-ba-ba”), responds to own name, and uses different cries to signal needs.
Frequent talking, singing, and reading aloud nurture these skills; babies learn rhythm, intonation and conversational turn-taking long before they form recognisable words.
When to follow up
Arrange review if your baby never startles to loud noise, does not quiet to a caregiver’s voice by six weeks, fails to coo by three months, or shows no babbling by nine months. Prompt audiology or speech-language referral can address treatable issues—middle-ear fluid, auditory neuropathy, or sensorineural loss—before they affect long-term language and learning.
