Newborns Hair and Arms and Legs

Newborns Hair
There are some babies that are born completely bald, while there are others that look like they could use a haircut when they are born. The amount of hair a baby is born with is not an indicator of what the baby’s hair will be like later on in his or her life. Usually the initial baby hair goes falling off and is then replaced by new baby hair. The speed in which each baby’s hair grows differs. There are cases of some babies that only have a little bit of hair when they are one year old, while there are others that have a full head of hair and need to get a haircut.

Often times that baby’s body has a layer of soft dark or white hair on it especially on the baby’s forehead, shoulders and back. This hair is called lanugo and is very normal especially in the case of babies that are born prematurely and from mothers that have had diabetes. The lanugo falls off a few weeks after the delivery.

A Newborn’s Arms and Legs
Often times, babies will continue bending into the position they were used to being in while they were in the mother’s uterus, which is called the fetal position. You may notice that your baby likes curling up a little, with his or her arms and legs bent and their fingers closed tightly.

One important tip is to be careful about the baby’s nails when they close their fists this way. You may be surprised to see how long and sharp a newborn’s nails can be. There are many hospitals that dress the babies with shirts that have long arms that cover the baby’s hands so that the baby does not scratch him or herself. Since babies scratch themselves easily, it is a good idea to keep the finger nails relatively short. There are special newborn nail clippers that can be found in baby stores or in pharmacies.

Since clipping a baby’s nails can be a challenge for those that do not have experience with it yet, it is a good idea to do this when the baby is sleeping and is not aware of what you are doing.