The baby's smile is the greatest gift there can be for parents. There are babies that they smile at birth, and even babies whom we can see smile in the womb thanks to 3D ultrasound.
What we see seems, but it's not really a smile. It is what is known as angelic smile, which responds to a reflection of the newborn.
I've seen a photo lately circulating on the networks as the "record baby who smiled five seconds after birth." We see the baby fresh from the mother's womb, still with the umbilical cord and covered by vernix caseosa, a creamy substance whose function is to protect the baby's skin in the womb.
We see him smiling towards the camera and it seems that he will pose as an expert model, but that broad smile is not an intentional smile that means "how happy I am to reach the world".
Is a spontaneous and reflex lip movement What the baby does when he feels happy and relaxed.
In fact, if we stimulate the baby's cheeks by gently stroking them during the first month of life, the baby will respond instinctively with a smile. It is also very common to see them smile while they sleep.
It is only from the first month of life (approximately between the fourth and sixth week) when the baby finally gives us his first "real" smile. Generally, it is for the mother or the father, and it happens before the answer to their words or their looks. It is a magical moment of communication with the baby. Along with the crying, the smile will become from now on, their way of communicating.
As the child develops his social and perceptual abilities, smiles will become increasingly selective. He will begin to discriminate the motives and the feelings that make him smile.
Whenever your baby gives you his first smile, it will be a very special and unforgettable moment.
