The World According to Babies

Here, fascinating answers to the question: How much does my baby understand?

Hearing and Vision

Every parent thinks her baby is a genius. And maybe it's not such a far-out claim when you consider the startling amount a newborn does know. His senses began to develop while he was still in the womb, and they progress at an amazing pace during the first year. Far from being a helpless little bundle, your baby is processing tons of information -- and using it to become attached to you.

Hearing

Your baby can detect sounds by the third trimester, so this sense is already advanced at birth. She'll recognize familiar voices -- especially yours, since she listened to it the most in the womb. She may even recognize songs and stories she heard during the last six weeks of your pregnancy. "By the time she's 1 month old, a baby can tell the difference between certain sounds, like 'pa' and 'ba,'" says Michael Yogman, MD, a pediatrician at Mount Auburn Hospital, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At about 6 months, she can recognize and begin responding to her name. This is also when your baby starts babbling and discovers another sound she loves -- her own voice!

Sounds

Babies Love White noise -- the vacuum cleaner, radio static, and the hum of a fan -- remind them of the soothing whooshing noises in the womb.

That high-pitched, singsong voice we all use when we talk to babies. Lower-frequency sounds are less engaging.

Music, especially lullabies and nursery rhymes.

You may think your baby needs silence in order to sleep, but she's actually used to the (loud) sounds of your body from her time in the womb. So make some noise while she naps -- she may sleep better!

More at Parents.com.