Welcome to the world of 10 gross horrible discoveries that will make you question everything you thought you knew about newborns. From hidden teeth to mysterious fluids, we dive into the quirkiest, most unsettling details that turn the cute factor up to eleven. Buckle up, because parenting just got a lot more interesting.
10 Gross Horrible Facts About Babies
10 Babies Have Two Sets Of Teeth
We’ve all gone through the rite of passage that involves baby teeth, the Tooth Fairy, and the eventual arrival of adult molars. The twist? Those adult teeth don’t just appear out of thin air after we lose the milk chompers. In fact, the entire set of baby teeth is already formed before we even take our first breath.
Once we’re born, a hidden army of permanent teeth begins its quiet invasion, nesting in tiny pockets behind the primary set. They patiently wait until the baby teeth tumble out, at which point they emerge, ready to take over the chewing department. This stealthy swap means a newborn’s gummy grin is actually a secret stash of future dentition.
So the next time you marvel at that innocent, toothless smile, remember you’re looking at a miniature dental workshop, packed with both baby and adult teeth, biding their time behind the scenes.
9 Babies Have More Bones Than Adults
Babies roll into the world with roughly 300 tiny bones, a stark contrast to the 206 solid structures adults eventually end up with. This surplus exists because many of those early bones are actually flexible cartilage plates destined to fuse together as the child grows.
The reason for this bony abundance is practical: a newborn’s skeleton needs to be pliable enough to squeeze through the birth canal. The skull, in particular, is composed of several separate plates that can shift and overlap, granting the head the necessary give‑and‑take during delivery.
Those overlapping plates create soft spots—known as fontanels—where the bone hasn’t yet sealed. While essential for birth, these openings can become a double‑edged sword later on.
If a baby spends too much time resting on the back of a soft spot, the pressure can flatten the skull, giving it a soufflé‑like appearance. Prolonged flattening may even reshape the entire head into a teardrop silhouette.
Fortunately, simple interventions—like giving the infant more tummy time—or, in more severe cases, custom‑made helmets can help correct the deformation and guide the skull back to a healthier contour.
8 Babies Have Huge Eyes
There’s something undeniably magical about the way a newborn’s eyes lock onto you, wide and full of wonder. Those orbs spark an instinctual urge to protect, making us coo, gasp, and melt all at once.
But if you take a closer look, you’ll notice those eyes are almost oversized. A newborn’s ocular size is already about 70 percent of an adult’s, meaning they’re practically full‑grown from day one.
Combine those massive peepers with the fact that babies also carry two full sets of teeth in their tiny jaws, and you have a head that must be proportionally larger—about a quarter of the baby’s total body length—to accommodate everything.
7 Babies Start To Taste And Smell Before Birth
It’s no secret that babies love to shove anything they can grasp into their mouths. What many parents don’t realize is that this sensory quest begins well before they take their first breath.
Inside the womb, the amniotic fluid acts as a flavorful soup, absorbing whatever the mother consumes—vanilla, carrots, anise, mint, even garlic. Research shows that fetuses can detect and even develop a preference for these flavors, meaning they arrive on the scene already primed for certain tastes.
The fluid itself might be a bit icky, but it serves as a rich tasting ground. And the surprises don’t stop there: newborns sport taste buds not only on their tongues but also along the back of the throat, right down to the tonsils, giving them a full‑body palate.
So, while it may feel like a cruel joke, those early taste‑and‑smell adventures are actually a sophisticated way for the baby to start mapping the world of flavors before ever meeting solid food.
6 Babies Are Born Covered In Thick, White Goop
The womb is a constantly moist environment, but the amniotic fluid’s acidity isn’t exactly skin‑friendly. To shield delicate newborn skin, nature equips babies with a protective coating known as vernix.
Vernix is a creamy, cheese‑like substance that looks like a thick, white blanket. It does more than just keep the skin from drying out; it dampens sound, provides insulation, and even acts as a natural lubricant during the birthing process.
Trying to scrub every last speck of vernix off a newborn is practically impossible, and many parents end up feeling a pang of loss when they finally see the baby’s skin uncovered. That coating also helps lock in moisture, keeping the baby’s epidermis supple.
Once the vernix finally disappears, the newborn’s skin begins to dry, and within one to three weeks the first layer of skin typically peels away, leaving a flaky, sometimes crusty surface—quite the opposite of the “soft as a baby’s bottom” myth we grew up hearing.
5 Babies Menstruate
While still nestled in the womb, a baby absorbs a cocktail of hormones from the mother, including estrogen. Newborns, however, lack the capacity to produce these hormones on their own, causing estrogen levels to plummet shortly after birth.
That sudden drop triggers the shedding of the uterine lining—a miniature version of a menstrual cycle. For babies with a uterus, this means they can experience a tiny period within days of entering the world.
Imagine the panic when a parent discovers fresh blood in a newborn’s diaper and rushes to the ER, only to learn that the infant is simply “menstruating” at two days old. It’s a bewildering, yet perfectly normal, physiological response.
4 Babies Are Covered In Hair
Most expect a newborn to emerge bald and smooth, but some babies arrive looking like tiny wolf pups, covered in a fine, soft hair called lanugo. This hair acts as an insulating blanket, helping to keep the fetus warm inside the womb.
Lanugo also plays a role in anchoring the vernix coating, ensuring that the protective goo stays put during the birthing process. Most babies shed this hair before birth, letting it dissolve into the amniotic fluid, but a few retain a noticeable fuzz for a short while after delivery.
3 Babies Pee In The Womb And Then Drink It
Around the tenth week of gestation, a fetus’s bladder becomes functional, allowing the baby to start excreting urine into the surrounding amniotic fluid. This urine becomes part of the fluid’s composition, adding a new element to the baby’s liquid environment.
Five weeks later, the developing baby gains the ability to swallow. From that point on, the infant ingests several ounces of amniotic fluid each day—urine and all—providing a continuous cycle of intake and excretion that helps condition the newborn’s digestive system even before birth.
2 Babies Sometimes Poop In Utero, Too
The first stool a baby produces is called meconium, a thick, tar‑like substance that typically appears after birth. In some cases, however, the infant releases meconium while still in the womb or during the birth canal passage.
Meconium is primarily composed of swallowed amniotic fluid, along with mucus, bile, and lanugo—the fine hair shed before birth. This mixture creates a dark, somewhat unpleasant material that can be alarming for parents and medical staff alike.
When meconium is expelled before or during delivery, it can obstruct the newborn’s airways, leading to breathing difficulties. Nurses must quickly suction the baby’s mouth and nose to clear the passages, ensuring the infant can take its first breaths without obstruction.
1 Science Says You Should Probably Poop On Your Baby During Birth
Most expectant mothers dread the idea of having a bowel movement during labor, but emerging research suggests that a little poop might actually benefit the newborn.
The pelvic muscles used for defecation are the same ones employed to push during delivery. When the baby gets a coating of fecal matter, it indicates that those muscles are working in unison—an encouraging sign that the birth is progressing well.
Beyond the mechanics, exposure to maternal stool can jump‑start the infant’s microbiome, seeding the gut with helpful bacteria that aid digestion and bolster the immune system. Since newborns start life with a nearly sterile gut, this natural “starter kit” can be crucial for healthy development.
For this microbiome boost to occur, some of the stool must make its way into the baby’s mouth, a process that sounds uncomfortable but ultimately supports the child’s long‑term health.
Renee is an Atlanta‑based graphic designer who enjoys researching strange topics and writing the occasional list.