Does My Baby Recognize Me?

The first year of your child’s life is all about learning, for you and for her.

2 min read

The first year of your child’s life is all about learning, for you and for her. For her, it means learning about absolutely everything. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new, and one of the first things your baby will learn is how to recognize you, using many of her senses.

Believe it or not, the process of recognizing you starts before birth. At about the seventh month of your pregnancy, your baby started hearing your voice. So, by the time you’re carrying your new baby and talking to her, she’s already familiar with your voice and it brings her comfort. (TIP: Read stories to your baby while you’re pregnant. It will help her get familiar with your voice.)

Her vision might be fuzzy for the first few months, but she can see things that are about 15 centimeters away, albeit in a fuzzy way. That’s the distance your baby is from your face when you’re feeding her, so she will pick up on what you look like soon enough.

Studies have shown that a newborn is able to recognize her mother’s milk by using her own sense of smell. Studies have also shown that your baby loves your smell, and will recognize you thanks to it.

Using all of these senses that are still in full development mode, your baby is able to, within just a few days, recognize who you are and understand that you’re her mother, or at least the one that brings her comfort and food.