Is what your baby does actually normal?

Yes, and it is one of the most common things that alarms new parents. The clinical term is benign neonatal sleep myoclonus, and it affects somewhere between 66% and 80% of newborns in the first three months of life. The twitches typically appear as brief, rhythmic jerks of the arms, legs, or whole body during quiet (NREM) sleep. They often occur in clusters of four or five movements, then stop. The crucial distinguishing feature is that they only happen during sleep and stop immediately when the baby wakes up. Sleep myoclonus peaks in the first two weeks of life and almost always resolves completely by six months. If you notice jerking movements while your baby is awake, sustained stiffening, eye deviation during episodes, or movements that do not stop when you gently wake your baby, contact your paediatrician. (Sources: Sheldon 2014; AAP)

Newborn hiccups are near-universal. More than 95% of healthy newborns experience regular hiccup episodes, and most have two to three episodes per day in the first three months. Hiccups are involuntary contractions of the diaphragm, which is still maturing and easily triggered by feeding, swallowing air, temperature changes, or excitement. Hiccups are not painful for your baby. They were almost certainly hiccupping in the womb as well: foetal hiccups are commonly detected on ultrasound from around nine weeks of gestation. Most episodes last five to ten minutes and resolve on their own. Traditional remedies like startling the baby or pressing the fontanelle are ineffective and potentially dangerous. If hiccups interfere persistently with feeding, mention it to your health visitor or paediatrician. (Sources: AAP; NHS guidance)

For babies under three months old, a rectal temperature of 38.0C (100.4F) or above is considered a fever and requires immediate medical attention, even if your baby looks well and is feeding normally. This is not a wait-and-see situation. Call your doctor, go to A&E or the ER, or call emergency services. For babies aged three to six months, the threshold is 39.0C (102.2F), which warrants urgent medical review. For babies over six months, behaviour and feeding matter more than the temperature number alone. Always measure temperature rectally for the most accurate reading in infants under three months. Red signs requiring 999/911/000 at any age include: mottled or blue skin, weak or high-pitched cry, non-blanching rash, stiff neck, bulging fontanelle, and seizure. (Sources: AAP; NICE NG143 Fever in Under 5s)

The range of normal for newborn stool frequency is far wider than most parents expect. In the first month, a breastfed baby may produce anywhere from one to eight or more stools per day, with a median of about four. Formula-fed babies typically stool one to five times per day, with a median of two. After the first month, some breastfed babies continue to stool multiple times daily, while others go five, seven, or even ten days between bowel movements. Both patterns are normal for breastfed infants, because breast milk is so efficiently absorbed. The key indicators of concern are character, not frequency: very hard stools suggest constipation; blood or mucus warrants a call to your doctor; white or very pale stools are a red flag for liver problems and require same-day medical assessment; persistent watery diarrhoea with reduced wet nappies could indicate dehydration. (Sources: Palmu et al. 2020; AAP)

Nearly every baby experiences some degree of hair thinning or shedding in the first six months, and for most it peaks between three and four months of age. The mechanism is synchronised telogen effluvium triggered by the hormonal shift at birth. The hair that grows back, usually starting around six to twelve months, may be a completely different colour or texture than the birth hair. This is normal. The only patterns that warrant medical attention are patchy bald spots with scaling or redness, which could indicate ringworm (tinea capitis). Plain friction-related thinning on the back of the head from back-sleeping is not ringworm and does not require treatment. (Sources: Sullivan & Barlow 2001; NHS guidance)

Almost certainly not, based on what we currently understand about neonatal brain development. Nightmares require the ability to form narrative memories, experience fear in a contextual way, and process visual imagery during REM sleep. Newborns spend about 50% of their total sleep in REM, but their neocortex is not yet mature enough to generate the kind of complex, story-based dreaming that produces nightmares. What parents often interpret as a bad dream (a baby crying out, grimacing, or startling during sleep) is more likely a normal sleep-state transition, a startle (Moro) reflex, benign sleep myoclonus, or a brief partial arousal between sleep cycles. Night terrors, which are distinct from nightmares, typically do not appear until 18 months at the earliest. (Sources: Sheldon 2014; AAP developmental guidance)

The medical definition is specific: the neonatal period runs from birth to 28 days. The common usage of newborn among parents and healthcare professionals extends to roughly three months (12 weeks), also called the fourth trimester. Developmentally, the newborn stage ends when the baby begins to show reliable social smiling (usually around 6 to 8 weeks) and gains head control during tummy time (around 2 to 3 months). For practical purposes, if a medical professional or guideline says newborn, they almost always mean the first 28 days. If a parenting book says newborn, they usually mean the first three months. The difference matters most for clinical thresholds: the emergency fever threshold of 38.0C applies to the first three months, not just the first 28 days. (Sources: WHO; AAP)

No. Every major paediatric safety body recommends that babies sleep on their backs (supine) for every sleep, including naps, until they can roll both ways independently. The evidence is substantial: the Back to Sleep campaign reduced SIDS rates by approximately 50% across every country that adopted it. Side sleeping is specifically identified as an unstable position because babies placed on their side can easily roll onto their stomach (prone), which is the highest-risk position for SIDS. Common concerns about choking risk from back-sleeping are unfounded: healthy babies have protective airway reflexes. Once your baby can roll from back to front and front to back on their own (typically around four to six months), you do not need to reposition them if they roll during sleep. Continue to place them on their back at the start of every sleep. Additional safe-sleep guidance: firm, flat mattress with no pillows, blankets, bumpers, or soft toys in the cot; room-share (but not bed-share) for at least the first six months. (Sources: AAP Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome 2022; Lullaby Trust; Red Nose Australia)