Everybody is happy when they see a baby smiling. Almost all people would wait eagerly to see an innocent baby poses a smile out from nowhere. Is your baby happy or has remembered something funny while inside the womb? Others say an angel is playing with her or some oldies would say put on something on her stomach, the baby may have had gas brawling in her little tummy. Well let’s find out why.
Little babies smile while sleeping not because some gases are brawling on their stomach. Babies smile in response to stimulus activity such as when she hears a soft sound or soft voice, a whisper for example. A baby when already on its 2 months old can already see you and the people around her. When you make a move, the baby will smile but that is when your baby can see you. What about during sleep?
Aside from response to stimulus activity, a baby smiles for nothing. A neonate, that is zero month old to one month old, smiles with no emotional attachment at all. A baby’s smile is a product of drowsiness when sleeping. In psychology, we call it a Rem of sleep. In Rem of sleep baby’s brain cells are active, and because it is active, it releases neurotransmitters and that is responsible for baby’s’ smile while asleep. Baby’s smile is sub cortical, meaning it is associated with brain cells below the cerebral cortex, as the baby grows up, smiling while sleeping gradually disappears, because the brain cells are maturing. A premature baby smile frequently compared to full term babies because premature baby has yet to develop some of its sub cortical cells.
When the baby reaches one month, gradually this smiling habit while sleeping gradually decreases, and by the time your baby reaches 2 months old, you will see her again smiling too often. The reason is not purely due to Rem of sleep, but basically baby smile due to stimulus response to soft sounds.