All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
A baby is 3 days old - how is he or she developing?
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
[ Baby's height and weight at 3 days
Depending on when and how the birth took place, what the mother ate, and heredity, the weight of a full-term newborn baby can fluctuate from 2600 to 4500 grams. And the height can vary from 45 to 55 cm. Therefore, all healthy children who have a height and weight within these limits will develop normally with good and proper care.
During the first three days, the child may have a fever, eat poorly and lose weight. This happens because all the child's systems are adapting to the new world around them. Then the child will begin to recover and grow and catch up with the lost weight.
Baby's sense of touch at 3 days
For a 3-day-old child, touch provides him with 80% of information about the environment. In an adult, this process will gradually be replaced by another - he perceives most information through vision.
Therefore, for a 3-day-old child it is very important:
- Temperature conditions
- Changes in cold and heat
- Softness of clothes (diapers)
- Are his diapers dry or wet?
- Tactile contact
Due to the special sensitivity of the newborn's skin, it is necessary to initially select only natural fabrics for the child, the softest possible.
Emotions of a child at 3 days
Small children 3 days old feel the emotions of adults very well. In particular, their mother, with whom they have a very close relationship. If a child feels that their mother is crying, upset, angry or sick, they immediately feel it and begin to cry, empathize.
Therefore, you need to stroke the baby as often as possible, massage him, kiss him. Then the baby calms down and feels safe.
Baby's sense of smell at 3 days
In the first three days, the baby has a very keen sense of smell. This ability is especially acute throughout the first three months of the baby's life. A baby who is only 3 days old is able to turn his head away from a smell that he does not like. And this is despite the fact that he cannot even hold his head up yet. Therefore, you need to avoid strong smells in the apartment, especially the smell of household chemicals.
But a 3-day-old child instantly senses his mother's scent and reacts to it, calming down. As soon as the mother approaches the crib of the baby who was crying, he calms down.
Child's hearing at 3 days
A child's hearing is a unique gift that is given to him even before birth. He hears everything that happens while still in his mother's womb. Therefore, parents are advised to talk to their little child before birth, turn on classical music, and good, kind cartoons. Already in the seventh month of the mother's pregnancy, the child begins to distinguish and recognize voices, and he even tends to get scared by sharp sounds. And this is even taking into account the fact that the amniotic fluid dampens the sound and distorts it.
When a baby is 3 days old, he or she responds best to the mother's familiar voice, especially if this voice is melodious and soothing. To calm a baby at 3 days, you can simply hum some simple melody that you hummed during pregnancy.
Baby's vision at 3 days
When a baby is just born, its vision is still unclear. For several months, the baby will be able to distinguish faces only at a distance of 20-25 cm (the distance from the mother's breast during feeding to her face). And in the first three days, according to many theories, the baby sees the environment upside down, since its optic nerves have not yet developed. The child will look at a black and white picture more willingly than at a colored one. And only in the second or third month of life will the child be more interested in seeing colored pictures.
Baby's feelings at 3 days
Previously, the baby was in the mother's belly, surrounded by amniotic fluid. Now the situation has changed dramatically: there is no protection, the body seems heavy and clumsy, because it can no longer easily slide in the water. The baby will feel these inconveniences of getting used to the new world for 2-3 weeks.
The process of emptying, which has not happened before, can also be very painful, so the baby can cry and suffer from constipation and tummy pain. A doctor's consultation, dill water and a light clockwise tummy massage will help.
The taste of a child at 3 days
Mother's milk is the most wonderful taste on earth for a 3-day-old baby. Not only because it is pleasant for the tongue, but also because the milk smells strongly of mother. It is the taste of protection and safety. Other tastes are unpleasant and incomprehensible for the baby.
A 3-day-old baby has not yet fully adapted to this world. Therefore, it is necessary to show maximum care and attention to it. It will continue to grow and develop intensively for a whole year, and then its growth and weight gain will slow down a little.