It is approximately between the fourth and sixth week of life when your baby makes you the best of gifts: his first smile.
During the first month, the baby smiles spontaneously for unknown causes, it can even do so while sleeping. It is a reflection of the newborn, also known as angelic smile.
But the first really full smile is the social smile in response to a stimulus from the father or mother. It is the first two-way communication between the parents and the baby. Along with crying, it is the way to communicate with the people around you.
It appears when you see a human face that also smiles or speaks to you. If you look into his eyes at a distance of 20 to 40 cm and speak softly, the baby will change the expression on his face, his eyes and open his lips to sketch a smile.
At first he will smile at everyone who makes him a smile, as a courtesy response, but little by little he will become a selective smile. He will begin to discriminate faces and voices that are familiar to him to give them his best smiles.
Look with more interest and for a longer time to the faces that observe them with real attention and those that you see most frequently. His brain shows more electrical activity at the moment when mom, dad or a close relative interacts with him, responding with a smile.
Gradually, in response to stimuli, pampering and caressing will add sounds to the smile and accompany it with a movement of hands and legs.
He will also smile at you waiting for your response and will begin to observe with maximum attention the gestures of your face that he will soon imitate.
This pampering-smile communication greatly benefits the bond between the baby and the parents, in addition to promoting their development as a social being.
