Why does my baby smile when sleeping?

Smiling is one of the first reflexes that babies develop, even inside the womb, however, many of us parents get excited and want to know why our baby smiles while sleeping. Here we will learn a little more about what is behind this sweet and touching gesture.

What is a reflex?

A voluntary, unconscious movement. So, even if we love that smile, it's not really responding to anything the baby is thinking or feeling like dreams, a sense of well-being or the like. It is simply a contraction of his facial muscles.

It is likely that in the baby's environment, you will hear phrases like: ''he is dreaming that he is still in the womb'', ''he is dreaming with the little angels'' and the like, but the truth is that at least during those first months of life the smile is not something that the little one controls 100%.

 

Normally during the first months of life, this smile is completely involuntary, however, when our baby grows and begins to socialize and learn more about the outside world, this smile becomes voluntary and responds to stimuli and pleasant sensations.

 

It should be noted that smiling and crying are the first languages with which our baby communicates. Although the smile appears during sleep, we observe that it becomes more intense between 60 and 90 minutes of sleep, since, although the baby is relaxed, his brain is processing information at a fairly high speed.

 

Even in ultrasounds we can observe that fetal smile that melts parents and pediatricians alike, but it does not obey major stimuli.

How do we stimulate our baby's smile?

Already in periods of consciousness and with our child fully awake, there are many ways we have to share with them and make them smile, especially showing them that they are an act of complicity and happiness for them and their environment.

Games, toys of their interest, grimaces and the like can help us to make the baby feel happy and enjoy the act of smiling, remember that during his first years he will be mimicking and repeating what he observes, so it is the perfect time for smiles in bulk. Every smile we get from the baby should come with its respective positive response to reinforce that language, however, if we observe something that is not right, that does not seem to go under normal conditions, do not forget to call the pediatrician, it is important to record these sleep sessions to rule out any abnormality in the baby, any seizure or spasm.