It seems that every time my wife and I attempt to eat a meal together, Baby Carter decides that he must be a part of the festivities. It doesn't matter if he just fed or not; he always cries (even from a deep sleep) when we are preparing to eat. I don't think infants can distinguish smells like children can, (but I am no expert) so I did some research online and found an interesting article about infants and their sense of smell. According to the article, infants can sense amniotic fluid minutes after birth and some can go as far as distinguishing the difference between breast milk and formula within 12 hours of birth. Additionally, the more skin on skin contact a baby has with his/her mother, the more likely they will to recognize via smell when she is in the vicinity. The article can be found at http://www.parentingscience.com/newborn-senses.html.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to locate any tangible articles regarding an infant’s ability to distinguish food smells in the house. I didn’t think it was possible for Baby Carter to smell us cooking dinner but he always manages to wake up as we sit down to eat. It is hard to enjoy a nice meal with a screaming baby serenading us at the dinner table. I did, however, find an article about an infant’s ability to taste. Apparently, infants can taste four of the five major tastes: sweetness, bitterness, sourness, and umami. Infants cannot taste saltiness until they are about 4 months old. So if an infant can sense four of the five major tastes, should he have the ability to sense food smells? Many of the blogs I found on this topic provided no scientific evidence that infants react to food smells but I did find many parents that are convinced their babies get hungry when they are cooking certain foods. I am convinced that in Baby Carter’s case; he is hungry all the time and he gets upset when he does not sense mommy close by. Maybe someone with more experience or knowledge can offer some helpful insight on this topic?
Unfortunately, it was difficult to locate any tangible articles regarding an infant’s ability to distinguish food smells in the house. I didn’t think it was possible for Baby Carter to smell us cooking dinner but he always manages to wake up as we sit down to eat. It is hard to enjoy a nice meal with a screaming baby serenading us at the dinner table. I did, however, find an article about an infant’s ability to taste. Apparently, infants can taste four of the five major tastes: sweetness, bitterness, sourness, and umami. Infants cannot taste saltiness until they are about 4 months old. So if an infant can sense four of the five major tastes, should he have the ability to sense food smells? Many of the blogs I found on this topic provided no scientific evidence that infants react to food smells but I did find many parents that are convinced their babies get hungry when they are cooking certain foods. I am convinced that in Baby Carter’s case; he is hungry all the time and he gets upset when he does not sense mommy close by. Maybe someone with more experience or knowledge can offer some helpful insight on this topic?
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