Happy February Ya’ll!
It’s officially the season of LOOOOVVVVEEE!
You wanna know what I love? The way babies smell.
I’m actually really obsessed with it.
My husband thinks I’m insane, but I can’t help it!
When my son was small he had a certain smell. This spot on the nape of his neck smelled so sweet, and fresh – like clean air and a cozy blanket. Whenever I’d pick him up I would always sneak a little whiff.
And my daughters feet! I love the way they smell after being in socks all day – just slightly stinky, but not. They smell sour/sweet, and intoxicatingly like her.
They both breastfed and bed shared – and I have to admit that there is nothing quite like breathing in a breastfed baby’s breath while your snuggled up in bed together.
You guys probably think I’m absolutely insane, or disgusting. BUT! After a nurse friend caught me sniffing Harpers toes one day and mentioning that I’m actually not crazy and that there is science behind why I love these smells so much I HAD to share these incredible facts with y’all!
“The satisfaction and satiety that eating brings to a hungry person, or that a drug provides for an addict, are the same that a newborn baby’s aroma elicits in a mom.“
“The scent of a newborn baby really does tap right into the pleasure centers of a woman’s brain, whether the smell comes from her own baby or someone else’s, scientists have discovered.”
“Researchers asked 30 women — 15 who had recently given birth, and 15 who had never given birth — to identify mystery scents while their brain activity was monitored. When given the smell of newborns taken from pajamas, the women all showed activity in the same dopamine pathways that light up after ingesting cocaine, enjoying food, or other reward-inducing behavior.“
So after more research all this is due to Pheromones.
Here’s a great description on Pheromones from Medical News Today:
“Pheromones, unlike most other hormones are ectohormones – they act outside the body of the individual that is secreting them – they impact a behavior on another individual. Hormones usually only affect the individual that is secreting them.”
And apparently when your hormones are changing due to pregnancy and again after pregnancy they change your pheromones, which have an effect on babies pheromones and thus we get….
That AMAZING BABY SMELL!
So go! Smell your babies! And ENJOY it! Because it’s NOT weird, it’s science!
ME TOO! They smell soooo good. I still love how my toddler smells!
I love the smell of my kiddos! Although my 4.5 year old is definitely smelling more boy than baby lately haha!!
I LOVE, love, love the way my babies smell, but I had no idea about all of these facts! So amazing!
I smell my daughter’s feet all the time!! I thought I was crazy. I also love the smell of her breath. So sweet.
I love the way my baby smells, now my daughter’s feet I cannot smell them. I remembered when my step-daughter was 4 oh my her feet smells so bad hahhahah., and now her baby sister is the same way.
I love the way babies smell too. My hobbies used to include reading mystery novels and mid-century design, but now it’s just sniffing the top of my daughter’s head.
I too love love the way babies smell. For me I like to smell my girls hair after they get out of the tub, because it almost the only thing that smells the same as when they were tiny babies. Such a sweet (smelling) post.
Oh my goodness yes, the smell. I LOOOOVE it too! And great photos 🙂
I love it when science backs up my weirdness! Thanks for sharing! I feel slightly more normal. 🙂
I love their smell too! This is such a sweet post.
I totally know what you’re talking about. When little man was much younger the top of his head smelled a certain way and I totally sniffed him all day.
Smell is such a powerful thing! And anyone who doesn’t believe it will be sent this article from me 🙂 Loved it. Thank you for sharing with us.
Beautiful kiddos and their cute outfits! I love smelling my kids. I still smell my 8 years old and I tell him he still smell like a baby and he gave me this weird look lol.
Interesting facts. I had no idea! I do remember enjoying the smell of mine when they were little (except maybe those poo diapers lol) but I didn’t realize there was actual science behind it. 🙂
I have to admit, I love smelling the top of all my kiddos head! It makes me amazed that these sweeties are mine.
I was robbed of the baby smell with my second child. I was a big devastated to be honest. She just didn’t have that “it” baby smell.
Babies do smell delicious! My elementary-aged kiddos are not as sweet smelling as they used to be. 😉
I’m with you all the way! I love the scent of a baby!
Some really interesting facts I had never heard here! And also, incredibly cute photos of your littles!
I really love how my baby’s (well now she’s more a toddler) ear smells… and I have totally heard of that study before.
The baby smell obsession is REAL! I smelled my brand new niece’s head for a full 30 minutes last night 😀
I smell my baby all the time too! My hubs thinks it’s weird but I love it!
My youngest is two and I will still smell her in the nape of her neck every time I give her a kiss!