Mom’s hormones are also to blame for an occurrence that sends many parents of newborn girls into freak-out mode: vaginal bleeding.  No one is quite prepared for the shock of seeing blood at a routine diaper change.  Thanks to declining maternal hormone levels, baby girls can actually have a pseudo-period, resulting in bloody discharge that lasts for a few days.  Fortunately, it’s nothing to worry about.

Worth mentioning here – although it has nothing to do with genitalia – is swelling of the breasts.  Babies, both girls and boys, can have swollen breasts appearing at birth or a few weeks afterward.  This is also caused by those lovely maternal hormones.  The breasts may become hard, with lumps that you can actually move around with your fingers (although you shouldn’t squeeze the lumps, because this could lead to an infection).  The swelling can last for two to four weeks, and even longer in breastfed babies.  One breast may lose its swelling up to a month before the other.  It isn’t a cause for concern unless the swollen breast becomes red, tender, or gets streaks. 

Parts of your baby may appear strange for a while, and sometimes it seems that his various issues will never go away.  But keep in mind that it’s only an adjustment period, much like that awkward gangly stage known as puberty.  Baby’s body is simply reacting to an environment that’s vastly different than what he’s been accustomed to for the past nine months.  He may not look like the angelic picture you see in books, but he’ll straighten out soon enough – and besides, until then, you’ll be too in love with the rest of him to worry about a few bumps or blotches.