But developmentally, there is an important distinction.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, newborns can make adorable grins and grimaces during their first month, but these early expressions are different from the social smile that develops later. The first true social smiles usually emerge around the end of the second month.
Early smiles can occur for a variety of reasons and may be associated with internal sensations rather than a deliberate attempt to communicate affection.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also notes that babies may display reflexive smiles while sleeping, with a more genuine social smile emerging around the second month.
So if a newborn appears to be smiling in a photograph, it is perfectly fine to enjoy the moment without assuming the baby has already mastered social communication.
And the same principle applies to the suspicious-looking expression.
The baby probably was not judging her mother.
She was simply being a newborn.
Why Newborn Faces Can Look So Expressive
There is something fascinating about the way newborn facial expressions can resemble adult emotions.
A tiny frown can look like anger.
A wide-open mouth can look like surprise.
A wrinkled nose can look like disgust.
A sideways gaze can look like suspicion.
A relaxed mouth can look peaceful.
But the relationship between facial expression and emotion is much more complicated in very young infants.
Research on infant emotional expression suggests that babies' facial movements are not always direct, one-to-one representations of specific adult emotions. Researchers have noted that early infant expressions can be less differentiated and that the same basic facial movements may occur in different situations.
That means a baby who looks angry may not actually be angry.
A baby who looks worried may not be worried.
And a baby who looks like she has just discovered that her mother is responsible for everything may not have discovered anything at all.
Still, the resemblance is remarkably entertaining.
The Newborn Brain Is Already Busy
It is easy to think of a newborn as someone who simply sleeps, eats and cries.
But the first days of life are a period of enormous sensory and neurological activity.
The American Academy of Pediatrics explains that newborns move through distinct states of consciousness and that their brains are actively responding to the people and environment around them. During quiet-alert periods, babies may focus on faces, listen to voices and become more engaged with people nearby.
This does not mean a newborn understands the world in the same way an older child does.
Instead, it means the baby's nervous system is already processing an extraordinary amount of new information.
Think about what has just happened.
For months, the baby existed in a protected environment.
Then suddenly:
There is light.
There are sounds.
There is air.
There are new smells.
There is movement.
There is touch.
There are voices.
There are changes in temperature.
There is the sensation of being held.
Everything is new.
The baby's facial movements are part of this incredibly complex transition.
A Baby's Senses Begin Working Immediately
Newborns are not passive observers.
They are born with functioning sensory systems that allow them to respond to the world.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, newborns can recognize familiar voices, including their mother's voice, and can respond to sounds and other sensory stimulation. Their vision is clearest at relatively close distances, roughly 8 to 12 inches from their face, which happens to be approximately the distance between a baby and a parent's face during feeding or close holding.
That makes those first face-to-face moments especially meaningful.
A mother may naturally bring her face close to her baby's.
The baby may look toward her.
The baby's eyes may wander.
The baby's expression may change.
And someone nearby may happen to capture the perfect frame.
The result can be a photograph that seems to show a complete emotional conversation between two people.
Even if the baby is not consciously “talking,” there is already an interaction taking place.
That Sideways Look Is Probably Not Judgment
This is where the science makes the photograph even more amusing.
The baby's sideways glance looks like judgment because adults are experts at interpreting faces.
We see the angle of the eyes and immediately attach a familiar social meaning to it.
A sideways look from an adult can mean suspicion.
A sideways look from a teenager can mean annoyance.
A sideways look from a friend can mean, “Did you seriously just say that?”
And a sideways look from a newborn?
Apparently, it means: