A baby is born with approximately _____________ bones.

At birth, a baby is typically born with approximately 300 bones. This number is higher than the 206 bones that an adult has, due to the fact that many of the baby's bones are not fully fused together at this early stage of life. As a child grows, some of these bones gradually fuse to form the 206 bones that are characteristic of the adult human skeleton. Understanding this process is important, as it highlights the dynamic nature of human development, particularly in infancy and childhood. The presence of additional bones in infants is primarily due to structures like fontanelles in the skull and the cartilaginous nature of certain bones, which allows for flexibility during childbirth and growth.