How many bones are there in a newly born infant?

A newly born infant has approximately 300 bones, which is significantly more than the 206 bones in an adult human skeleton. This difference occurs because many bones in infants are made of cartilage and haven't fused together yet. For example, the skull consists of several separate plates that eventually fuse, the spine has more vertebrae that merge, and the sacrum and coccyx are initially separate bones. The fusion process continues through childhood and adolescence, resulting in fewer but larger bones in adulthood.