Ds was two weeks early so not premature and def counted as term but hv said might have effect on early milestones. Love hv but she's said some bonkers things (babies can see spirits on the ceiling?...) so wanted to see if this sounded right? Seeing gp for six week check next Tuesday by which point ds will be six weeks four days old and he's so far making eye contact few times a day for few seconds but only smiling in sleep, much more interested in lights etc. Worried gp will say he's behind - was v nervous in pregnancy and worried this may have harmed him somehow 
... He has bad colic too so rarely comfy and relaxed when awake so poor thing not had much chance to smile, at what stage would one worry and what would the next steps be? Thank you!
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Behaviour/development
Are milestones based on due date? Name says it all!!!
Nervouswithnewborn · 12/12/2015 09:39
DD1 was 2w late and DD2 was 1w early and yes, so far, DD2 has been very slightly behind DD1 at the same age. I know waiting for the first proper smile feels like years but before you know it he'll be running around and this will be a distant memory!
Fwiw dd2 wasn't smiling at her 6w check and the GP said if she wasn't by 12w to go back. Babies are all so different, there's a huge range of normal. Try not to worry, they're very resilient 
Definitely on due date. Plus they are all nonsense 
. Even non-premature newborns are not ready to be born yet. My midwife told me the first ten weeks is basically an extra trimester. It's just because of humans' outsized heads that they are born as early as they are iyswim. They have to come out then as any bigger and our bodies couldn't birth them but nature's designed a further stage of horrendously noisy hibernation until they are really ready.
Also your poor DS is having to adapt to feeding with an immature digestive system hence colic. No wonder he's not smiling much.
Dd was a bit prem (5 weeks) and she did bugger all for three months. I have pics of her her first Xmas (at ten weeks) and she looks as though she's been drugged. She woke up at about four months
Noooo. The 6 week thing was meant to be reassuring. It is JUST an average. So many babies do not smile then. Some smile at 7 or 8 weeks. Or 9 or 10. As another poster said, wait until 12 weeks and you are still waiting, there is a possibility you might want to consider him a late smiler.
My 36 weeker smiled and laughed from birth (I know it sounds ridiculous, the midwives said it does happen occasionally and they confirmed I was not hallucinating). My 38 weeker was a later smiler at 2/3 weeks. Both developmentally unremarkable, just different. My friend has a 12 month old and he first smiled at 13 weeks. He is the sunniest, happiest, smiliest wee boy in the world.
Thanks everyone! Think in truth have a touch of pnd or maybe more anxiety and going to talk it through with gp next week. He's so lovely and it breaks my heart that he seems so unhappy so often. Does look at faces and makes some eye contact each day just seems to prefer looking out the window and previously the ceiling light! Was wleo born with jaundice which apparently has an impact sometimes. So much different info out there! Is awful to wish this time away I know and wanted this for so so long but think may not be cut out for this stage very well. Mum and husband lovely and think am being mad which is both helpful and not helpful
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