Hi all, have a 6 week old baby. She's been smiling in her sleep since birth which I know is just a reflex smile. 3 days ago she smiled after a feed- 5 or 6 times over a half hour window but not really in response to me, she wasn't making eye contact during all the smiles, just fleeting eye contact before looking around the room. The day after she smiled a few times in the morning but again not making eye contact. Today she hasn't smiled at all despite my best efforts.
My question is, how did your baby first smile? Should it be in relation to looking at parents? Did he/she do it a few times and then not for a while again or once they do it, should it be a regular thing? No matter what I try, I can't get her to smile again since she did it yesterday morning. I don't know whether to think these smiles I saw were just reflex smiles again but she's never done it awake before!
I know all babies smile at slightly different stages and it's no biggie if she takes a little longer than this but she has other medical issues which make her high risk for developmental issues so I've got myself paranoid about her meeting milestones.
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Smiles?
user1497453941 · 05/08/2017 23:40
Thank you for writing back to my post 
it's good to know it's a gradual thing for other babies. I wasn't sure if it was a case that once they'd done it, it would be a regular thing or if they'd gradually start more. I'll keep an eye out over the next few weeks & hopefully we'll have more smiles with time!
Yes don't worry! DS hadn't smiled properly by his 8 week check and the doctor got me worried but there was no reason to, as he gave me a lovely smile a couple of days later - and has been a very smiley baby ever since 
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