When did your baby smile?

[Hootie]

Honest answers please!! Dd had her six week check today. She's not great with eye contact although she looks at lights and some black and white pictures just not me or dh :-( she hasnt smiled and doesn't make any cooing noises etc. I'm in Australia and its part of the 6 week checklist. They said if she's not smiled in 2 weeks I need to bring her back in. When I asked what happens if she doesn't they said they'd probably refer me to the physio at the clinic??

I'm just worried about her lack of eye contact and interaction. She screams sO much too we think silent reflux and have a referral but who knows? I just want her to be okay and I feel so sad she's such a cute thing but i want her to gaze into my eyes like my other dd did.

DS hadn't smiled (socially - he did smile in his sleep from birth) by the 6 week check. Don't think he really made eyecontact either yet at that age. I wouldn't worry about it too much! She'll smile when she's ready. These 'milestones' checklists really hardly account for individual differences and make us all panic waayyyy too much when one of our DC is 'slow' to do something.

Our DS1 smiled at 5 weeks but DD2 didn't really show any sign of liking her world until about 11 weeks and even then we had to work hard for a smile! She's fine now.

I think my DD was much closer to 8 weeks than 6 weeks. Fast forward to 17 months, and she's hugely sociable, and famous locally for her beaming smiles! (She's far less keen to walk, on the other hand

first smile at 9 weeks
second smile at 11 weeks

miserable little bugger....

Ha ha Knitter! That's how I'd describe my dd at the moment! Thank you for that. She does smile in her sleep but it's the socially part. Well I'll try not to worry too much and keep grinning away to see if I get a response lol she'll probably get scared!

HOotie - I think I posted the same thread a few months ago. Our little boy didn't smile until at least 12 weeks I think. He is now VERY giggly and smiley now so please don't worry. I think 6 weeks sounds very early. I don't think it's expected quite so early here but I was still worried as ours was 'late'. He did lots of 'windy' smiles earlier but just had to wait for a proper one :)

By the way hootie , what was the birth like? I had an assisted delivery with ventouse and I have just at 9 months taken my DS to a cranial osteopath as I had a suspicion that perhaps he was uncomfortable. Turns out that he has had a severe restriction in his neck all these months and a restriction in the other direction in his pelvis. Couple of sessions seems to have fixed it. He is still not a great sleeper but he screamed a lot with tummy ache & wind when he was a few weeks/months old and again when he moved onto solids which can be down to the stress of birth in his body still affecting his digestion. I found it all v interesting. Makes sense (not new age mumbo jumbo, promise). Worth checking out?

www.cranial.org.uk/page3.html

DD smiled properly at just over 4 weeks, started laughing at 6 weeks. However, I would say that she was 15 days late, weighed 10lb 10oz at birth and pretty much looks and acts like she's a couple of weeks older than she is.

DS smiled at 10 weeks, DD from birth.For DS I think I lied at the 6 week check as I didn't want them to think my baby was weird.....he's not, now he's super smily, just was very conservative in giving out smiles until about 18 months.

My DD2 didn't smile by 6 week check. I was a bit worried. She did her first social smile at 8 weeks. Then another one a few days later. By 12 weeks she was smiling loads. She didn't laugh forever! But now smiles and giggles. She is a gentle soul -

She also had silent relux - things that helped me - if you are Breastfeeding - I cut all dairy out of my diet. After feeding kept her upright-ish for as long as I could. When I burped her, I looked at a clock at did for 1 min - its amazing how long 1 min is.

Dawn of the dee - thats so interesting - my DD2 was 3 weeks early and pretty much does everything 3 weeks later!

Our HV said the same at the 6 week review - but my DD smiled that very afternoon (several times so I knew it wasn't by accident!). I think she was waiting until after the HV visit just to tease us all.

My DS didn't smile until he was 8 weeks and he was born 2 weeks late.
Both my DDs smiled from birth.
He's 15 now and fine

DH claimed our DD smiled at him from 8 weeks, but no-one ever saw her smile until 10 or 11 weeks. Now (9mo) you can't stop her smiling! :o