Hello I have a 4 1/2 week old daughter that has me worried about some things.
I had an uneventful pregnancy with her, except I had the flu really bad at 7 weeks gestation, & a normal planned C-section at 38 1/2 weeks with no complications. She scored 8 & 9 on her Apgars & everything went smooth.
I have been reading through the baby books & the internet about development & the eye contact thing has me worried. She started looking at us some about 2 weeks ago, but I have to work really hard to get her to do it, when she does look at our face she looks somewhat crosseyed. I drew a big smiley face on a white piece of paper with black marker & she follows it really well, she has even gone from one side to the other, not real smooth but nonetheless! I also bought a colorful rattle with no blck or white colors & she will look at that about 50% of the time I hold it in front of her. She will also follow her mobile when she is in a good mood! And sometimes when I am taking pictures of her she will look directly at the canera. I guess I just thought eye contact should come natural & we shouldn't have to work so hard at it!
We have gotten about 4 true smiles out of her & that's it. I try everyday to stimulate her vision, and like I said she does really well somedays but other days she ain't having it!
When she is focusing her eyes are usually wide open (& sometimes cross a bit), but what concerns me is sometimes her eyes move really fast, like a jerking or a jumping movement, but it seems to only be when she is getting sleepy, such as when drinking a bottle, she will drift off & they move funky, or if she looks all the way right or left.
I know newborns have REM sleep stuff going on, but this seems different, I think, because she is not fully asleep yet.
Her other areas of development are good, she has rolled from tummy to back twice, she coos a lot, she has fairly good head control & can lift it when on her belly, she has all of her reflexes going on as well.
She does have the signs of reflux starting I believe, but we'll see & the only other thing I notice is she will arch her head/back sometimes to look out the window or at lights.
So I guess my question is does this sound concerning or am I being to paranoid and expecting way to much out of a 4 1/2 week old? I know every baby develops at different rates, but I am still a worry wart, because of her eye control. Your thoughts/advice would be appreciated.