Eye contact in 11 week old baby - concerned

[whatwoulddollydo]

Hello. I have an 11 week old baby boy and am concerned about his ability to make eye contact. When he is lying down on the floor or in his cot he makes eye contact with me, smiles, responds to smiles and coos etc etc; however when I pick him up and hold him to either side in my lap or facing me he won't make eye contact at all and will look every which way but at me (he is the same with everybody. I know intellectually that it is way too early to associate with autism BUT on an emotional level this is a key concern and I was wondering if anyone else had had this experience and what the outcome was? Many thanks for sharing xx

Surely it is simply that he hasn't developed the eye control to look sideways at you yet.

He is giving good eye conac when he can look straigh a you, andthe rest will come when he develops a bit moe. He is still very young. I would put this at the bottom of the list of things to worry about

Eye contact is a crap indicator of autism. DS1 (severely autistic) has excellent eye contact. The eye contact thing is a bit of a red herring.

He sounds interested in what's around him. If you pick him up he has a new view to look at.

I think at this age they're meant to track a little (although not much 90 degrees? perhaps less) and that's about it vision wise

My ds still has crap eye contact when in our arms. He's nearly 8 months and just prefers to be looking around and being nosey. I'm not too worried though as he seems to be reaching all milestones and babbles really well. He makes eye contact when he is laying down and we are talking to him but when he's sat up there's just way too many distractions and toys to be looking at! Don't worry, he's so so young. Sounds fine to me!

Thanks for your responses...kind of felt was probably being neurotic but have just moved countries and have a lot of time on my hands to fret and feed the neurosis...xx

You could have described my baby girl there!

She would look and smile if she was lay on the floor/playmat or in someone elses arms, but she would not look me in the eye if i were holding her.

She is now 8.5 months and i'm happy to report that this is no longer an issue, although it did seem to go on for a good few months.

She is my dd3 and i hadn't experienced it in my other dd's so i, like you, was concerned. I have no idea why she wouldn't make eye contact whilst i (or anyone else) was holding her, but she does now

He's bright and interested in the world around him. He doesn't need to look at you when you're holding him as he can feel that he's safe and from that vantage point there is a lot more to see and learn than when he's laying on his back in the crib / changing mat / buggy.

Don't worry, its totally normal.

Yes mine used to be exactly like that too - I had forgotten. I can't remember when it stopped but she certainly doesn't do it anymore (now 7 months).

Many of them do that -- there are old threads about it, if it will reassure you. DS certainly did it until about 4 months or so. Somewhere (can't remember if it was on MN or another board, though) a specialist said it was a response to overstimulation, was typically seen more frequently/for longer in prem babies but was nothing to worry about up until 5 or 6 months (? I think) even in non-prem babies. If he can make eye contact the rest of the time there's not a problem.

Again, thank for your responses...I feel so much better now and PortandLemon the comment on overstimulation makes sense and likely applies to us (new Mum needs to chill a little!)...thanks x

I know this is an old post but I was wondering if you had an update. My son doesn’t make a lot of eye contact and it’s really concerning me. Thanks!

Hi did your baby end up making eye contact ive got my 3month old avoiding eye contact

Wondering if there’s any updates? My twin boy is the same. When he’s laying on a playmat or changing table he’ll make eye contact (not great but definitely better than when I’m holding him) and will coo
when he’s on my lap he won’t look me in the eye

Any updates?