Eye contact

[flowerlover1990]

My 7 month old baby doesn't really make prolonged eye contact with me. He'll glance at me when he's on my lap but that's it. From a distance though he will look at me for longer, for instance, when I walk into a room. He just always seems more interested in the world around him than his mummy, which makes me sad. He also does some stimming behaviour with his hands (hand and foot twirling) and isn't very cuddly either. Has anyone else had a baby like this and it turned out the baby wasn't neurodivergent? I'm a very worried FTM. Please be kind.

My son was like this as a baby – he's not neurodivergent. Regardless, while it's difficult to stop, there really isn't much value in having these concerns with a baby so young – there is a reason that neurodivergence cannot be properly assessed until older: because very young children are full of many quirks that they outgrow. Obviously sometimes there will be very big red flags with development, but I don't think that sounds to be the case here.

@Didimum thanks so much for your reply. I really hope this is the case and nice to speak with a mum that has had a similar experience with their child. Hopefully it's a quirk he outgrows quickly.

I vividly remember telling my husband and mum that he never looked at me and seemed to have no interest in me whatsoever! And this probably went on til he was over a year. I had twins and the other was very engaged with me and cuddly, so the difference did concern me. It did, however, disappear. My good friend's little girl also twirled her hands and feet constantly as a baby – she also grew out of that around 18 months - 2yrs.

@Didimum this is so reassuring. I've never met another baby with the same quirks as mine so it's really upset me so much with worry. Thank you very much I hope my little boy is the same as well.