Not very smiley 6mo with patchy eye contact - advice please!

[crabby]

I hope that some one can help reassure me (or otherwise)...

DD is now 6.5 months old. She is a lovely good natured baby. My worry is that she is not the smiliest baby in the world and her eye contact is a bit ... patchy...!

Really, she is good and smiley with lots of eye contact when she wants to be (evening especially) but not really a spontaneous you walk in the room she grins at you baby. When she wants to be, she looks straight at you and smiles but the rest of the time you have to really work on her so to speak. She loves to be picked up and held, and has got good babbling skills.

It worries me as we have quite a strong family history of asd.

What do people think?

I only know a very little about ASD, but my instinct is telling me that 6 months is too young to be worrying about this. Especially given she does interact and communicate with you, is babbling, and likes to be held.

I can understand why you're thinking along these lines given your family history, but I think you need to give her more time as she is only at the very, very early stages of her social development.

Hopefully someone will come along with some expertise in this area.

Thanks for those words. I am sure you are right, it is just that I suppose I wish she was a free and easy smiler...

I was a grumpy baby and DD (5 months) is a grump too. My mum told me that people would smile at me & I'd just scowl back. DD is very similar. I was just a litle madam, nothing more than that!

Don't worry, my 7 month sounds similar. I understand you being anxious due to your family history, however she sounds lovely and doing all the things you would expect at this stage.

Again, thank you all .

I suspect the real "problem" is extreme nosiness!! Whenever there is anything remotly interesting going on she becomes fascinated and won't smile whilst she is absorbing the new things.

I would be intersted to see what parents of ASD kids think about there childen's babyhood looking back with a reterospectoscope. But as you say, I suspect it is just general grumpiness!!

their babyhood - sorry

Six months reallt is too young to worry if all else is well.

I say this from the POV of a Mum of an apaprently NT 11 month old with 3 other kis, two are ASD. Ihave watched (obv) like a hawk and he has excellet eye contact now that kicke in 8 - 9 mnths I think.

Nosiness is a great sign; ds3 was a very placid baby who didnt get excited about anything much and regressed at almost 3; ds1 was a grumnpy s and so with a massive inependent streak from day one ( noticed independence in hospital!) and his copmplete lack of facial expression was very obvious in retrospect.

Please dont worry (well about this, you'll find something else). far too young.

@crabby any updates on your child?

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!

@Melodymama12 I can tell you about my baby. His eye contact totally changed after six months. It inproved so mich and with every passing day it got better.

Thank you so much, I’m really glad to hear that!! My son is 5.5 months :) thanks again