Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Flip

Original poster

When will my baby smile, and look into my eyes???

9 replies

mw1234 · 16/09/2009 07:27

Hi all,

I've a 6 week old. Thus far, he rarely looks into my eyes and will just look around the room constantly. I appreciate they find it difficult to focus at an early age. He also has not smiled yet and has very few expressions.

I'm sure my first son did both at an early stage.

Does anyone know when baby will smile and focus on me?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

ILikeToMoveItMoveIt · 16/09/2009 07:42

I think it's at about 6 weeks, but for some it's earlier and others it's later

Make a point of holding him and smiling and chatting to him.

suwoo · 16/09/2009 07:44

Mine looks in my eyes but is yet to smile. He is 7 weeks tomorrow and out of my 3 DC, he is the latest to smile.

snickersnack · 16/09/2009 07:46

ds refused to look at me at that age. He didn't smile until nearly 9 weeks. I was frantic (dd was grinning at me from 4 weeks) but now at 2 he is the most deeply affectionate and friendly child. It's very worrying, I know, but I am sure within a couple of weeks he'll be smiling at you. My GP (who is broadly sensible) said she wouldn't worry until a child was at least 12 weeks, probably older.

Travellerintime · 16/09/2009 11:39

Ds was 7.5 weeks for smiling, compared to 4 weeks for dd. Also less eye contact. Even when he started smiling, he generally just wasn't a smiley baby.

Like you I worried about this, but he's 20 months now, and is really affectionate, sociable, funny boy with quite a bit of language. So try not to worry, although I know it's hard!

Wigglesworth · 16/09/2009 11:43

My DS was 8 weeks, I remember feeling really down and he was very unsettled (had silent reflux) and I was fully convinced he hated me and I was a shite Mum. He just looked at me one day and gave me a HUGE grin (it wasn't wind BTW, he was reacting to me singing and pulling my tongue out at him). I cried with happiness, it was one of the best moments of my life, I felt really blue and it was like he was trying to cheer me up. I am welling up thinking about it now.

Jess5 · 16/09/2009 11:54

Mine didn't smile until 12 weeks - he had a lot of colic . Was worth the wait, though!

lightwind · 17/09/2009 18:34

My ds first smiled at 7 weeks - suddenly I understood what being a mum was about. (Until that time I was feeling trapped/alarmed/wondering if I could 'give him back'). Subsequently he has barely stopped smiling/laughing/cuddling his besotted mum - he's 19 months now.

3littlefrogs · 17/09/2009 18:37

6 weeks is average - so I reckon any time between 4 and 8 weeks?

mammamia25 · 17/09/2009 21:37

My dd also didn't look into my eyes at all at this age, and I was really worried that she had sight problems, as all the books went on about babies focusing on their parents' faces. She used to actively turn her head away if I tried to put myself in her line of vision - I also thought she hated me! I arranged eye tests for her at the hospital (we were regulars, due to silent reflux), but by the time of the appointment (10 weeks) she was focusing on our faces and smiling, and all was fine.
Wigglesworth - one doctor said to me that maybe with the reflux she'd had so much to deal with that she couldn't cope with visual focusing too, at that stage - terrible to think how bad they must be feeling, when they're so tiny.

Flip