When did your baby smile for the first time?

[Megan1995]

Hi!

My DS turns 7 weeks old today he has yet to give us a proper smile. His mouth twitches like he is trying, and sometimes it looks like he’s going to then yarns as if trying makes him yarn. We’ve tried everything and nothing yet!

Getting a lot of grief from MIL ... apparently we’re ‘not doing something right ‘ and we don’t ‘play or speak to our baby’ which we very much do!!

So I was just wondering when everyone else’s baby smiled for the first time?? Should I be worried? He was 2 weeks early, if that makes any difference!

Maybe I’m just paranoid...

Thanks!!

Beteeen 5-9 weeks I’d say was normal. It will come soon.

Ignore your MIL.

If your baby is fed, loved and warm... You're doing it right!!

Our ds was a real smiler.
I thought our dd would never smile, almost turned ourselves inside out to try and get her to smile.
Your ds will smile soon. I wouldn't worry, just enjoy him and ignore mil.

And if DS is 2 weeks early, that means he really only 5 weeks old.... Which is spot on for early attempts at smiles.
I reckon this time next week you'll have had your first open mouthed smile 👍👍

You need to nip the MIL problem in the bud. Get your DJ to tell her that her opinion is only welcome when asked for!

DH!

My twins (born at 37 weeks) were 6 weeks old and 7 weeks old when they first smiled. So both very similar experiences but a week apart.

Dd2 is now 4.5 months (and was 2 weeks early). She didn’t smile until 7/8 weeks, but since them smiles constantly which makes me forgive every second of her screaming and insomnia

Dd1 smiled early at about 4 weeks, so i was a little nervous, but it happens when they’re ready.

About 10 weeks! Honestly I had dance routines and everything on the go.

Thanks everyone! Everyone’s reply made me feel a lot better. I’ve blown that many raspberries and sang that many nursery rhymes I give myself a headache on a daily basis! Hopefully he smiles soon!!

8 weeks old, I just checked a video on my phone and she's definitely smiling as a talk in a silly voice. You're MIL is being rather rude, show her this thread!

He will, and you will give a goofy smile back

But really, get DH to tell MIL to keep her opinions to herself!
Others it will be 'oh you use/don't use a dimmer, well....'

'oh, LO can't roll over yet?'

'is he talking yet? after all he is 10 weeks old now'

'oh, not potty trained at 4 months??? Yikes'

Otherwise it will be*

Dimmer.... Dummy!

8 weeks and 6 weeks.

My girl was 5 weeks prem and spent 3 weeks in an incubator after surgery, she looked mildly amused at things from about 6 weeks old, she didn't properly start smiling till about 12 weeks. Since then shes not stopped. They do things at their own rate although that didn't stop me worrying, especially when my mother said she looked blank because she wouldn't smile at her😡

It’s very annoying when people put their opinions where their not wanted! My MIL has already suggested he won’t be an advanced baby because he’s not smiled. I don’t get it, we want positive help not remarks like that?!

But thanks everyone it’s made me feel a lot better! Hopefully I get one out of him soon!

Ask her... "So what if he's not an "advanced" baby? Will you live him less because of that?"

DH needs to tell her to piss off

About eight weeks I think! 'Advanced baby' is ridiculous. It'll be totally irrelevant in a few years time whether he smiled at seven weeks or nine or whether he walked at nine months or fifteen. She sounds like she's going to be a nightmare tbh so I'd get DH to have a word now and nip it in the bud, but I doubt it'll make a difference!

The idea of “advanced” babies is ridiculous - being early or late with milestones doesn’t have any relationship to future academic ability! There is an age range for milestones for a reason, not smiling until 8 weeks doesn’t mean he has a developmental delay and it’s nothing to worry about (I fully understand why people worry about delays because they can represent other medical problems, but “not being an early smiler” is not that).

I wouldn’t have been bothered or paranoid if it weren’t for MIL’s comments

I think my twins were 7-8 weeks and 9-10 weeks. Twin A was a bit slower on the social stuff in general, eye contact and smiles. Now he's incredibly smiley and very social. Twin B is still more social though. Your son seems normal to me he'll be fine, ignore your MIL ❤️

About 8 weeks 😊 don't worry I'm sure baby is happy, cared for and loved lots. He'll smile when he's good and ready so ignore MIL 😁