baby not making eye contact

kray · Aug 21st, 2011, 12:15 PM

My daughter will be 2 months on the 28th, and I read that around that time she should definitely be making eye contact. I sit her in front of me and she looks all around and smiles, but at other things. She smiles if I'm talking to her or making silly sounds, but still not while gazing at me. I'm just concerned because I read that not making eye contact can be an indicator of autism, or I'm worried that there could be something going on with her eyes. The only times she seems to look at our faces is when we change her diaper or sometimes when she's eating. Anyone else experience this with their baby? She goes for her 2 month appt on the 29th, so if she still isn't doing this, I'll mention it to the doctor. As far as her other milestones, she's doing great. She is standing on her legs and can roll from her tummy to her back. She is also sleeping about 7 consecutive hours at night.

wishingonastar · Aug 21st, 2011, 12:38 PM

Afraid I'm not sure...my two girls both made eye contact a lot from early age but every baby is different...

good that you have appointment soon - definately mention it to the doc

kmumtobe · Aug 21st, 2011, 12:49 PM

Symptoms of autism arent usually evident that young so i wouldnt read too much into it x

AlwaysPraying · Aug 21st, 2011, 12:58 PM

I remember being very worried about this too at that age. It's so hard to tell if they are really looking or not. I have to agree strongly with kmumtobe that it's nearly impossible to connect a lack of eye contact at this age to autism. It's only in hindsight when the child is 8-10 or older that mothers look back and remember things like eye contact.

All that being said, your baby is very young and just learning about the world, things are fascinating, and you and your doctor should look at baby as a whole, (like you said you were), other milestones are being met and this one will come in time. My guy didn't look at us for ages, smiled late and now at 1 year old he can't take his eyes off us and babbles like there's no tomorrow.

I know it's easy to tell you not to worry, because I was exactly you. If baby was supposed to be doing x at this time, I'd worry if he was a day late! Eventually you'll give in and trust that baby is just baby and things will progress just the way they should.

kray · Aug 21st, 2011, 13:45 PM

Thanks everyone! I'm trying not to worry, but it seems that baby and worry go hand-in-hand

She holds her head up great and turns her head super quick, so maybe there are just other more interesting things to look at. The other thing I thought is that maybe she just doesn't feel that bond with me, so chooses not to look. I don't know. Hopefully she'll start gazing soon!

ho11i3 · Aug 21st, 2011, 13:53 PM

i had the same with my LO and googled and read the same thing about autism, scared me to death! i even took her to the doctors but got no real help. i really thought she was going to be partially sighted or have autism but one day around 2.5m she woke up was looking at me, smiling following objects etc.
give it a little time and try not to worry, every baby is different

xxx

Palestrina · Aug 21st, 2011, 13:57 PM

Sometimes a day makes a difference. My LO has been starting to stare at us and every day it gets a little better. Don't look at milestones reached, look at little signs of improvement every day. LO started looking at me during diaper changes as well, so I started taking advantage of that time by talking to him, cooing, smiling at him, and keeping him there long after the diaper was changed. Whenever that fleeting moment pops up grab it and try to stretch it longer!

Aug 21st, 2011, 12:15 PM	#1
kray Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New Mexico Posts: 92	baby not making eye contact My daughter will be 2 months on the 28th, and I read that around that time she should definitely be making eye contact. I sit her in front of me and she looks all around and smiles, but at other things. She smiles if I'm talking to her or making silly sounds, but still not while gazing at me. I'm just concerned because I read that not making eye contact can be an indicator of autism, or I'm worried that there could be something going on with her eyes. The only times she seems to look at our faces is when we change her diaper or sometimes when she's eating. Anyone else experience this with their baby? She goes for her 2 month appt on the 29th, so if she still isn't doing this, I'll mention it to the doctor. As far as her other milestones, she's doing great. She is standing on her legs and can roll from her tummy to her back. She is also sleeping about 7 consecutive hours at night.

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Aug 21st, 2011, 12:38 PM	#2
wishingonastar Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: England Posts: 8,012	Afraid I'm not sure...my two girls both made eye contact a lot from early age but every baby is different... good that you have appointment soon - definately mention it to the doc

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Aug 21st, 2011, 12:49 PM	#3
kmumtobe Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 6,635	Symptoms of autism arent usually evident that young so i wouldnt read too much into it x

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Aug 21st, 2011, 12:58 PM	#4
AlwaysPraying Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: May 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 4,147	I remember being very worried about this too at that age. It's so hard to tell if they are really looking or not. I have to agree strongly with kmumtobe that it's nearly impossible to connect a lack of eye contact at this age to autism. It's only in hindsight when the child is 8-10 or older that mothers look back and remember things like eye contact. All that being said, your baby is very young and just learning about the world, things are fascinating, and you and your doctor should look at baby as a whole, (like you said you were), other milestones are being met and this one will come in time. My guy didn't look at us for ages, smiled late and now at 1 year old he can't take his eyes off us and babbles like there's no tomorrow. I know it's easy to tell you not to worry, because I was exactly you. If baby was supposed to be doing x at this time, I'd worry if he was a day late! Eventually you'll give in and trust that baby is just baby and things will progress just the way they should.

Status: Offline

Aug 21st, 2011, 13:45 PM	#5
kray Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New Mexico Posts: 92	Thanks everyone! I'm trying not to worry, but it seems that baby and worry go hand-in-hand She holds her head up great and turns her head super quick, so maybe there are just other more interesting things to look at. The other thing I thought is that maybe she just doesn't feel that bond with me, so chooses not to look. I don't know. Hopefully she'll start gazing soon!

Status: Offline

Aug 21st, 2011, 13:53 PM	#6
ho11i3 Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Derby, derbyshire Posts: 47	i had the same with my LO and googled and read the same thing about autism, scared me to death! i even took her to the doctors but got no real help. i really thought she was going to be partially sighted or have autism but one day around 2.5m she woke up was looking at me, smiling following objects etc. give it a little time and try not to worry, every baby is different xxx

Status: Offline

Aug 21st, 2011, 13:57 PM	#7
Palestrina Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: New York, NY Posts: 3,662	Sometimes a day makes a difference. My LO has been starting to stare at us and every day it gets a little better. Don't look at milestones reached, look at little signs of improvement every day. LO started looking at me during diaper changes as well, so I started taking advantage of that time by talking to him, cooing, smiling at him, and keeping him there long after the diaper was changed. Whenever that fleeting moment pops up grab it and try to stretch it longer!

Status: Offline

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