Little eye contact and not smiling at 6 weeks old

amother

Tue, Dec 27 2022, 7:17 am

Should I worry yet? For some reason I’ve felt since about 3 weeks (posted here) that something is off. She’s adorable and precious but she looks past me, not at me. It sometimes seems as if she’s avoiding looking at me. When I do catch her gaze, she will focus a bit but loses it fairly quickly. She does track when I get her attention. She’s not really smiling, her mouth will curl up a drop when stimulated but she’s never given me a full blown smile. My others were all smiling and having eye contact at this point. Even my preemie. This baby was 3 weeks early if that makes a difference. Doc said not to think about it till at least 2 months old but I’m freaking out.

amother

White

Tue, Dec 27 2022, 7:25 am

Definitely give it some time. Your dr is right that until 2 months there's nothing to worry about.

amother

Apple

Tue, Dec 27 2022, 7:25 am

Too early to be concerned.

Just so you know, my child who was diagnosed on the spectrum at age 2.5was very disregulated from the get go.
He would cry ALL THE TIME.
He made eye contact & smiled.
But showed other concerning behaviours.

Enjoy your baby!!

SwissAlps

Tue, Dec 27 2022, 7:28 am

Normal. The fact that your baby was 3 weeks early definitely comes into play. My babies were all born past my due date and didn't start smiling until 5 weeks and even then it was very rare until 6-7 weeks. As your doctor said, I wouldn't worry until 2 months or so.

As to your other kids smiling earlier including your preemie, each baby develops at their own rate. Some just smile early. I have nieces and nephews that started smiling at 2 weeks old and in the same family ones that started smiling much later. Don't compare to your other kids.

amother

Tue, Dec 27 2022, 9:19 am

Thanks all.
TBH I’m more worried about the little eye contact. She reacts to sound and to pain and discomfort. But when I clap in front of her face I get no reaction. But then she’ll turn towards a voice - at times, not always. Her following and tracking is improving…

amother

Natural

Tue, Dec 27 2022, 9:33 am

I think 6 wks is too early to be concerned, but if mom has a feeling that something is not right, it is possible. Still, I don't think you should be at all worried about an autism diagnosis in a newborn - way more likely to be a vision issue. I know several babies born with vision issues - one baby was so nearsighted that the ophthalmologist said if she didn't wear glasses she would never recognize her mother. So she got glasses as a baby. No biggie.

NotInNJMommy

Tue, Dec 27 2022, 9:34 am

amother OP wrote:

I would wait and be optimistic. Babies' eyes are one of the last things to mature, and they can often look cross eyed for a couple weeks post due date--I remember being nervous about one of my full term babies, but sure enough, it resolved on time.

Enjoy her and cuddle her and smile at her a lot---I personally find that the babies who get more smiles around them, smile earlier/more.

amother

Hibiscus

Tue, Dec 27 2022, 10:39 am

I have an autistic child so I was terrified for the next children. At least one of my kids did what you describe. I took them to the pediatrician and the pediatrician also said he saw the concerning things I saw at that exact age and shrugged and said maybe they’ll also be autistic.

They weren’t. They’re awesome to this day, totally fine. Continue to be very playful with your baby and very engaged. Really nine months is a better indicator than this very early age.

Don’t worry!

amother

Whitesmoke

Tue, Dec 27 2022, 11:00 am

6 weeks is still within normal for those skills to come in. Additionally, as a general rule with preemies, subtract the amount of time they were early from their age, so if she is 6 weeks old but 3 weeks early it's ok for her to be developmentally 3 weeks. Her body needs to catch up on the time she didn't have inside.
Lots of nachas and enjoy this delicious stage!

amother

Chartreuse

Tue, Dec 27 2022, 11:03 am

Another vote for give it more time. My autistic child did all that right on time...