Baby Milestones: Eyesight

Your baby’s vision takes a while to develop, but goes from being very limited at birth to being almost adult-like in clarity and depth by around eight months. When you consider all of the other physical developments your baby is undergoing in her first year, it really is pretty amazing to see how much her eyesight improves as well.

Newborn eyesight

Research shows that even a four-day-old baby will stare at her mom’s face longer than anyone else’s, so even though she may have puffy eyes, is slightly cross-eyed and can’t see very far, she still only has eyes for you!

Your newborn can see things at distances of around 8-12 inches away from her face – roughly the distance your face is when you hold her. Anything further away than this is pretty blurry, so make sure you move your face in close to hers when you speak to her, and make lots of eye contact.

Research shows that newborns show a preference for human faces so she will stare intently at you whenever she can see you. They also have a propensity towards colors with high contrast, so can distinguish between black and white better than orange and red, for instance. Watch gurgle's guide to playing with your newborn.

Newborn eye appearance

Crossed eyes

Most newborns are born with what appears to be crossed eyes because the muscles of their eyes aren’t yet strong enough to focus properly on objects. As your baby practices looking around and her eyes get stronger, the cross-eyed look will disappear.

Bloodshot eyes

You and your newborn will probably share the same characteristic of bloodshot eyes, but not for the same reasons. Yours will be from pushing during the birth if you had a natural delivery, plus hardly any sleep since. Your baby’s bloodshot eyes are a result of being squeezed down the vagina, which causes broken blood vessels. There’s no need to worry and your newborn’s eyes will return to normal in a few days.

Puffy eyes

If your baby has puffy eyes after she is born, it is again down to the journey through the birth canal and out into the world. The swelling also serves as natural protection against the light, which your baby may take some time getting used to having been used to a dark, watery world for nine months.

What your baby sees

Newborns love faces, so make sure you get close to her whenever you speak to her. She’ll also love photographs of faces (yours or George Clooney’s is optional!), so place them within her range of vision. Mobiles that are black and white or have faces on them will give your baby something to focus on while she is in her crib or having her diaper changed. Even though babies can’t recognize themselves in a mirror till they’re around 15 months old, they will love to look at your face and their own in a mirror when they are tiny.

By two weeks old

If something is moving fast towards her your baby may bring up a hand to protect herself. She may also be able to track an object if it is moved slowly in front of her.

By three weeks old

Your baby may get excited when she sees your faces come into view. She is starting to recognize you as mom or dad!

By eight weeks old

Your baby should be able to fully-focus now and will recognize your face and your partner’s, as well as familiar toys and objects around her. The world still appears quite one-dimensional to her and small details or anything far away will be lost on her, but you may start to notice her staring at brightly colored objects as colors become more defined.

By four months old

She’ll be able to track smaller objects with her eyes, and details are becoming more obvious to her. She is starting to understand depth and height and can recognize patterns and the difference between two pictures.

By six months old

She’ll be able to distinguish between different emotions and facial expressions and may get excited when you’re happy or upset if you are sad. She is also starting to understand where things live in the world in relation to her, so if something is out of sight she’ll look around for it, and if something is hidden in a toy box she may attempt to find it. ??

By eight months old Your baby’s eyesight is now developed enough to be almost adult-like and she can see tiny detail and can recognize people who are some distance away.

When to worry

If you notice your baby squinting or she doesn’t seem able to focus on anything held close to her face by around eight weeks, tell your pediatrician.

Your baby’s eye color

Caucasian babies are mostly born with blue or gray eyes and dark-skinned babies with dark brown eyes. While dark-skinned babies’ eyes will usually stay dark, Caucasian babies’ eyes will morph through a few different colors before settling at between three and six months. Changes can still occur right up to your baby’s first birthday, but after that the color will usually be permanent.

Boosting your baby’s eyesight

• Provide your baby with lots of interesting things to look at – mobiles, play gyms and brightly colored toys are great for older babies, while younger babies will prefer more high contrasting colors, like black and white.

• Try not to give her too much visual stimuli in one go as she can only handle one or two objects and may get over-stimulated with too much to look at.

• Babies love looking at lights, so chandeliers, interesting lights or sunlight through a blind will become a favorite visual image.

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