It’s a big, bright, confusing world for newborns. And, amazingly, they are wired to bring it all together. The eyes and visual system develop rapidly allowing your baby to interact with you and the rest of his world, and learn more and more about it every day.
Observing a few things about his eyes and how he uses them can help assure that this development progresses as it should. Newborns’ eyes don’t focus very clearly and may not always aim at exactly the same place at the same time. But they are attracted to faces, and naturally best aim and focus at about a foot away; just the distance between your two faces when holding or feeding. If your baby’s eyes, more often than not, don’t seem to work together at this distance, make a note to mention it to your pediatrician.
Regardless of what color parents’ eyes are (but particularly if they’re dark) baby’s eyes are likely to be a steely blue-gray for the first few months, but they should appear very similar to one another. Real color will become more and more noticeable by six to nine months.
If, for whatever reason the eyes don’t look the same as each other, if one eye consistently and noticeably turns in or out, or if you note excess tearing or other kind of discharge, these are also worth discussing with your eye care professional or pediatrician.
Dr. Steve Jacobs is an optometrist in Blacksburg, Virginia who works with patients of all ages. He is a sponsor of NRV Macaroni Kid and you can find him here. In a series of short articles we’ll take a peek at the eyes and vision development from infancy thru the early school years, and point out some basic things to look for (and to look out for). Some segments may key on a particular age, whereas others will address common questions or concerns. If you’d ever like more information, please feel free to contact Dr. Jacobs at 540-953-0136 or sjacobs07@comcast.net or speak to your child's physician.
