I debated about whether or not to post this in fear of coming across as a crazy mom but I sucked it up and am doing so anyway
Gianna was 5 weeks yesterday and we are still in that stage of sleeping a lot during the day and being more awake at night. So today I'm pulling out all the stops. I have every toy scattered around, I'm trying to engage with her as much as you can engage a 5 week old and we are spending a ton of quality time together
Not that this is much different from any other day. She is either always attached to me, swinging in her swing or doing tummy time or floor time on her little play mat
But today my fears and concerns are running away with me. I've noticed that Gianna doesn't seem to focus on anything. Even me. Sure she will glance at me for a second when I'm holding her but she always turns her head away. Even when I get down on the floor with her and stick my head directly in front of hers, no eye contact. She is always looking away. I tried shaking rattles in front of her face, moving objects and even put my finger right up to her eye. Nothing. No interest, no focus no following the object with her eyes .
Am I being paranoid. Could there be something wrong with her eye sight. Is she still too little to be doing what I am expecting she can do. I don't know! And I'm freaking out. I've been on goggle searching blindness in infants and that is def not reassuring. So someone help me out. Should I be worried? Is she just acting like a normal 5 week old. Mommies I need your help!
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For your own piece of mind, talk to your doctor. I don't remember my kids at that age, but it doesn't sound familiar. And every baby is so different.
ReplyDeleteI think she's still a little young to freak out yet, but if you're really worried about it call your doctor. At 5 weeks things are still pretty out of focus for them so she might be more interested in how things are sounding as opposed to how they look? Have you tried a flashlight yet? That might capture her interest more than blurry objects. And if you are really worried about it call your doctor now, but if there isn't any other "stuff" (like redness or swelling, etc.) going on with her eyes I'd probably wait until her 6 week check-up to talk to the doctor about it. But I hope everything is ok! And if it makes you feel any better my nurses thought I had down's syndrome when I was born ('cause apparently I had a few of the symptoms) but I ended up being just fine:) Some of us just don't fit the cookie cutter (at birth or ever).
ReplyDeleteJust for your peace of mind, talk to the doctor, but from what I remember, it took my son about 8 weeks before he would focus on things, because their vision is still hazy at that point.
ReplyDeleteDoes she turn toward the sound of the rattle to look at it? Does she focus on anything? I think 5 weeks is too young to track objects, but i feel like she should be turning towards sounds and focusing on things for at least a few seconds. I would bring it up with my doc at the 6 week check up. She was also a little early so maybe that might have something to do with it???
ReplyDeleteI photograph newborns very often and I rarely have a newbie focus on my face. They look in my general direction but never really make eye contact. Their vision isnt fully developed and is blurry in the beginning.Give her some time but it definetly wouldn't hurt to ask the doctor next time you are in for a check up. :o)
ReplyDeleteevery baby is diff, but how does she react to bright light and or black and white objects- babies at that age are said to be able to really focus on black and white objects, stripes etc... their eye sight is still a bit blurry and they can't see all that far just yet- it takes time. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else - definitely call the pedi just to check!
ReplyDeleteAlso - a tip on the sleeping issue. When Sophie was that little she used to take really long naps during the day and then not really sleep for very long stretches at night. I made the rookie mistake of thinking that meant I needed to keep her awake as long as possible during the day. WRONG! That will actually backfire and just cause problems. They key is just waking them up more often during the day - i.e. limiting those naps to 2 hours or so to make sure they feed enough. Then they can be up for about 30-45 minutes at this age before really needing to go down again. If she is acting sleepy, let her sleep! But if you keep her sleeping stints shorter during the day, she is bound to start understanding that day is for short sleeps (naps) and night is for long sleeps!
The Baby Whisperer and Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child are two great resources on sleep if you want some "expert" opinions!