Baby avoids looking at me

Elfrieda - posted on 08/27/2012

Do you think that maybe he's just overwhelmed? My son is/was also very sensitive to noise, and he would cry if people were all COOCHYCOO in his face, but would laugh and look into our eyes if we did things like raise one eyebrow or make a funny face. It was too bad because the people who really liked babies and ran over and started talking to him 3 inches from his face with high-pitched voices made him cry, but the ones (usually men) who were more indifferent to him and maybe would wink at him or ignore him for several minutes and then give him a sidelong glance and make a funny noise made him smile and giggle. He liked the more subtle interactions, not the aggressive ones, they scared him.

Amanda - posted on 08/26/2012

Maggie,



Keep a careful watch on him. My son acted the same way at this age. He is 7 now. At 18 months I started questioning autism. He was a late walker (14 months) and did a little speech therapy just before 2. His Drs have always said he is not autistic and not on the spectrum. He is extremely bright but lacks in social skills. I have -and am still- going through testing. The one thing we have found is that my child is completely a visual learner. He is in the 8th percentile for verbal learning and 80th for visual. What this means is that it is easier for him to process visual clues than verbal. As we go through testing we may find out he has some sort of high functioning autism, but for now he is academically above class average, but struggles socially. Some of the things we've noticed are that he always refused to look at people when speaking. If the t.v. was on or there was something visually stimulating happening, his hearing seemed to disappear. He is sensitive to loud noises like sirens, alarms, the vacuum, and sometimes the t.v. or music being loud. My child is great at patterns and music and is drawn to anything very visual. We had taught him to look at people's forehead so even pediatricians never really noticed that issue. He also reads and writes. He is still unable to sound out many words and can not match up the way that vowels sound to what the letter looks like, but has memorized what words look like and basically reads by sight.



Not that this will be the same thing, but just an idea of what to look for as he gets older if there is some sort of communication delay or learning difficulty to overcome. Most of all, if you doubt what you are being told bya Dr. ...get a second opinion! You are your childs biggest advocate.

Cristina - posted on 08/23/2012

Just to be safe I would go to the doctor or the public nurse to do a hearing and vision check. Term newborns can see objects as far away as 50 cm(2.5 feet). The clearest visual distance is 17-20 cm( 8-12 inches) which is the distance between mother's face and infant's face during breastfeeding or cuddling. Try to show the baby a bright light to see if he /she follows it . They do that even at 15 min age.

Nikki - posted on 08/23/2012

My daughter did this around that age, it really freaked me out. She is now 2.5 and demands I look her in the eyes, if she wants my attention, which is 24/7 while I am in the shower, on the phone on the toilet, she tries to grab my face so she can look in my eyes.



If you are really concerned speak with your health care provider :)

Amanda - posted on 08/22/2012

I know there's a difference in milestones between 6 and 7 months, but my 6 month old won't always look at me when I'm holding him. In fact if I'm holding him he's more likely to look at someone or something else. All of my babies did this actually, I'm not sure why. And some baby's are more sensitive to noises than others. My 6 month old doesn't even flinch when the vacuum is next to him or when the dog barks, but my first two both started becoming fearful of loud noises right around this age. It doesn't sound too strange, but if it really worries you then follow your instincts and have him checked out.

Cam - posted on 08/21/2012

My son is 7 months old, but he will look at you, and laugh and giggle to funny faces, or sounds, He is also scared of sneezing, and coughing sometimes even his own lol. I think its normal,
I thought he was blind for a while because he would not blind but, he came around, if you are too concerned or this has been happening for a while, consult his doctor, no question is a stupid question! Just call them up or take him in... Mine watchs t.v and plays with toys fine but, if he hears a sound or a voice, he is staring it down or trying to find out what it is.. ask your doctor, i am sure your little boy will be fine :)

Maggie - posted on 08/21/2012

he is 7 months old