As you gaze into those baby blues, you may not realize your baby’s eyes see things differently from yours.  Discovering how he sees his world can help you interact with him in more meaningful ways.

Newborn Eyes
When your baby is born, your face and high-contrast patterns are the only visual stimuli that will hold his interest.  He only sees the face of the person holding him (or objects 8 to 15 inches from his face).  Everything else is fuzzy.  This blurriness has more to do with his brain’s ability to process all the wonderful, new information it is receiving than it does the actual functioning of his eyes.

Something you may have noticed or that may concern you is his eyes will cross from time to time.  This is because they are not operating in tandem yet.  Don’t worry.  They will be paired up beautifully very soon.

Month 1
During your baby’s first month or so, his eyes will begin working together, which will allow your baby to focus better.  Your baby will watch a rattle pass by, and he will make eye contact with you, which will make your heart melt into a puddle of joy.

Month 2
Your sweet baby has been missing out on a world of colors, but that will soon change.  For several months, colors will become more distinctive, and he will show great interest in objects with patterns and primary colors.  While he may not understand what he is seeing, showing your baby picture books will help his development.

He will continue improving his object tracking skills as well.

Month 4
It’s time to put away dangling earrings and pull your hair up because your baby will soon have depth perception.  That means he can see objects and coordinate well enough to reach out and grab them!  Help your baby improve his grasping skills and depth perception by holding easily grabbed toys in front of him, allowing him to reach for and successfully snatch them.

Month 5
Peek-a-boo, Baby!  At five months, your baby will likely start to develop object permanence and understand that things exist even if he can’t see them entirely.  This makes games like peek-a-boo very rewarding.  Additionally he is starting to see subtle differences in all those lovely pastels decorating the nursery.

Month 8
At long last your baby’s eyes have settled into maturity and color.  There may be minor changes later, but generally his eyes are fully developed.