Just wanted to get your thoughts on something I am worried about. I am reading everywhere that babies should be smiling by 4-6 weeks. My baby girl is 6 weeks old and is not smiling and doesn't really seem to take enjoyment in playing on her play gym mat. She makes a lot of eye contact, but she prefers to just be cuddled and look at my face/eyes, than to look at toys. I am worried that she doesn't seem 'happy'. She hates tummy time and can only last for about a minute before she starts crying. She doesn't even seem close to smiling or laughing. She also doesn't make cooing sounds.
Has anyone else had a child who was late in smiling? Did they turn out the same in the long run, as other kids? She is a pretty placid baby and enjoys her feeds and is putting on weight well.
My daughter probably didn't really start smiling until 8 weeks - and then only a few times a day. It took her ages to interact with 'things' such as playmat - she was probably 3 months before she started doing that and also hated tummy time with a passion.
She is a happy, healthy, smiley, interacting, attention seeking 6 month old now!
If you still have concerns in a week or two, talk to your MCHN, GP or another mum - but I wouldn't worry!
My DD was smiling around 6 weeks, I think. It varies tremendously.
She hated the playmat the first couple of weeks I put her on it. She'd last about 10 seconds and then get upset by it. I persisted because I knew she'd end up liking the dangly things, but she really didn't like those until she was 2 or 3 months old.
She didn't laugh until she was about 3.5 months old.
She could handle increasingly long sessions of tummy time, now up to a max of about 5 minutes at a time (at 5 months). A minute at a time is just fine at 6 weeks. Make sure you do lots of those (10 times a day is what my MCHN told us). Often and short is the key to tummy time.
At 6 weeks, you are your baby's best toy. She is playing with you, your face, etc because you are the most important thing in her life. That is totally, totally normal. So do lots of games with her that let her explore you and your face and the ways you interact:
- smile at her, make different funny faces, lots of eye contact. Talk to her about what you are doing as you move around the house or go for a walk or whatever. A running comentary is good!
- move her closer and further from your face, so she can see the change. She doesn't understand about distances yet, but this might be funny for her, or at least entertaining.
- when she starts to say things to you (little "words" like ahhh and ohhh, and mmm), practise conversations where she says something and then you say something back. You need to wait for her - babies are slower to respond than we are, so you need to give her plenty of time to think and reply. She will love it if you repeat back to her the thing she just said to you.
She will get more interested in toys as she works out that her hands are there and how to use them. It wasn't until she really got her hands working that my DD had any interest in toys at all.
I am sure you have nothing to worry about, but it is fine to go talk to your doctor or your MCHN if you are concerned or you want to be sure.
I too think 4-6 weeks sounds very early to expect smiles. I'm sure it was quite a bit later than that here (can't get to ds's baby book now because its in his room where he's finally alseep!!).
I seriously wouldn't worry. If you little one is interacting like you say, that sounds perfectly normal.
I also wouldn't worry at all about tummy or play time- DS hated tummy time up until he was learning to crawl, and he didn't get much from play time on his mat until he was probably 3 months or more. When they are so little, their favorite thing is just to be cuddled and held and to look at your face- its all about bonding.
I know milestones can be intimidating (I am going through my own milestone dramas at the moment!), but your LO sounds just fine to me. Enjoy the cuddles!
DS first smiled around 5 weeks but they were few and far between for a few weeks. He also didn't like is play gym until around 3 months. I think they are just too small to get enjoyment out of things like that. They haven't figured out their hands yet etc. In a couple of months your DD will more than likely bashing the toys about on her play gym.
It seems fairly common for young babies not to like tummy time. But, short frequent bursts of time on their tummy is apparently better than longer periods of time. My DS is now 5.5 months and only in the last few weeks he has started to enjoy a bit of tummy time (but only if his nappy his off!). Not sure when the cooing started, but I think it would have been closer to 10 weeks.
One thing I have learnt since becoming a mum is that all babies are different and do things at different times. Try not to stress, and if it something that is really worrying you then speak to your MCHN or GP. In the mean time, enjoy your little bundle. Spend lots of time cuddling and interacting with her. Time really does fly and I am sure she will start showing all of her new little tricks soon.
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Smiling, Cooing etc: Developmental Milestones
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