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My daughter is 7 weeks old and she doesn't look at us when we talk to her?

Hello,

Our daughter Eleanore is 7 weeks old and she will not look at our faces when we talk to her. Is this normal?

Todd & Kelly

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My daughter is 7 weeks old and she doesn't look at us when we talk to her?

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Aug 27, 2009
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Hearing? Personality?
by: Heather ;-)

Dear Todd and Kelly,

A few things come to mind when I read your post.
First, did she pass her newborn hearing test? Does she show signs of having trouble with her hearing? Does she get startled with loud noises? If you're not sure, you may want to discuss getting her hearing checked (or re-checked) with your doctor. Don't worry yet, though! It could be she has an ear infection that is causing some hearing loss (if there is any). Hearing issues don't automatically mean deafness!

If her hearing seems fine, consider her vision patterns as a whole. Does she look at other things, but just not your face? Is she drawn to pictures, a mirror, or other noisy toys, for example?

My firstborn would NEVER look at us, but that was because she was too busy looking at other things. Although most babies consider faces their favorite toys at this age, not ALL of them do. Lauren was much more interested in the noisy things going around her, than my boring face. ;-)

Lack of eye-to-eye contact is not always a sign of lack of bonding or autism or something. Sometimes it's just a preference.

Try to make funny noises and continue to see if you can get her to give you some eye-to-eye contact. If you are still worried, schedule an appointment with your pediatrician, or give him/her a call to discuss it over the phone.

You should have a well-baby appointment set up for around the 3 month mark (I recommend scheduling one if you haven't already). That would be a good time to bring it up if it hasn't improved by then, and her hearing seems fine.

Hope this helps! Feel free to post again if you need to!

with care,
Heather


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