Looking away

A nursery nurse told me that most babies will look away when they're overstimulated. I worried about this, whenever my baby seems to be learning a new skill she looks away more. For example, when she started smiling she looked away for a few weeks but will maintain eye contact now, and now she's just started laughing she looks away then too. She also prefers quiet and seems to be quite a gentle and placid little one and looks away when we are louder with her as she can't cope with it. Could be completely different for you, but thought I'd share my experience 😊

Thank you for this. He started laughing properly a couple of weeks ago so I guess that does tie in. He will make lovely eye contact on his terms and look at faces but he prefers it to be at more of a distance. I don’t get that baby looking lovingly up at me experience though. He’s more watching my facial expressions and when he’s enjoying my company he makes prolonged eye contact. But when he’s not playing and he’s just looking around he refuses to look at me. I’m worried that I’m also forcing it too much which is making him enjoy it less because of my own insecurities and fears. The health visitor said a mother’s intuition can often be right, but I’ve been wrong about so many things and I’m just worrying myself sick at the moment.

U can’t assume autism on a 15 week old, it can’t be diagnosed til around 3 years old x

I'm no expert but if it's on his terms then he's probably fine and just looking away when he's a bit overwhelmed or overstimulated. Try giving him a break and pausing and allow him to return his focus to you when he's ready. He might just be nosing around as well, as they grow they take in so much more of their surroundings and begin to learn that their body is theirs and that is a huge amount for their little brains to process! Also, for what it's worth, an autism diagnosis isn't the end of the world. My husband is autistic and whilst yes growing up was a struggle for his mum at times, he is an absolutely wonderful father and has a successful career and a good group of friends

All babies look away my little boy does it but autism didn't come to mind. They see alot more now so everything looks amazing to them and they want to see everything

It’s a really natural thing for them to do to show you they’re overstimulated. They’ll do the same if you’re playing or doing a sensory activity and it’s a good indication to call things down a bit.