As a first-time mom, I was super careful and anxious about my baby’s development. I always used to worry if my baby’s health is growing smoothly or if she is gaining proper weight. But I was most concerned about her visual sight. I was super curious about it, but at the same time, I came to know that there are not really a handful of resources to know if your baby has a eyesight problem or at least developing some during the first couple of weeks.
I’ve always tried to put my hands in front of her eyes and wave from left to right and tried to follow if there is any movement in her pupils. During the initial days, there was nothing, no movement. You will see your baby smiling, yawning, and sometimes you might even feel like she is watching you, but she is not actually. During their first 4 weeks, they don’t actually see anything. But as the days go by, their vision develops.
At first, they will see you as a shadow. They won’t be able to define shape or recognize the border of an object or any human being, rather they will just be able to differentiate different light reflecting from any object back to their eyes. That’s why they see a shadow if you stand in between a source of light and your baby.
My baby was not also any different. But the interesting thing is they can follow sound swiftly. So, if they can’t yet see your wavy hands, there is a high possibility that they will be able to follow you if you clap your hands on its right or left. They will most likely move their heads to their left or right, following the source of sound. Hence, during the initial days, your baby will most likely respond to you in case you make any noise.
As the days pass by, the shadow will grow darker and they will be more able to differentiate between light and darkness. So during the first 4 weeks, they won’t see anything. After that until 8 weeks, the vision will gradually grow and the shadow will be darker. Then up until 3 months, they will actually be able see you
but the edges will still be blurry to their eyes. I can still remember the day when she was lying in her bed and smiling and I was passing by. And suddenly I noticed as I moved from her right to the left she moved her eyes. To be more sure, I came close to her again and started moving left to right, back and forth; and every time she was moving her eyes. I was super happy! At least she can see, ha ha…
So yeah, after 3 months her vision will grow and she will see colors much brighter. And you will realize as the days go by she will be able to see you from further distance. Once she is 6 months old, she can see everything. She can identify the object, she can identify you but there is still room to grow her color sense. At last, after a couple of more months, she will be able to see just like you, as bright as you are able to see different color.