Stacy  wrote:
My baby will be six months old at the end of the month.  It looks like he is developing normally.  My only concern is that roughly 6-8 times a day, particularly when we put him down to change him, his eyes will flutter for about thirty seconds.  During this time, you cannot make it stop by holding an object for him to focus on, but he does respond to your voice and will show appropriate emotion.  He doesn’t seem bothered by it, and he did it since he was born.  Our podiatrist didn’t seem bothered by it at our 4 month check-up, but it makes me wonder if other babies do this.  What is causing this?  Should I be concerned if he’s still doing it a couple months later?

ANSWER

Dear Stacy,
Visual coordination begins at age of 6 months and the process will be completed at 6 years old. It takes time for the visual system to mature and to develop all the connections that are needed to get an efficient vision from both eyes, what is called binocular vision. It is quite normal for a young baby to do not have eye coordination and the movement you describe could be considered “normal” at his age. However, if this does not stop by the next months and/or if this increased over time, you should consult an optometrist to make sure that there is no “nystagmus”, which describes constant, non voluntary movement of the eyes, that can be linked to a neurological problem. Based on what you are describing I have no concern of such an issue namely because it is not constant.
On the other hand, this could be a good thing,  even without any symptoms, to bring your baby to your family optometrist for a check-up. The Canadian Association of Optometrist recommends that every child should have his first exam at 6 months and, if everything is OK, the follow-up should be made at age 3.  Consequently, to see your optometrist could be the best thing to do at this moment.

Good luck and thank you for your interest in the visual health of your baby.
Langis Michaud, OD, MSc, FAAO (Dipl) – Associate Professor, École d’optométrie de l’Université de Montréal

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