The eyes have it: Everything you need to know about babies eyes, from how they see to how they get their colour

They’re not called the windows to the soul for nothing. From the moment you first make that connection by gazing into a newborn’s eyes, you know exactly how special they are.

Ever wondered if they can see you back? Or how exactly they got their colour, and if that colour is going to stick around?

Read on for everything you need to know newborn eyes and how to care for them as we take a look at what it is that makes baby eyes so beautifully fascinating.

How soon will my baby be able to see?

If your baby does not have impaired vision, they will be able to see from birth. In fact you might notice them begin to take a look around from those very first few minutes.

However, while they can see, they still need to learn how to focus on what exactly it is they are looking at.

Vision is not just about the eyes, but the brain as well, and for the first few months the eyes and brain will work together to learn how to adjust and focus. During this time you might notice your baby appearing to squint, drift or go cross eyed, and you should know that this is completely normal.

It is over those first few months that your baby’s vision will develop, until at about six to eight months when they should begin to see the world almost as well as an adult would.

Will my baby’s eyes grow?

Your baby’s eyes may seem huge to you, and they kind of are. We’re all born with eyes not too far off the size that they’ll end up being once we fully mature.

When a baby is born their eyes measure about 16.5 millimetres in length. Our eyes grow rapidly after birth and again during puberty until age 20 or 21, when they will stop growing in size once they reach around 24 millimetres. They’re not done yet though! The weight of the eyes’ lenses continues to increase over time and will undergo age-related changes as time goes on.

What factors determine my baby’s eye colour?

There are a complicated set of factors that determine eye colour and it’s all to do with genes. Eye colour is polygenic, which means that the trait is influenced not by one gene, but by multiple genes working together. So while we can take a guess based on the probabilities listed below, predicting eye colour is not an exact science.

Factors to consider are:

• the colour of the parents’ eyes
• whether the parents are homozygous (having two identical alleles of a particular gene) or heterozygous (having two different alleles of a particular gene) for their eye colour
• whether the eye colours of the parents are dominant or recessive

Now, while it is impossible to know for sure, there are probabilities based on heterozygous (the most likely) genetic odds.

Those probabilities are:

• Brown + brown = 75% brown, 18.75% green and 6.25% blue
• Brown + green = 50% brown, 37.5% green and 12.5% blue
• Brown + blue = 50% brown, 0% green and 50% blue
• Green + green = <1% brown, 75% green and 25% blue
• Green + blue = 0% brown, 50% green and 50% blue
• Blue + blue = 0% brown, 1% green and 99% blue

And, of course, there is a rare condition called heterochromia that results in people having two different coloured eyes that may come into play too.

Will my baby’s eyes change colour?

Our iris (the coloured part of our eye) depends on a protein called melanin to determine our eventual eye colour, and how much melanin we each have is determined by our genes.

Specialised cells in our bodies called melanocytes secret melanin, and the more we have, the darker our eyes will be. Just a little bit of melanin will give us blue eyes, a bit more will give us green or hazel eyes, even more will give us brown eyes (the most common colour). In some cases there is so much melanin that eyes may appear almost black.

As this melanin can be secreted over time, eyes can take a while to settle on their final colour. If a baby is born with very dark eyes it is likely that they will remain so, however a baby with lighter eyes may get gradually darker over time.

Doctors suggest that between three and six months of age is when some of the biggest changes to eye colour may occur with eye colour often not settling until about twelve months of age. In some cases a baby’s eye colour will still evolve until closer to their third birthday.

Common eye ailments and how to manage them

At birth most babies tear ducts are not fully developed. As a result, during the initial two weeks of your newborn’s life, their eyes will be dry, even when they are crying.

Tears are produced in the lacrimal glands. The tears then flow over the eye and drain into the tear ducts which usually develop over a few weeks.

Approximately one in five babies are born with tear ducts that are not yet fully developed.

Your baby’s eyes are kept healthy by tears. As newborns don’t make tears, washing away debris and keeping their eyes moist can be difficult. As a result, parents or carers may need to help by wiping away any eye discharge.

Parents may need to help their baby or young child by wiping away any eye discharge.

According to Sydney Paediatrician, Dr Jonny Taitz, eye infections are common in newborns and young children.

“It’s quite frequent that little babies often have blocked tear ducts because they’re tear ducts are very small, they tend to block up , particularly in the first three-to-six months,” he says.

“And because the ducts are blocked, the eye has difficulty draining itself, so it becomes infected, which can lead to conjunctivitis. It’s a common problem for babies and I tend to see three a week or more.”

Does your baby have sticky eyes?

You may notice discharge forming in your newborn’s eyes, especially overnight. It may dry out and crust on your baby’s eyelids or lashes or make their eyelashes stick together.

Your baby’s ‘sticky eyes’ could be the result of a blocked tear duct.

“Most of the time the tear ducts will open by one years old but if a duct isn’t opened, we tend to recommend surgery – it’s rare condition that would affect less than 1 percent of one-year-olds.”

What is conjunctivitis?

Conjunctivitis, or pink eye, is an irritation or inflammation of the conjunctiva, which covers the white part of the eyeball. It can be caused by allergies or a bacterial or viral infection.

Any newborn baby with conjunctivitis should see a doctor immediately to rule out infection, which can be very serious.

Conditions like conjunctivitis, blocked tear ducts and styes can leave your little one’s eyes looking red, swollen or crusty.

“If kids get conjunctivitis after one year old, it’s generally from someone passing it to them and before one years old, it’s typically due to a blocked tear duct,” explains Dr Taitz. “And that’s why Little Eyes is so helpful in that age group.”

When should a parent bring their baby or young child to the doctor?

When it comes to their baby’s eye health, Dr Taitz recommends parents seek medical advice at the first sign of a red eye.

“Get help early! You only have two eyes and eyesight is critical – if you see one red eye make sure you get to the doctor early and do not delay.”

He says parents should seek medical advice if:

• They see reoccurring crustiness
• A white part of the eye becomes red, which could be a sign of conjunctivitis
• Most importantly if the pupils look white, this could be a major sign of a Retinoblastoma, which is life threatening but rare condition.
• If babies have a squint after six months, then we’d recommend the baby/child sees an ophthalmologist for further testing.

Cleaning your baby’s eyes with a sterilised wipe

Sterilised eye wipes such as Little Eyes gently clean the delicate eye area and remove secretions and discharge from around the eyes.

“For any eye infection, eye blockage, crustiness Little Eye wipes are the go-to,” advises Dr Taitz.

Little Eyes can also be used as a warm or cold compress for soothing relief.

Little Eyes will not treat eye infections. They are designed to gently clean the delicate eye area and eyelashes to remove ocular secretions, scales, crusted matter and residue.

If your little one has an eye infection your healthcare professional may suggest an eye-care regimen including cleaning, warm compresses, eyelid massage and eye drops.

Brought to you by Little Eyes.