Most of the newborns seem perfectly well formed and active but the fact is that at the time of birth his visual system is still quite underdeveloped. It usually takes about two years for it to attain maturity. During the first few weeks, most of the children have a very blurry vision. By the third week, he achieves some degree of true vision for objects placed closer to his eyes. First few weeks are very tough on the baby as he is trying to coordinate with the outside world. During these initial weeks the baby’s eyes might appear to wander randomly. This is quite common and not a reason to worry. Discoordination between the eyes happen because the eye muscles are still weak and the baby might not be able to control or focus them together. The distance to which they can see increases as well and they may even be able to fix their gaze on and follow a large object or a small distance. By the time the baby is three months, he baby would be able to track objects and follow their movement with ease.

It is very important to keep the baby eyes clean. You need to be very regular with keeping his eyes clean. Normally, we don’t make any special effort to keep our eyes clean as the tear ducts in the eyes produce enough liquid to wash away irritants, keeping them naturally sanitized. The best way to clean the baby eyes is by gently cleaning the baby’s eyes from the inner corners towards the outer corners in one wipe, with a cotton swab or soft cloth dipped in cooled boiled water every couple of hours. Do not use the same swab or the same side of the cloth for the other eye, lest you should pass on one eye’s irritants to the other eye. Also, make sure that you wash your own hands thoroughly before cleaning your baby’s eyes.

The baby’s immediate environment needs to be kept clean. Change his bed sheet regularly. Keep the house and immediate environment where the baby is exposed free of house flies and mosquitoes. Discourage people from touching your baby’s face or hands as they might inadvertently pass on infections. Keep your baby’s nails clipped, short and hands clean. Make sure your baby is not lying directly under a bright light source as he would be forced to look at it constantly and that can be very disturbing. When it comes to babies, everyone is full of opinions and advices. You will hear your grandmother in law speaking of using some weird method of treating your baby’s eyes or some friend talking of some hi fi test. Do not blind trust anyone when it comes to your baby. Do not use any ointment, tea pack or eye drops without consulting your pediatrician first and finally, gets your baby’s eyes checked by your pediatrician after every three to four months.