MY GRANDSON ISN’T SMILING

Q My grandson was born five weeks prematurely and spent time in the special care baby unit. He’s home now, and feeding well, but I’m concerned that he is 10 weeks and isn’t smiling at all. I don’t want to worry my daughter, but should we be taking him to the doctor to get him checked over? A Babies develop differently, but as a rule, we expect them to start smiling from four to six weeks old. However, we do adjust timings of developmental milestones to allow for prematurity. So, a baby born five weeks early, should start smiling between nine and 11 weeks. If he shows no signs of smiling in the next few weeks, ask your daughter to tell her health nurse or GP.