The baby may be looking into your soul or at your aura and trying to understand the wealth of information you contain. It's possible that the baby can see past the physical body and into your higher self or spirit. You may have a connection that transcends time and space, which is why the baby keeps staring at you.
Human infants, just a few days of age, are known to prefer attractive human faces.
The main reason babies stare is that their brains are developing and growing at an exponential rate. In fact, the more you play with your baby and engage with him/her, the better his/her brain will develop.
there is an old saying that babies and animals can recognize good (loving) people. So it is instinctual on their part, they are sensing that you are a good person, and are coming to you for love, comfort, and security. Don't worry, it's a compliment.
And research suggests that babies evaluate people in much the same way, preferring people who like the same foods, clothes, and toys that they like. This preference helps us to form social bonds, but it can also have a dark side.
There are many reasons why babies may show a strong preference for one caregiver over another. Sometimes it's about proximity, routine, or familiarity. Sometimes it's linked to life events and developmental milestones. And other times, these preferences just come and go for no particular reason.
The research does show, according to Bloom, that children just a few months old can judge a person's character – siding with the “good” puppet and not with the “bad” puppet.
Sometimes babies cry when they see a certain person who is unfamiliar because their brains are beginning to understand stranger danger.
Grabbing and squeezing everything is simply a natural response that 2 year olds display towards whatever catches their attention. For some reason, your daughter has latched onto squeezing your face as a particular way of "connecting" with you.
Remember all of this is true while your baby is becoming accustomed to visual and audio cues that represent safety, nourishment, and a smiling face. So, while your little one may simply be distracted, staring at the ceiling can also be a way for your little one to take a break from the stimulus around.
Stark contrasts like light versus dark are easier for them to see. If there is a light or a fan on the ceiling, this may attract your baby's attention and garner a smile or reaction due to the different stimulation for them on the ceiling.
There's growing evidence that these anticipatory smiles are a crucial moment in infant development—the moment when babies begin to be aware of their social world. They mark a new and unique cognitive step: sharing an emotion with someone else that's about some third thing (a pig-with-wings weathervane, naturally).
In scientific studies, babies show a strong preference for female faces. Is this an inherent favoritism, or can other factors explain this inclination? Most developmentally healthy babies like looking at faces.
there is an old saying that babies and animals can recognize good (loving) people. So it is instinctual on their part, they are sensing that you are a good person, and are coming to you for love, comfort, and security. Don't worry, it's a compliment.
According to UK researcher Dr. Alan Slater, babies prefer to look at attractive faces, just like adults. In a study he conducted at the University of Exeter, Dr. Slater and his colleagues took photos of various female faces and asked people to rate them for attractiveness, scoring them on a scale from 1 to 5.
While infants vary in their sensitivity, research shows that babies do, indeed, sense and react to their parents' emotional cues. Generally speaking, they're picking up on what you're giving off.
Research suggests that babies are indeed affected by parental squabbles, and exposure to chronic conflict may affect brain development. Experimental studies confirm that babies can sense when their mothers are distressed, and the stress is contagious.
Infants (birth to 24 months of age) can express a wide range of basic emotions including: discomfort, pleasure, anger, fear, sadness and excitement. As we learned in Chapter 6, infants are developing attachments to primary caregivers and may show some anxiety when separated from the important adults in their lives.
"Babies like to be held all the time, especially before they can walk on their own," Howard says. "They can look around, they get to see what the parent's doing, which they find totally fascinating, and that's good for mental development."
By two months, most babies will look happy to see you, and they'll smile when you talk to them. For many parents, those smiles are a heartwarming first glimpse of true affection. By four months, your baby will be smiling unprompted, hoping to catch your attention with a little “I love you” from across the room.
And research suggests that babies evaluate people in much the same way, preferring people who like the same foods, clothes, and toys that they like. This preference helps us to form social bonds, but it can also have a dark side.
“Your infant may not be able to tell you that you seem stressed or ask you what is wrong, but our work shows that, as soon as she is in your arms, she is picking up on the bodily responses accompanying your emotional state and immediately begins to feel in her own body your own negative emotion.”
Babies and toddlers can see angels. In fact, it is in the preschool years a child is more naturally prophetic than they will be at any time in their lives.
Somewhere around 2 months of age, baby will look at you and flash a full-on smile that's guaranteed to make your heart swell. Doctors call that kind of smile a “social smile” and describe it as one that's “either a reaction, or trying to elicit a reaction,” Stavinoha says. In other words, baby is interacting with you!