@Mrs. Bee:'s post today hit a note with me regarding nursing - avoiding eye contact. I don't think DS and I have ever made eye contact while nursing. He's always looking down and/or around. Once he's done, he'll stick his hand in his mouth and look straight up at the ceiling or whatever is grabbing his attention in that direction.
Do you and your LO make/lock eye contact while nursing?
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
We do....but she is also often distracted and looking at other things.
pear / 1563 posts
We make eye contact occasionally but it tends to distract her and she pops off and smiles at me instead of focusing on eating.
pomelo / 5678 posts
@Revel: 
We love to but at first she would get so excited she would smile and lose the latch! Now we always do (6 months). I love it!
pomelo / 5073 posts
We do. Especially at night. She will now smile around my boob while nursing.
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
@Revel: Same thing. I have to actively not make eye contact with her because it distracts her.
apricot / 461 posts
A little bit, but usually he's looking around. I don't ever recall having lots of eye contact while nursing.
blogger / honeydew / 7081 posts
We make eye contact, but when we do, she pops off and stares at me. So I sort of avoid looking at her, and most of the time she just stares into space.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
@Alivoo01: M NEVER made eye contact with me while breastfeeding. I always thought it meant something was wrong with me/her/us. She would make eye contact with me any other time, though. I started to worry about it after hearing about eye contact and autism and all that but once I realized she does make eye contact, just didn't while bfing, I let it go. To be honest, I am not sure I would have liked it - having her stare at me while she eats. It would have felt TOO close.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
Nooo I try not to!!! Otherwise she loses her latch, gets distracted or wants to start talking ot me!
pear / 1517 posts
We used to but now it usually makes him laugh and then bite so no eye contact here!
pomelo / 5093 posts
Some, but my daughter nursed for about 8 hours a day for her first 6 months. So obviously not all the time.
grapefruit / 4006 posts
sometimes, if i am just using my arm as a prop. but we usually use the boppy and its too hard for her to look up at me since she is on her side.
pomelo / 5326 posts
I try not to for the first few minutes so I know she's actually eating. Towards the end I make eye contact and she will look and smile while eating, then pop off and blow raspberries or coo. My favourite is when she blows raspberries or bubbles with milk still in her mouth. It's so funny and cute.
pear / 1823 posts
I try not to look at him because he'll pop off and smile, usually before swallowing the milk in his mouth 
It makes a mess!
bananas / 9973 posts
@Revel: Ditto. I usually try to avoid until she's drifting off to sleep.
cantaloupe / 6146 posts
Yes because it helps him focus. If he's doing just fine, I don't worry about it.
When he was really tiny I did because I was concentrating really hard.
honeydew / 7295 posts
I think the most important thing i have read as a parent who is constantly convinced and then unconvinced and then convinced that my child may be showing signs of being on the spectrum is this: NO ONE THING CAN DETERMINE A DIAGNOSIS. Basically there are a series of issues that determine ASD. Very few autistic kids are alike and it seems that a lot of behaviors associated with ASD can be under a huge umbrella of other disorders or even just toddler behaviors. When in doubt contact EI. My son is not great about eye contact when nursing. He will make eye contact for a bit but he doesn't like to do the long gaze usually.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
DD and I used to make eye contact sometimes. DS and I ALWAYS had to gaze lovingly into each others eyes when I nursed him. He wanted my undivided attention!
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
She will sometimes but more often she stares at my boob. Like others said, sometimes she looks at me then smiles, losing her latch (but it's so damn cute I don't mind). Occasionally she will stare right into my eyes as she nurses really hard-- it's kind of weird! Or she pops off and looks at me and smiles and blow raspberries, which is adorable at home in private, less so when nursing in public.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@Revel: M does this, too, and it gives me such warm fuzzies! It's my favorite part of nursing.
We do make eye contact. We've been not nursing to sleep so I'll sing to her while she nurses so that she doesn't fall asleep and she'll make eye contact with me while I sing.
cantaloupe / 6730 posts
I try not to because she'll smile and turn her head to look at me with my nipple still in her mouth. Ouch!
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
@mediagirl: hahaha! Totally understandable!
@chopsuey: Aw!!
@lawbee11: That's so sweet you sing to her while nursing! What do you sing, if you don't mind me asking. I'd love to hum a non-nursery rhyme tune to DS, but can't think of a mellow, soothing tune.
@Grace: @grizz: OMG! DS does this too! He'll turn his head to look at something while still latched on!!! *cringe*
Love hearing the adorable stories of your LO smiling up at you and/or coo/talk/blow raspberries!
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@Revel: Same! Eye contact will totally distract Xander, so I avoid it while he's nursing so he can focus!
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@Alivoo01: I sing "Ho Hey" and "Time After Time" most of the time!
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