Ask a Nurse: Newborn Vision

I heard that a newborn's vision is blurry, but I feel like my baby recognizes me. When do babies begin actually seeing?

It is true that it takes about six months for your baby's vision to completely develop. Newborns see only in black, white, and gray, and they lack accommodation (or the ability of the eye to adjust to focus on near/distant objects). Despite these limitations, doctors say they are still able to recognize familiar shapes, including their mother's face.

Over the first several month's in an infant's life, visual abilities develop rapidly. By six months of age their visual acuity has progressed from 20/400 at birth to 20/25. By this time they begin to coordinate eye movements and are able to focus on distant and near objects. They also are able follow moving objects. Color vision is fully developed by six months of age.