By 6 to 8 months, normal babies' development means they should be able to:
- Inspect hands, toys, and other objects.
- Watch activities around themselves and sometimes recognize what they see.
- Stretch to see more distant objects.
- React to sounds like a ringing phone, barking dog or someone's voice.
- Respond to their name.
- Turn their head in the direction of a sound.
If your baby isn't doing most of the above, make a special trip to the doctor to check development in baby, especially vision and hearing tests. And be sure that the doctor checks your child's eyes and ears at every regular checkup.
At times babies do look cross-eyed. Vision specialists say it's normal for an infant's eyes to cross, and momentary crossing can last up to 18 months. If your baby's eyes are crossed often, he may not be developing binocularity--having both eyes work together.