You may have heard that if your newborn has blue or light gray eyes, there's a chance they could become brown (or go green) as she gets older.But if and even when your baby will experience eye color changes is anyone’s guess.
What’s responsible for this magical transformation in your little one’s eye color? The answer depends on the amount of melanin in the iris (the colored part of the eye) — which, in turn, is determined by the genes your baby has inherited from each parent — as well as other factors.
When does a baby's eye color change?
The most dramatic eye color changes will probably occur when your child is between the ages of 3 and 6 months old. By that point, the iris has stashed enough pigment so you’ll be able to better predict what the final hue will be.
But even so, your baby’s eye color may still hold some surprises. Your baby's eye color may continue going through a number of changesdue to pigmentation of the iris until baby’s first birthday, andyou may still notice subtle eye color changes (green eyes slowly turning hazel, say, or hazel ones deepening into brown) until she’s 3 years old. Just don’t expect brown eyes to revert to blue — dark eyes tend to stay dark for most babies.
Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) infants are more likely to beborn with dark, usually brown, eyes,though the shade may change slightly during the first year. Caucasianbabies are more likely to be born with dark blue or slate-gray eyes that may change several times before the first birthday.
What role do genetics play in baby’s eye color?
The final hue of those pretty peepers also depends on you, your partner (or your child's other biological parent) and a roll of the genetic dice.
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Since there’s still a lot that’s not understood about the interplay of genes and their part in determining eye color, it’s hard to make hard-and-fast predictions about the shadeyour baby’s eyes will end up. But if your child has blue or light gray eyes as a newborn, there are some probabilities:
- If bothbiological parents have brown eyes, but one had a blue-eyed parent, then there’s a slight chance your little one's eyes will be permanently blue.
- If onebiological parenthas blue eyes and the other brown, then your child has a 50-50 chance of having permanently blue eyes.
- If bothbiological parents have blue eyes, then it’s very likely that your child's eyes will bepermanently blue.
What role does melanin play in baby’s eye color?
Melanin, produced by cells, is the pigment that’s responsible for giving you the color of your skin and hair (or at least the hair color you had as a child).
Just as sunlight turns the skin a darker shade, it does the same thing to eye color by way of the iris. When your child enters the world (and is exposed to bright lights of the birthing room), that light kick-starts melanin production in the iris, which can lead to eye color changes.
Just a smidgen of melanin and your baby will have blue eyes; add some more and you get green, gray or hazel; even more anda newborn's eyeswill be brown or black.
From the What to Expect editorial team andHeidi Murkoff,author ofWhat to Expect When You're Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading ourmedical review and editorial policy.
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FAQs
Because it takes about a year for melanocytes to finish their work it can be a dicey business calling eye color before the baby's first birthday. The color change does slow down some after the first 6 months of life, but there can be plenty of change left at that point.
Does a newborn's eye color change? ›
As more melanin develops, the eyes can darken to green, hazel, or brown. Predicting when your child's eyes will stop changing color can vary. “The range of time when a baby will develop their 'true' eye color varies, but it usually happens between six and nine months of age,” Dr.
How to tell if your baby's eyes will stay blue? ›
Eye color change will often taper off around six months, but some babies' eyes keep changing hues for a year or even up to three. Until then, there's no way to know for certain what color your baby's eyes will ultimately be.
How long does it take for a newborn's eyes to adjust? ›
By eight weeks, babies begin to more easily focus their eyes on the faces of a parent or other person near them. For the first two months of life, an infant's eyes are not well coordinated and may appear to wander or to be crossed. This is usually normal.
Can you pick the color of your baby's eyes? ›
While a baby's eye color can sometimes be predicted by looking at his or her parents' eyes or those of other relatives, genetic variations can lead to unexpected results. Currently, genetic engineering allows us to select our baby's gender and eye color as well as modify the risk of certain illnesses.
What color will grey baby eyes turn? ›
What color will gray baby eyes turn? At birth, your baby's eyes may appear gray or blue due to a lack of pigment. Once exposed to light, the eye color will most likely start to change to blue, green, hazel, or brown over a period of six months to one year.
Can brown eyes turn green? ›
For most people, eye color will not change significantly past infancy. If you notice a change in your eye color, set an appointment with an eye doctor to help find the cause. If it's a major change that happens suddenly, ask for an urgent appointment.
Do all newborns start with blue eyes? ›
Melanin determines several aspects of our appearance. And while we have the least amount when we enter the world for the first time, remember that babies may be born with eyes of blue, brown, hazel, green, or some other color. It's simply a myth that all of us — or most of us, for that matter — are blue-eyed at birth.
How to guess baby eye color? ›
Two brown-eyed parents are likely (but not guaranteed) to have a child with brown eyes. If you notice one of the grandparents has blue eyes, the chances of having a blue-eyed baby go up a bit. If one parent has brown eyes and the other has blue eyes, odds are about even on eye color.
Which parent determines eye color? ›
A child's eye color depends on the pairing of genes passed on from each parent, which is thought to involve at least three gene pairs. The two main gene pairs geneticists have focused on are EYCL1 (also called the gey gene) and EYCL3 (also called the bey2 gene).
Although you can't predict the exact age your baby's eye color will be permanent, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) says most babies have the eye color that will last their lifetime by the time they're about 9 months old. However, some can take up to 3 years to settle into a permanent eye color.
When do babies start to see color? ›
5 to 8 months
It is not until around the fifth month that the eyes are capable of working together to form a three-dimensional view of the world and begin to see in-depth. Although an infant's color vision is not as sensitive as an adult's, it is generally believed that babies have good color vision by 5 months of age.
What color eyes do newborns come out with? ›
Newborn iris color at birth is brown in 63.0% (121/192) of infants, blue in 20.8% (40/192) of infants, green/hazel in 5.7% (11/192) of infants, indeterminate in 9.9% (19/192) of infants and partially heterochromic in 0.5% (1/192) of infants.
How do you know what skin color your baby will have? ›
Your baby's skin color is determined by the genes passed on from you and your partner. Skin color is what is called a polygenic trait, meaning that it depends on more than one gene. Genetics determine melanin, which in turn decides your baby's natural complexion. The more melanin, the darker the complexion.
What color is hazel eye color? ›
Hazel eyes are a combination of brown, gold or green. It's not an equal mix. Some people have eyes that seem only to have two of those colors, while others may have eyes that show all three. The possible differences among people with hazel eyes are one easy way to see just how unique eye color can be.
How long after a baby is born can you tell their eye color? ›
Your child's newborn eye color may be blue, but that doesn't mean it'll necessarily stay that way. “Babies' eyes tend to change color sometime between 6 and 12 months, but it can take as long as three years until you see the true color of what their eyes are going to be,” says Barbara Cohlan, MD, a neonatologist at St.
When are newborn eyes yellow? ›
Newborn jaundice is when your baby's skin and the white parts of the eyes look yellow. It's caused by the build-up of a substance in the blood called bilirubin. Newborn jaundice is very common—about 3 in 5 babies (60 percent) have jaundice. Jaundice usually happens a few days after birth.
Do newborns come out with blue eyes? ›
Melanin determines several aspects of our appearance. And while we have the least amount when we enter the world for the first time, remember that babies may be born with eyes of blue, brown, hazel, green, or some other color. It's simply a myth that all of us — or most of us, for that matter — are blue-eyed at birth.
