Why Do Babies Widen Their Eyes?

Adapting to light and beginning to focus after birth

A newborn can see objects at the sides with peripheral vision (lateral), but central vision continues to develop. In a couple of weeks, as the retina develops, the baby's pupils widen and can make out ranges of light and dark, as well as patterns.

Why do babies get wide eyes?

Baby vision development before birth

In bright light, the iris expands and the pupil gets smaller, restricting the amount of light entering the eye. In the dark, the iris shrinks and the pupil gets bigger, allowing in as much light as possible.

Is it normal for babies to have their eyes wide open?

Most of the time nocturnal lagophthalmos in babies is actually physiological lagophthalmos, meaning there is no medical cause, and there are no symptoms from sleeping with the eyes partially open. While the medical name may seem long and technical, the fact is that it's fairly common in both adults and infants.