Baby's eye colour - When does baby's permanent eye colour appear?
When talking about infant eye colour, the genetics around it are pretty simple. All newborn babies are born with either blue or grey eyes, as the pigment itself in the iris has not yet formed. However, the shade of blue can vary so much that in some cases it can be difficult to see the colour clearly. This means that in some newborns the eye colour can be very light blue and in others so dark blue that it can be close to a brownish shade.
Read below to find out more about the genetics behind your child's eye colour and when your child will get their permanent eye colour.
Babies' genes
When we talk about a gene being dominant, in genetics there are two types of genes called recessive and dominant genes. The recessive genes would be the genes that naturally bend to the dominant genes. This means that the dominant genes will be the ones expressed in the child if there is one of each gene present. With eye colour, hair colour and skin colour it will therefore be quite simple to set up because there are just not that many different outcomes.
Baby's eye colour and the genetics behind
The eye colour of the child is determined by the chromosomes which are the genetic make-up of the child's parents. It is said that brown dominates over blue. The child must have two blue genes in order to have blue eyes. But one parent can have brown eyes and also carry the gene for blue. This means that the child will have brown eyes if both parents have brown eyes and only one parent carries the gene for blue. At the same time, if one parent has blue eyes and the other parent has brown eyes but carries the gene for blue, the child can have both blue and brown eyes. However, the brown gene will always be dominant.
Baby's permanent eye colour
It's always exciting to see which genes come through in your child. In terms of when you can see the permanent eye color in the child can vary. It is easier to conclude permanent eye colour in a child with dark brown eyes, as it can usually be seen sooner than if the child has a more colourful eye colour. If the child has a more nuanced eye colour, then in some children the eye colour will not really be visible until the child is about 1 year old. In other children, it may take longer. It is also possible that there may be shade changes in the child's eye colour as they grow up. This is not something that can be seen from an early age, but it is a shade change that is just part of the child's development and genetics.
