[Snow girl]

Does anyone's baby ever look happy or smile in their update pictures? Our little guy never smiles in his & always looks so sad (of course, he is at the doctor's). Should I be concerned?

[dspakowsky]

The older my daughter gets, the less happy she is in the doctor pictures. She really doens't like it there and I can't blame her. When I get social updates (taken in the home) she's always much more relaxed and smiling.

[dilgra]

Our baby girl has never been smiling in any of the updates. (well, once there was a hint of a smile) in fact, one time whe was actually crying in the photo which made me so sad but they are usally taken at the Doctor's office and I am sure she is nervous, plus I doubt that they take the time to try to make her smile, they just shoot a few pictures for the record. We just visited our little one a week ago and were relieved to find out that she can actually smile, and laugh.

[GuatMommy2Be]

Elia has never smiled. When she went to her old pediatrician, I rec'd photos of her crying.
In the last pictures (in January) we rec'd.. she had a very worried look on her face.

[Snow girl]

Thanks. You guys are making me feel better.

[WVUMom418]

Mia never smiled in any of her update pictures and it always made me sad. Luckily, when we visited and when the agency brought back videos she was smiling nonstop. She just really wasn't happy at the doctors appointments, but can you blame them.

[KKR213]

My son was asleep in every picture I received. I didn't see his eyes opened until I visited. Also, don't forget they probably don't have their pictures taken much so it might scare them.

[Larue]

Sabrina was always sad in her update pictures too...or crying. Until about 2 months ago. Now all of the sudden she is laughing up a storm. Maybe Dr. Montiel learned a few jokes!

[snugs1974]

My son always looks angry in his pictures. I think he already knows Dr. M = shots so he's pretty mad. No dirty looks yet, but I've never seen him smile.

[TerriBB]

Flora NEVER smiled...and we didn't meet her until she was a year old. She was very malnurished...so our doctor here in the states was very worried too.

She loves to examine things and think she wanted to see how the camera worked. When we got our videos...there was constant chatter from the foster-family & the lady who did the video...so much that our doctor demanded a "quiet video". I think our little princess was overwhelmed by the chaos. You don't know what time of the day that they take the photos either...they may have just awakened your child.

This seems so odd to us now, she's a non-stop "giggle girl"! Tomorrow is the 4 month anniversary of "happy times"

[ez4me2remember]

It is hard when you get sad pics. Erick is crying in most of the updates we have gotten lately. But I do know from our visit trip that he hates having his picture taken. But even so it's hard to see sad update pics. I attached a pic so you can see you are not alone.

[ncmom24]

Elijah was referred at 17 months and every update picture he looked sad or just dull with his mouth open. I was actually quite worried until I went for a visit and realized that he is hesitant with strangers. Anyway, he has been home 1.5 years now and is a very bright, happy, well adjusted kiddo. He had a grant from an agency for his adoption and one of the requirements was to supply a professional picture once he was home. So instead of the great shots we were getting at home, we took him to the local photo studio and he looked exactly like he did in all the updates. Mouth open/blank stare. It was kind of strange to see him look that way since he had become so comfortable with us. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much.

Tiersa

[jennifervan]

I had 18 months worth of pictures. I can only remember 2 times I saw Gabi smiling. Once at 4 months old and then the last set of pictures. In most of the pictures Gabi was crying or had swollen eyes. I was SO worried. Gabi is home now and she is a very happy little girl...as long as she gets her way. If she does not she cries. So I wonder if because they wanted her to sit still she got mad and cried. Also, Gabi is shy with strangers so...I wonder if the man from the agency who came to take her picture scared her. I was really really concerned but felt relieved when we saw her in person for the visit and pick up trip.
Hope this helps,
Jennifer

[Mardan]

We got Danny one week before he turned one. In all 11 sets of pictures we got I think maybe he is smiling in 2 of them at most. When we went to visit him we got the cutest pictures and he was smiling. Our foster mom said he does not like to have his picture taken and can be serious at times. Since he has come home though he is a giggler and a very happy content boy.

Julie (proud mom to a princess and a prince)

[Theslaws]

We got pictures and short videos of Mia. She always looked sad/serious. We did visit when she was 3 months and realized that she was truely a very happy baby. She is now 18 months and is still very serious and reserved in a situation she is unsure of (like a doctor or attorneys office in Gua.). We now laugh and are not at all surprised that she looked that way in the pictures and videos.