Eye Colour - Page 3

[Mamabeakley]

To answer the OP's question - DS1's eyes were definitely blue at about 20 months, when we got him a passport - and by about 30 months, they were definitely hazel (blue/green/brown) like mine. I think they are now a bit greener than mine, but still hazel (i.e. rings of different colors). DS2 is blue eyed (he's 4 now, and I'd be surprised if they changed further). DD is only 13 months, so I'm waiting to see what happens.

My mom still thinks my youngest brother has blue eyes, although they are clearly hazel - just with less variation than mine - to me.

DS1 & DH have hair that is blond at the hairline around the face, and light brown on the rest of their heads. I am a true brunette (I point to my silver hairs starting to come in and say "this is as blond as I get!") DS2 is blond blond right now, but I can imagine that it might change, especially as he was born with brown hair. DD has kind of honey colored hair but I think that may change, too. I think it would be fun to have at least one kid with my coloring, but that may or may not happen. I am glad that DS1 & DD got my skin tone or something like it, which allows them to tan rather than burn under most conditions (i.e., unless we are out in the direct sun for 6 hours or more). DS2 unluckily got DH's burn-like-a-lobster shade.

[2xy]

Originally Posted by Plummeting

I think the "how" of that one's actually pretty well understood. It's just an issue of turning on the genes responsible for hair color as a kid ages. I don't know that they know why they're "off" and then "on", but that's how it happens.

Oh, yeah....I know that now.

High school biology was in 1986, for me. He was an older teacher....probably either forgot it if he ever learned it, or didn't keep up with his continuing education.

My husband was a blond baby...not white-blond, but Cindy-Brady-blond. His hair was blond through most of his childhood. It started changing in his early teens, and now is very dark brown, almost black.

Back to eyes....my mother has been scanning every single photo she owns and posting on Facebook, and I came across a pic of DS2 when he was 2.5 that's close-up. His eyes were not yet green but not a true blue, either. Sort of a murky teal. So I guess his eyes were probably green in his third year.

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by Plummeting

I understand all of that. It's just that when someone describes their own or their child's eyes specifically (specifically as in, "it happens to ME" vs. "it happens to everyone") as shifting, they aren't clearly describing a phenomenon that happens to everyone, as you're describing. EVERYONE's eyes will look different based on pupil size, skin tone (tanned/pale), make up, clothing, etc. That's not specific to any certain eye color or any particular person. It's just something that happens to all of us - well, actually to the people looking at us, since it's based on their perception of our eye color. Assigning this only to certain people is what confused me about her post, not her wording.

And you may be surprised how many people actually believe their eye color changes from day to day. For them, it is not an issue of semantics.

I assigned it to specific people (myself and my daughter) because I see it every day? I'm confused by your statement. My husband's blue eyes don't look green when he wears a particular shirt, or grey when he wears another, yet my green eyes and my daughter's blue green eyes do. It's an observably phenomenon for us. I don't see what the big deal about it is!

[Tway]

This is all so odd... I have brown eyes, but one day at a make-up store, the girl dolling me up told me purple would go best with my green eyes. I thought she was a little colour blind, but it turns out, in the bright light, my eyes were very green. I rarely get to see it--mostly other people let me know. So I always assumed it was bright light that changed my eye colour, because it makes a pretty significant difference.

That said, DD's eyes look greenish and her hair looks reddish. Don't know how that one will turn out!

[2xy]

Originally Posted by Tway

This is all so odd... I have brown eyes, but one day at a make-up store, the girl dolling me up told me purple would go best with my green eyes. I thought she was a little colour blind, but it turns out, in the bright light, my eyes were very green. I rarely get to see it--mostly other people let me know. So I always assumed it was bright light that changed my eye colour, because it makes a pretty significant difference.

Could be the fluorescent lighting. When I was a kid (and blonde), fluorescent lights would always give my hair a greenish cast, like I'd spent too much time in the pool.

[Tway]

Originally Posted by 2xy

Could be the fluorescent lighting. When I was a kid (and blonde), fluorescent lights would always give my hair a greenish cast, like I'd spent too much time in the pool.

Nah--even in bright sunlight. Usually only when I'm outside (which is why I never really get to see it). A friend once rushed to get me a mirror once so I could finally see what everyone else was talking about.

[Norasmomma]

My DD had electric blue eyes when she was born. Her eyes stayed blue, but now are more of grey-green blue. She got a recessive gene, DH and I both are more brown-hazel. DS had black eyes, you literally could not see his pupils at times, about 6 months or so they turned chocolate brown, they are still super dark.

[ErinYay]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

I assigned it to specific people (myself and my daughter) because I see it every day? I'm confused by your statement. My husband's blue eyes don't look green when he wears a particular shirt, or grey when he wears another, yet my green eyes and my daughter's blue green eyes do. It's an observably phenomenon for us. I don't see what the big deal about it is!

I think it's because your DH has blue eyes, whereas you and Cecilia have hazel/green eyes. My blue eyes looks pretty much the same no matter what, though some shirts "bring them out" a bit more, but DH's green-hazel eyes appear to change like mad. I think it's due to the wide spectrum of color that's always present in green/ hazel eyes, giving more colors a chance to pop.

[Knitting Mama]

I guess that's probably true, although he does have some green in his eyes. It just never seems to be brought out by wearing particular colors like it does for me. He looks good in some colors, but that's more because of his skin tone, not because it has an effect on his eyes.

[Ambystoma]

Originally Posted by 2xy

Oh, yeah....I know that now.

High school biology was in 1986, for me. He was an older teacher....probably either forgot it if he ever learned it, or didn't keep up with his continuing education.

My husband was a blond baby...not white-blond, but Cindy-Brady-blond. His hair was blond through most of his childhood. It started changing in his early teens, and now is very dark brown, almost black.

I did the opposite. My hair was jet black at birth, and as it grew out it was white blonde. It looked like someone dipped the ends in ink. My mom says people always asked her if she tried to dye it black . It finally settled on brown around puberty, but DS's hair is doing something similar. His was dark (not black) at birth, and new hair growth is strawberry blonde or very light brown with red.

[Knitting Mama]

Ambystoma, my hair did some similar stuff, because it never fell out as a baby. It was dark brown and wavy at birth, and just grew blonder and curlier as it grew longer. My Cecilia's hair is doing the same thing so far!

[Plummeting]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

I assigned it to specific people (myself and my daughter) because I see it every day? I'm confused by your statement. My husband's blue eyes don't look green when he wears a particular shirt, or grey when he wears another, yet my green eyes and my daughter's blue green eyes do. It's an observably phenomenon for us. I don't see what the big deal about it is!

There IS no big deal. When you said it was specific to you and your daughter, I assumed you believed it was something that happened to your eyes, rather than to the way other people perceived them. I thought I was clear about that. Every color will look slightly different depending on its surrounding colors. Have you ever brought home a paint sample that looked fabulous in the store, but awful in your house? Eyes aren't any different. You might not notice it about your husband's eyes, but it happens to everyone. It's just the way we perceive colors. *I* don't see the big deal.

Editing: Yes, what ErinYay said. That's exactly what I was thinking.

[Plummeting]

Originally Posted by Ambystoma

I did the opposite. My hair was jet black at birth, and as it grew out it was white blonde.

This happened to both of my babies. Now as DD1 is getting older, her white blonde hair is getting darker. She'll be a brunette in her teens, I think.

[butterflies]

My dd had blue eyes (first the newborn slate color, then more true blue like mine) right up until 24 months. Then, over a period of about 3 weeks, they turned to bright green like dh.

[HonkyTonka]

Originally Posted by Ambystoma

If you and your DH have blue eyes, then your DS will have blue (though the exact color of blue can differ) based on your genotypes.

Here is a cool genetic allele calculator that will show the probability of your kids' eye colors.

I (also a Biology Grad student) was going to say the same thing... until I googled it to confirm and found that eye colour is not simply a recessive trait... there are multiple genes involved apparently.

[mamadelbosque]

DS1's eyes turned brown within a couple months (I forget when exactly now), DS2 on the other hand is now just over a year and has blue eyes with brown stripes... almost looks like a brown sun in his eyes if you get up really clse - they're *VERY* cool!! I'd love it if they stayed that way forever, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they went all brown or even all blue sometime in the future. But for now, they arej ust very cool!!

[dmpmercury]

I think eye color and hair color genetics are fascinating. I have light brown orangish eyes and my dh has green eyes. My dd ended up with dark brown eyes which is kind of strange. It took her eyes a while to settle on the final color. They were hazel for a while and got darker brown once they hit brown. My ds eyes are green but it took a while before I knew if they were going to be green or blue. His shade is different than my dh's and I wonder what it will settle on. I think he will keep his green eyes.

My dh and both my kids have red hair. My dd and dh had similar colors when they were kids. It is defiantely red and not auburn but it isn't super bright and fiery either. My dh's hair got a little darker as an adult but it is still red. My ds has lighter red hair. It is definately red but not quite as red as my dd's. He was born with blonde hair then lost most of it. It took a while to grow in and know what color it would be. My dd had auburn hair when she was born but it got redder as she got older and around 4-6 months I knew it was red. I wonder if they will keep their color. I don't have any actual redheads in my family but I have pale skin freckles and red highlights so I probably do have one copy of the gene.

My dd has red hair and brown eyes which supposidly isn't very common but I do know a few people who have that. My eyes took a long time to settle on brown. Using basic genetics my kids have a 50% chance of green eyes and a 50% chance of brown and a 50% chance of red hair and a 50% chance of brown. It crazy how much variation there could be though.

[Ambystoma]

Originally Posted by HonkyTonka

I (also a Biology Grad student) was going to say the same thing... until I googled it to confirm and found that eye colour is not simply a recessive trait... there are multiple genes involved apparently.

Yep. See my second post.