I'm wondering were you a worrier before you had your baby?  This may help you decipher whether it is 'normal' behaviour for you or something else.

Babies are very good at exacerbating everything.  We tend to feel everything more intensely, particularly in those first few months. 

As you develop confidence as a parent, you tend to worry less.  Confidence comes with every day that you love and care for your baby.

Confidence also helps you to tune into your intuition as a parent.  Then you can work out whether your fear of autism is mother's intuition or needless worry.

I've got a bit more advice in my article '7 secrets to surviving your baby's first year' posted on this site.

I hope this helps! 

at 4 months a baby is there to be cute and cuddle and sing and read to.

I think worrying a part of being a parent but dont let it take over our you'll have more stresses than your body can handle ( i recently have had to deal with a massive break down as well as post natal dep x2 and a recent diagnose of a mental disorder)

I also have a 5 year old who is autistic. it wasnt til he was 18 months that i thought something was wrong and even at 5 i still have to wait till he is 6 for a proper diagnose.

every baby developes at their own rate some walk at  9 months old and other 15 months some crawl some dont. My daughter developed heaps differently to my son and so didd all my nieces and nephews.

Take care and be at peace with your thoughts.

Oh my goodness! I can't thank you all enough! I've never posted on a web board before and I only posted my concerns today because my thoughts were overwhelming me and I needed a sounding board. I never imagined I would feel such a sense of support and encouragement from a website; I really appreciate the reassuring words and virtual hugs

I've been mulling this over all day long and I agree that I need to talk to my doctor if I can't stop worrying, I too have been thinking that this might be a sign of postpartum depression or some anxiety disorder -
I will keep you all posted. Again, I really want to send my gratitude out to you wonderful people, I really, really appreciated the caring words and advice.

Sincerely,
Sarah 

You need to do something about this or you will drive yourself mad, you already recognise that its excessive so begin there look for wonderful ways to interact with your little one...read him stories, sing to him, massage him and enjoy every moment.

He's probably a serious young man who's wondering what all the fuss is about. All children vary some will be happy chappies smiling at everyone they meet and others will not, my second child had very clear instincts when it came to people that she demonstrated from and early age.

If this continues, and I am speaking about you worrying so much, I would mention it to your Dr, just to make sure there is nothing else going on.

can i say i have an autistic son and he may be hard work but he is also at times the most beautiful kid....and every mother worries..... I never thought of having an autistic child (we had too many probs with food allergies etc to think of anything else) and it run in our family......

at this young age there is no way you can tell if your child is autistic..... my son was 4 when they finally worked it out and even then i had to fight for it....he was fine until he turned 2 and then he stopped talking etc.......My son doesnt look at strangers at all......but in your childs  case it could all be just a delay in some developmental areas......and then he will catch up....my son is still struggling to catch up with dressing himself etc and he is now almost 6

I spent from 12 mths till even now having to deal with my child and his special needs..... Please enjoy your child and let what will be be........ Autism isnt that bad actually you learn to look at the whole world differently.........

But with worrying yourself to death  as long as your baby is happy and healthy thats all that matters isnt it.......

At four months of age, I would not worry about it now... Not all kids like to smile at themselves.. My son never wanted to look in the mirror until now. I'd show him the mirror he would see himself and frown.   

Try not to worry to much...... I know easier said then done.. But as you said if you keep worrying then you will miss out on a great deal....

Slow down and enjoy....

Your baby sounds very normal to me.  Each baby has an individual personality when they are born.  Your baby may be more earnest than some.  My daughter was but now, mind you, she's a cheeky monkey every day laughing and swinging from the furniture.  Don't try to second guess your baby because at 4 months old he seems totally normal to me.  If you are really worried, sure, check in with a paediatrician. I'm more worried about you though because you're unable to fully enjoy the experience of having your baby and also incessant worry is one of the signs of post-natal depression.  I suffered from post-natal depression.  I worried about SIDS, autism, intellectual disability, ADHD - all with not a skerrick of proof that there could be something wrong. And, of course, nothing is wrong.  I was just totally overwhelmed.  I hope this gives you some ideas.

Hey worry wort,

  I'm a bit the same but babies are all different. He may just be a thinker and if your giving off bad vibes or are stressed he will pick it up and not want to play with you. At that age though I don't think you need to be concerned. My son was very stranger wary when he was younger he wouldnt even go to family members but now he gets cranky if someone in the shop doesn't pay attention to him. As for the mirror he is probably thinking what is that looking at me! My boy didn't really smile or laugh alot before but he watched EVERYTHING.

 When I was pregnant I was so scared off something being wrong with him I couldn't look at disabled people, I would look away and wish that he would be ok. To get over that I simply thought about what would I do if he did have something wrong. The answer was I would love him just as much if not more for the special person he is! We all wish and hope for healthy well children but ultimatly you will love him no matter what so enjoy the moment!!!!!

Ha,some strangers are very strange and shouldn't be smiled at!!! Really worry is normal but not if you let it get out of hand. At four months I'm not sure about the mirror thing,he's still very young but if he's trying to figure out the new face,he is reacting by furrowing his brow. Hang in there,they seem to grow up fine even with us always worrying!

hugs and more hugs from me

If you are really worried about him see you doctors they will run test and find out if you have something to worry about or not.

I missed out on two of mine thought worry as my first had kidney problems and my second has a heart condition but my third once he was born there was no need to worry.

So get it checked out and find out.

Keep me posted on this

*big hug*

I guess some of us are just natural worriers. My big worry was that my baby was deaf, because she wasn't babbling or anything like that. (turns out she had an ear infection, and her hearing is fine). If you're really concerned you should talk to your doctor. It could just be that your son is a bit of an introvert.
Good luck and keep us posted!