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Abstract
Infant observation does not take place from behind a one-way screen. The observer is present with the baby, learning from being with him and coming to understand his world. As a baby grows and increasingly seeks out interaction, how does the baby experience the observer–as an impassive presence or a gently responsive partner? In the observer-observed relationship the infant has the unusual position of being a partner in fully taking the initiative in interaction. This unique relationship shifts the balance toward the infant. There is no agenda on the observer's part to be to the infant anything other than present, interested and thoughtful. This frees the relationship to develop solely at the infant's impetus. Infant observation material is used to illustrate the baby's interactive overtures, and explores some of the observer's actual and emotional responses as she learns to match the infant's attempts at connecting with her.