Evil hands

Gataloca

Gataloca

Registered User
Just wondering if anyone has problem with your baby's hands.

My baby has always slept with his whole body (with hands) wrapped. When he was a newborn, his hands would occasionally flip in the air when he was sleeping, waking him up.

Later, because of his eczema, I had to wrap his hands because he would scratch on his face, head, neck, ear. Now, even when I have the eczema under control, his hands still seems to have a mind of their own, and would always find something evil to do, like taking out his dummy from his mouth, rubbing his eyes (at the end of a sleep cycle or about to wake up), rubbing his face (probably related to teething), putting the blanket inside his mouth and sucking it till get all wet......

My baby is turning 6 month old.. I don't want him to sleep always all wrapped like a mummy, but I don't know what to do with his hands, as they seem to get always in the way.
 
I think it's all normal. My baby puts everything in his mouth. He'll rub his eyes and face too. Perhaps it might be related to teething. I wouldn't be too concern.
 
Nothing evil about anything he does, it normal (read super cute) baby behaviour. What do you expect him to do otherwise, pick up a book and start reading? Don't swaddle him anymore, beyond one month babies don't need to be swaddled, they need to start moving their hands and feet, feel the elements on their skin. But I can understand because of eczema you needed swaddle him.
 
It's actually very important for them to learn to use their hands and you can delay their development by keeping them too wrapped up. All the behaviours that you mentioned are completely normal. As he learns how to use his hands, he'll use them in a more deliberate and purposeful way - and even though this may mean that he picks up dust from under the sofa and eats it, it also means that he will be able to grip small objects, learn to hold his own spoon to self-feed, and have all those other fine motor skills that are necessary for child development.

If you want to help him along, instead of wrapping his hands or putting mittens on him, help him to learn to use his hands. Stimulate them with different textures. Help him to hold interesting things and play with them. Then he'll be able to use his hands the way they're meant to be used :)
 
hehe, yes, I know... but somehow he sleeps better when he is wrapped (I only do that at bed time).. specially because he ends up waking up himself with all the rubbing/scratching, instead of starting another sleep cycle..... Sometime I found it funny that he deliberately takes his pacifier away, then starts crying because of that... then I have to come and put it back... make me think that his hands are controlled by an evil twin or something like that :-)
 
Gataloca said:
. Sometime I found it funny that he deliberately takes his pacifier away, then starts crying because of that... then I have to come and put it back... make me think that his hands are controlled by an evil twin or something like that :-)
Click to expand...

Mine does that and it's totally hilarious. I've to stop myself from laugh out loud!
 
So here I am, 3:30am. Didn't wrap his hands this time, and so far he has waken up himself like 10 times already. Should I expect this to improve?
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And when my baby is finally asleep, my husband starts snoring.... I cannot go to sleep in another room cause probably the baby will wake himself up again at the end of this sleep cycle!
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Another restless night.... Wondering if it is teething aswell.... Should I give him Panadol? We are co-sleeping and his cot is already besides our bed. He can sleep if I put him in our bed and I sleep besides him... He takes his naps in our bed, and I sometime take the nap with him so he would sleep longer. But I don't want this to be a habit for his night time sleep.
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Panadol is only to use in case of fever, it's a medicine, and shouldn't be used to make your baby sleep. If your baby is really teething, maybe you can ask your pedetrician something to release the pain.
 
Well, I wasn't thinking about making him to sleep, but to release the discomfort. But yes, better ask the doctor. I don't know how much he should take anyway....
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I swaddled my babies a long time too, because they slept better. I did it until it was summer and too hot. There is nothing wrong with it and it is not going to inhibit their develepment, if you are only doing it for sleep. Sure that could happen if you swaddle them day and night, but I doubt that is what you are doing. If you are ready to wean from swaddling, what I did was swaddle with one arm out only to start with, and then had both arms out. Also as I stopped swaddling I found he slept on his stomach more, so that lessened the startling yourself awake problem.
 
Just about the teething discomfort... Watson's/Mannings sell teething gel you can rub on their gums to lessen discomfort.

I hope nighttime sleep gets better!
 
Totally agree with Capital - if you have a nervous/jumpy baby like my first was, keep swaddling at night. We swaddled for 8 mths, graduating towards one arm free, then two. My second and third babies didn't need to be swaddled for so long - only about 4-6wks.
Plenty of time during the day for development. Don't you worry.

Keep doing what works for you and your baby.
 
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