My son has rocked himself ever since he started to get up on all fours. At first it was cute, and he thinks its funny. But lately its been getting worse and worse and now he rocks in his sleep. I hear him everytime he does it because he bangs his head againt the side of his crib...HARD. He shakes the whole crib. I go in and move him to a new position and he is always dead asleep when i go in his room. I have asked his doctor and he says its a normal thing. Hes self soothing, but is he damaging his brain?!?! I can understand the self soothing thing, but im worried since hes hitting his head soooo hard that hes hurting himself without knowing it. I cant sleep knowing hes doing that. I can hear him all the way into my room. Does anyone elses kids do this?!
My kids never did this but I would put a soft bumper on his crib. He's old enough that a bumper should be fine.
OMGoodness... I totally agree. I would even video tape the moment and go and get another doctor's opinion. It can even be in the same practice... That is not normal. For kidds especially toddlers to bag their heard when throwing a fit, I have seen; even though most head banging is only short lived among Nuro-typical children. The ones that tend to continue it are ones that are challenged. At 1 1/2 years of age, he is trying to tell you something.... Does his head hurt? Could it be something that you are not seeing? Does it only happen in his bed and therefore it could be something bothering him in the bed or the bedroom.... When children have "behaviors" they are really communicating with us. It is our job to translate the "Language." DO not take "self soothing" as a reason... Come on let's be honest is freakin' banging your head soothing..... Now if he were rocking side to side, twirling a blanket or even rubbing his hands up and down the sheets, I would call that self soothing... Inflicting pain on yourself to sleep is not self soothing behavior... Let me know what pediatrician said this so that I make sure my patients and friends stay far from him as possible.... Geesh.... The other part that gets me is that you say the behavior continues into his sleep cycle.... This is not normal.... Get another opinion... Tape the evidence and then come back and let us know what happens.
I know my son does that sometimes like he's half asleep (he's 9 months old) but I've never heard him hit his head repeatedly. If he does hit his head it usually wakes him up. Other than that the only thing he does is shake his head side to side, from what I've heard -that- is the rocking to sleep. I did have a little boy that I took care of a few years ago that when he threw a fit he would hit his head against the floor/wall/door/fridge anything that he could find. Perfectly healthy and normal kid, it was just his way of getting his parent's attention when he wanted it. Maybe your son has just found a different way to rock himself.
I don't think he's damaging his brain and I'm not by any means saying there's something wrong with your kiddo.. but maybe insist to your doctor that you're very worried about this and want some type of evaluation. If he isn't willing to find a way to ease your fears then it might be time to talk to another pediatrician or family doctor that is willing to look a little further into this. I've found just over a span of 9 months that sometimes you really REALLY have to be a pain in their rear to have something done. My son was pushing away his bottle and hysterically crying at one point and his pediatrician insisted (without seeing him, just from a phone call) that my son just had colic. Despite the fact that this only happened at feeding time this is what the doctor insisted. I took my son to another doctor when it continued the next day to find out that he actually had an ear infection. Got it treated and it was all better. I've never gone back to the old doctor because he wasn't willing to see my son when it was needed. You're paying them, you're essentially the customer even though the visists are very much necessary. Be insistant! Maybe its something, maybe its nothing. At least if its nothing then you'll be able to sleep at night knowing your little one is okay.
my little girl is almost three and has rocked herself since about six to nine months. We too thought it was cute at first. I worried a bit and brought it up at the Dr. b/c my husband wanted her to stop. Dr. said she should out grow by 3. I have seen her doing it less and less, but she does bang her head against her crib as she is going to sleep and she does it frequently enough that she has a constant bald spot worn off her hair. The noise is loud--but i remind my self that it doesn't take much force to make a loud noise in her wooden crib. She has no symptoms of autism etc. and my kid and yours will be fantastic. Seriously, pushing a Dr. into a diagnosis will not make your babe healthier as it seems some want to suggest. However, if your gut tells you it is more then by all means, tell the Dr. how you feel--they should be able to clearly explain their recommendations to you in away that makes you feel heard.
I REALLY do not think your son could possibly be hurting himself. It may be, though, that there is a reason that he needs to do this to sooth, and I would look into cranial sacral therapy to alleviate any problems that may be causing this. I found this website helpful in understanding it a little better. www.cranialmethods.com.
L., it's my understanding that it could be a food allergy (ie: gluten? Casein? Corn? Egg? Etc). Check out ____@____.com
Here, you can ask questions, such as "why is my child rocking?", and there are many well informed people that can fill you in on their experience and resolution.
Best of luck!
J.
My son is now 2 but he did this for a very long time to. He used to rock in his crib, pack and play, etc. Now he still rocks while sitting on the couch at times but has out grown the rocking in his crib. Well he is in a big boy bed now so that may have something to do with it, but i would not worry. It is soothing for him and im sure he will out grow it eventually. You dont say how old he is but once he is in a big boy bed it may stop.
I completely agree with CM. Get another pediatrician's opinion and another if you have to. One thing I have learned is that mom's know when something is wrong. If you feel that there is something wrong then insist on it. Also you might ask the pediatrician if their children did this and what they did about it. It puts them on the spot for an honest answer.
My mom told me that my brother and I rocked to sleep as babes even after we were put in twin beds. AND we used to hum. I laugh because she says we were loud. Of course I don't believe her;) She says I mostly did it to be like my brother because we shared a room. Anyways, I turned out O.K., but I would suggest putting something soft, i.e. bumper, around the crib so that he is not hitting his head against something hard.
Hi L.!
I'm no doctor, but as a former "head banger" I feel that it's normal and I turned out just fine. When I was about your sons age I used to bang me head into my crib (while asleep or just when I was falling asleep/waking up). I would hit my head so hard that my parents wound up bolting my crib to the wall because they would get up in the morning and I would have moved it across the room! Eventually they wound up tying a couch cushion to both ends of the crib so I would hit something softer. Sounds like a bumper might be a good idea for you. I think about it now and laugh because it may explain some of my "hard headedness".
I hope that this has helped ease your stress about this a bit, but as a fellow parent, anytime that I'm worried about my kids and don't feel as if I've gotten the whole story, I don't think twice about getting a second opinion. Your heart and gut will tell you what to do. Spending $20 on a co-pay to find out your child is fine it totally worth it in my book.
Best of Luck & Happy Holidays!
K.
My daughter was bought a baby rocker at 6 months old, and she loves rocking backwards and forwards in it, and sometimes when i have her on my lap she will look at it and rock back and forth as if asking me to put her back in there, Has he got a rocker? maybe you could get him one if he enjoys rocking, as its safe in them and they cant hurt themselves.. she doesnt rock in her bed though.. when she is laying down, she lifts her feet up and then slams her ankles onto the floor because she likes the sound it makes. She also does this in her bed and hits the crib with her feet.
Babys do not hurt themselves without knowing it, and if it was hurting him, he would cry and would stop doing it. He isn't damaging his brain. I would suggest that you buy a crib bumper so that your worry he is hurting himself is taken away. If your really worried, then yes, take him back to see a different doctor, and tell him what you have told us, but dont assume there is something wrong with your baby. There is always someone who will tell you 'it isnt right' but what is? all babys are different and you will probably find ALOT of mums out there going through the same thing.
Goodluck!!
My sister would do the same thing when she was in a crib! It was so loud that my parents would have to close her door and theirs to sleep! She is now 31 and has her Masters and she is a school principal...your son will be fine! Self-soother!
Please don't be alarmed!! This is a normal self soothing action & many, many children do it. My son has been doing this since he was able to sit up. He also hit his head on the crib but he honestly never hurt himself. Even though he is asleep he can still tell if he is hurting himself or not & will wake up & cry if he does.
Some kids suck their thumbs, some need a special blanket or toy, some need music or sound. Your son happens to need motion. It is totally normal. My son liked to move so much that for a time the only way he would fall asleep was in his jungle jumper & continue to jump while he was sleeping.
have you tried putting a bumper pad around his crib so he doesn't hurt himself as much? that might help. at his age, he's not likely to suffocate by having one there.
