3 Months Old Ears Pierced

i'm of the small school of parents who did not poke holes in their babies until the babies were old enough to a) request said holes and b) care for said holes.
khairete
S.

I don't recommend ear piercing for children that young. Why not wait until she's older, so she can enjoy having her first earrings and feel special about them? If you want her to look girly, why not just dress her in pink?

The other reason I wanted to reply is that pediatricians just about always recommend that babies sleep only on their backs. Belly sleeping is associated with SIDS -- sudden infant death syndrome. Unless you've gotten explicit instructions from her doctor to have her sleep on her tummy, *please* have her sleep on her back.

Body modification when they are old enough to decide for themselves. My nine year old said she has no interest in pierced ears.

She doesn't get to decide what holes are put in her body?

Why not just wait until she decides she wants them pierced?

I'm always trying to figure out why parents (mothers, really) would want to pierce an infant's ears. It can't be because the infant wants it. So my only conclusion is it is a vanity thing for the mother. Or trying to make a female infant appear more feminine. But you can do that with clothing colors and choices. So for me, it's a head scratcher because I never felt the need to change my baby's appearance *for me*

At any rate, our daughter is free to have her ears pierced at age 10 or later if she so desires.

KUDOS to 8kidsdad........ you said it perfectly.

H.,

Why can't you wait until she is old enough to tell you if she wants holes in her ears or not? You wouldn't tattoo her would you?

I don't own my daughter or her body so I am in the camp that it is her decision as to pierce her ears or not.

She wanted to around 4th grade, we did it as a rite of passage for her. She is 18.5 now and rarely wears earrings. Most of the time, she'll only wear them to special events.

I am thankful I did not force them upon her because as girly girl as she is, she does not care for earrings.

Enjoy your baby while she is a baby and remember that you do not own her body.

Not even going to read the other responses because I want to stay in a good mood today...I had my daughter's done at 8 weeks old. She slept through it and never had a problem from then on out. She will be 15 next month. All of my friends with older daughters back then regretted not doing it sooner because they did have issues with infections and stuff :-( Not everyone has to like it, she is your daughter, you can do it if you want!

I'm sorry. Why? Why would you do this? I know a lot of people do, and it's very common in some cultures, but for the life of me, I don't understand it.

ETA: Aaaaaaand, your baby should be on her back when she sleeps.

SMH

ETA: Ahh, yes, another "woman" having a tantrum because she got answers that didn't just blow sunshine up her skirt. How predictable. You ask a question on a public forum, you get answers and no, you won't like all of them. Tough. Deal with it.

When they could ask in this house! Minimum age 7 yo.

So if you are concerned they will bother the baby, why do it? What is the reasoning behind piercing anything at this age?

My suggestion is to wait until she is older and can decide for herself.

It's her ears, you want to pierce them because YOU think it's cute (or whatever). What if she doesn't want them pierced? Don't do it, let her decide when she is older what she wants to do with her body. For another reason, my friend pierced her daughter's around 3 months, by 6 months the earrings were out and the holes closed up because the baby was always messing with them.

I have 3 girls...

I waited til they could ask to have ears pierced.

The 20 year old had hers done at 10 years old...

One of my 16 year olds had her's done at 15.

Her twin has never expressed an interest.

I took their lead.

***I will say it has made it easier for little gifts - for christmas and birthdays for those who have chosen to have pierced!***

Clip on earrings are hard to find...and mostly vintage.

Your baby should be sleeping on her back.

My daughters were done at 3 months and didn't notice a thing. And the reason they use theirs is they have a sterile kit for peicing. My daughter never had any issues. I did make sure to change them to the safety back ones after 8 weeks, they have metal backs that screw on so the post is covered.
Added my son has always slept on his belly, he got use to it because that's how they sleep babies in the nicu a lot of the time. And with my daughter she could roll over between 3-4 months so she slept on her belly
Added: to compare a piercing to a tattoo is ignorant, totally different. Tattoos are PERMINANTE piercings you can take out and no one knows, trust me I had over 30 at once and now you wouldn't know I had any. Second, for all you so against my parenting choice or anyone else who pierced baby ears how many of your sons are intact? That's seen as cosmetic, yet it's accepted? I'm sorry but I call you all hipocrites if you see that difference in that. I was in the room when my son was done. So think about that.

They are her ears to pierce, not yours.

My dd slept on her stomach too and before the sarcastic remarks she wouldn't slept on her back. When she was born she rolled to her side by kicking her legs and then rolled to her stomach by kicking. Anyway, I had her ears pierced at 3 months and she did fine. The earrings had the regular backs that cover the point of the earring so they never bothered her. Since she was so young I had a problem with her bothering her earrings.

My mother wouldn't let me get my ears pierced until I was 12. That was the worst thing for me. It hurt and it was a pain to take care of. All of my cousins had their ears piereced as baby's and I always wished my mother had mine pierced as a baby. When my DD was born I knew I was having her ears pierced. She's now 6 and loves to coordinate her earrings with her outfits.

Some of the responses are so funny comparing piercing to vanity and tatoos. My dds wasn't done for the sake of vanity and I've never had a tattoo so I can't compare but I think baby's are so cute with earrings. With that being said you do what you think is best for your baby and you. I have never heard of a woman who regretted having her ears pierced.

Good luck with your decision.

I would wait. When ears are pierced this young, the holes move as they grow and end up in weird places sometimes. One of my best friends had her ears pierced at 6 mos, and now her holes are up closer to the cartilage. Once she pointed it out, it did look strange.

My daughter's ped pierced her ears right at three months. She's now 15 and never had a problem.

It honestly doesn't bother them, not like we think they would.

My oldest was done at a 6 weeks or so. No problems there, she cried for a second and then was her happy normal self.

The next was done at 8 years old, and it was traumatic for her, and they were harder to take care of cause she HATED to have to turn them.

Next one was exactly a year old. Didn't even cry, surprised the heck out of the girl who did it. She's still a tough cookie. No problems taking care of them.

The last one was over 6 months, but younger then a year. I'm not exactly sure. Just like sister above there was no problems.

I personally think it's easier to do it when they are young.

I pierced all of my daughter's ears between the ages of 6-9 months and didn't have ONE single problem. They didn't even wince when the piercing was done (used a numbing cream), never fought me on the cleaning and 'twirling', never grabbed at them or tried to pull them out.

It's easier to take care of a baby's ears because they don't even know what's going on.

I know people are saying what a bad idea it is, and for them it may be. But if you want to do it, go ahead. It's perfectly safe.

If you're concerned about the type of earring your doctor's office uses, you can change them a week or so after it's done if you find they're bothering your daughter. In all likeliness though, she won't even know they're there :)

My youngest daughter and my granddaughter both had their ears pierces at 3-4 months. No problems at all. They cry a lot and it makes you feel like the worst parent ever. But once they calm down they basically forget about it all and don't fuss with them. The back is pointed but not sharp like a needle so there's no issue with them getting stabbed by the back of the earring. Youngest daughter is 25 yrs old, granddaughter is 11 months so if there was a problem we would have certainly seen it by now.

Edited to add that my 2nd daughter got her ears pierced at age 3 and that was a disaster. She was so freaked out that we ended up taking the earrings out (she wouldn't let me clean and turn them). I'd recommend getting them as infants just because you don't have that trama.

First they have to use specific earrings for the piercing gun.
Second it will be ok just keep it clean

Now to your original question, my ears were pierced before I left the hospital (back in the 70's) and all three of my daughters ears were pierced when they were just a few weeks old. Never had any issues

I had my daughters ears pierced when she turned 3 months. She is now about to turn 4 and she has never had a problem. She cried for about 30 seconds when they pierced them and stopped. The rods never seemed to bother her when she was sleeping. My step daughters both had their ears pierced when they were 3 months old as well with no problems. They are 6.5 and 10 now. People are going to have their opinions about whether it's cruel or wrong, that's their problem. I'm glad I had my daughters ears pierced when I did. I would do it over again if I had the chance.

All of my friends have had their babies ears pierced at a younger age simply because it will hurt them much less than it would when they are grown. None of them have complained of any pain when their babies sleep or anything.
&& also, it is your child so in my opinion if you want to get her ears pierced at 3 months then go for it! Piercings && tattoos are totally different things && shouldn't even be compared.

We did our daughter when she was 15 months old. My sister refused to do her daughter's ears, she is now 4 and my sister really wishes she had done it as a baby. My daughter is 10, but last summer asked for a second hole - and got it.

I am in the camp that says do it young!! Your daugther will appreciate it when she is older - trust me!

I guess if they do bother her you can just take them out and let them close up.

personally I am choosing to wait for my daughter to ask for her ears pierced it will be a fun rite of passage for us as she makes the transition into teen yrs.

I was told to wait til 4months.. had my daughters done a few days after she hit the 4month mark.. she never had a problem with them, I don't think she even knows they are there

We got our first daughter's ear pierced at 3 months. She cry but was over it in no time. She had no problems sleeping in them. She never pulled them out. Our second daughter was 11 months and cry but got over it in no time. She pulled her earrings out so many times. Our oldest is now 7 and don't like shots,finger pricks etc. I know for fact she wouldn't want them done now. it was a lot easier getting there ears pierced as babies. My mom had mine done probably less than 3 months old.It's up to you and what you feel better doing.

Ok I didnt do it, but I think you are smart to have it done now. So many girls, including my daughter, have it done between 8 and 16 and do not take good care of their ears, get infections, have holes grow back and need to re pierce.

No opinion here on the ear piercing - my daughter had hers done at 8 but we let them close when she got an infection. And reading the comments from the people who had it done on babies and how it is easy I can now see why someone would do it (though still not sure I personally would have).

And yes, she SHOULD be sleeping on her back, but I'm also one of those who had a stomach sleeper. We used a sleep positioner with my daughter and she was a back/side sleeper, but my son ended up on his stomach. Sometimes it just happens. Of course, we are a nonsmoking house, his bedding was all the "approved" kind with no fluffy stuff, and he was 9lbs 12oz when born, so with all the other risk factors low I just didn't sweat it.

Go somewhere else to have it done. They all use the same equipment and supplies. I had little ones ears done at Sally's. They did a good job.

I would wait to have her ears pierced, but if you must do it, you can try dental wax. They're sold at pharmacies and generally used by people with braces, but it could be used to cover the back point of the earring so there's nothing sharp poking your baby. But please be careful - if you baby moves around a lot, it may come undone and your baby may put it in her mouth.