Forum From Baby to Toddler

Baby scratch

18 replies

BabyBoo
I visited my mom this week. I was making a bottle in the kitchen, and when I came back, my 4-week-old baby had a deep scratch on his cheek. So far, he only had superficial scratches, but this one is really deep and also wider. In my presence, my mom already pulled his hands away from his face twice because he likes to drink that way. My mom says the baby did it himself, but I'm afraid she pulled his hand down again, causing this. Is a 4-week-old baby capable of scraping off a piece of skin like that? It seems like it would take quite a bit of force. And another important question, will this leave a scar? I'm really worried about this....

Replies

  1. Bibi Guest #2

    My daughter also gave herself some pretty deep scratches when she was just a few weeks old, up to about 4 months. A quick movement can cause that, and her nails were razor-sharp. And no, don't worry about scars—my daughter doesn't have any, at least not that I know of, but everyone's skin heals differently.

  2. Anonymous Guest #3

    He could have done that himself.

  3. Orchidea #4

    Oh yes, my daughter used to make scratches like that too... oops, no scars so far here.

  4. BabyBoo started this #5

    The scab has now come off and it looks like this. Now that the scab is gone, you can see better how deep the scratch is; there's really a notch in his skin. Do you think this will heal? And did you have it this deep too?

  5. Anonymous Guest #6

    I have 4 kids, all four had a lot more, much longer and also deeper. You don't see any of that now. They are 15, 13, 4 and 3 years old.

    I understand you're worried, but relax. Take a breath and enjoy.

  6. Anonymous Guest #7

    Phew, this is your first, right? Welcome to the world of motherhood, where unfortunately not everything is perfect and stays that way, and others will definitely have an influence on your kids! Letting go is especially a complicated process with a first child.

  7. Mrs. D #8

    Maybe during bottle feeds, put socks over the hands or apply some Vaseline preventively on the cheeks, so they slide off instead of scratching... Keep an eye on the nails..

    And regarding your mother: You can ask her to keep her hands to herself... If it really is her 'fault', I assume she must have been quite startled by it and it'll be a hard lesson for next time...

  8. Babytje4 #9

    I think it's quite deep. My son has that a lot, and I'm trying to trim his nails. They said not to do it before 6 weeks, but he was in so much pain because he always keeps his face so tense, and he didn't know how much pain he was in. I felt sorry for him, so I trimmed them carefully. Now he's almost 2 months old, and I definitely have to trim them every 2 weeks because they grow incredibly fast.

  9. Anonymous Guest #10

    Every 2 weeks? The ones for my daughter, definitely every 3 days, they grow like weeds...

  10. kleintje013❤️ #11

    Here's my little boy too, scratching himself so deeply even though you keep his nails very short, they always manage to get it done again, so I think indeed, socks on the hands during feeding might help!

  11. BabyBoo started this #12

    And did your little boy end up with any scars @kleintje13 ???

  12. Joy #13

    On wounds like these, I always rubbed Cicaplast on them. That helped so much. Also for scar tissue. With my daughter, I definitely needed it when she got chickenpox. Those were still a lot deeper than this scratch. Her deepest one did leave a tiny little scar (right by her eyebrow, so luckily you can barely see it).

  13. kleintje013❤️ #14

    No, girls, it's healing nicely again. I have the feeling that their skin also heals much faster.
    And I'm afraid we're going to see a few more scrapes or wounds once they start crawling, walking, and cycling, so I don't take those scratches too seriously. They really do heal, girls!

  14. Anonymous Guest #15

    Has BabyBoo moved away yet?
    My son also has something like that on his cheek.

  15. Mandy Guest #16

    I'm curious too... My daughter has it too, and it's been there for over 6 months now. I assume it's a scar, but can it still fade?

  16. Lana Guest #17

    Same here.
    Any tips?
    Is the scar gone for you guys?

  17. BabyBoo started this #18

    Just a quick update: our little boy is now 3.5 years old. And it’s become a scar. Luckily, it’s the same color as his skin, but it’s turned into a sort of indentation—not super noticeable. But you can see it when the daylight hits it. I have no idea if it might become even less visible as he gets older. Otherwise, no one has ever noticed it or said anything about it; it’s just that I see it and I know it’s there.

  18. BabyBoo started this #19

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