Forum From Baby to Toddler

shaking head back and forth

40 replies · page 2 of 3

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Page 2 of 3

  1. anoniem 2018 Guest #21

    Here’s another head-shaker from almost 6 months. It seems like he’s getting more intense, and his shoulders and upper body often shake along with it. He really wants to fall asleep, and sometimes when he can’t, he shakes violently for half an hour. I find it quite unsettling, and I get dizzy just watching him shake back and forth three times..

  2. anoniem22 #22

    It was less sometimes, but just 3-4 times, so in the end I didn't do anything about it.

  3. Hartje #23

    Half an hour seems pretty long, right? Does he have an ear infection or something?
    Still, I don't think there's much you can do about it. My son is so stubborn now that he wants to sleep on his tummy, but I can't swaddle him because then he'll stand up. So he's lying above the blankets, wedged against the top. If he moves, he bumps his head, but well, that's how he wants it now... At least he's not sleeping any shorter because of it, luckily!

  4. Suzanne Guest #24

    My 3-month-old baby does this too before going to sleep. She really rubs back and forth over the crib. I first thought she might have an itchy head. She actually has a bald patch on the back of her head and on the sides from turning her head back and forth.

  5. anoniem22 #25

    Here’s also a tummy-sleeping baby. He’s now 8 months old and has stopped shaking his head.

  6. floydi #26

    My girl is also doing it now at 12 weeks. She's been doing it for 2 weeks now and doesn't sleep through anymore because she bangs her head against the side like anon also describes, and then of course she cries. She's still in the crib, maybe move her to her toddler bed? I'm just afraid that with all that space she'll roll all the way across the bed.

  7. Hartje #27

    There are those soft side panels you can attach to the side so they bump against it. Yeah, there's a chance she'll roll right through the crib like that, so you should really try it out to be sure, because they keep surprising you

  8. anoniem22 #28

    I was then advised about those foam-like protectors that also go around the heating pipes, so this is only possible with a crib because it has all those round bars or whatever you call them, hehe. But I have to say, my little one quickly learned to stop doing it. He gave up because it hurt a lot. Now at 8 months, he only does it when he's really, really tired, like after missing a nap. Besides, he moves around the whole crib anyway, not by headbanging but by rolling, so just keep moving, success! It'll sort itself out naturally.

  9. floydi #29

    Thanks ladies, gonna try it tonight in her own room in the big crib Indeed, she's very active on her back here too, rolling all over the playpen. Hopefully it's just a phase and she'll learn to stop quickly

  10. Gast Guest #30

    Hi ladies, my 15-month-old daughter shakes so hard that you can really hear the thumping from her bedroom. I'm used to it by now, but what she's doing now is slamming her arm really hard against her leg. Does anyone recognize this?

  11. Mariem Guest #31

    Hi there, my son does it too! I was really scared that it was going to be really bad, shaking his head before going to sleep! I'm glad I'm not alone because some people say this also happens with kids who are teething? Is that true? My son is 2 months and 2 weeks old?

  12. Hartje #32

    They just think it's fun. My oldest already has teeth, and now you can hear him banging around downstairs, hehe. That's just his way, totally fine.
    He starts a bit early, but he doesn't give anything up, though.

  13. floydi #33

    Our daughter did that too. Now 10 months old and already much less so, especially now that she sleeps on her tummy, which makes it tricky too. It'll be fine, it's kind of like rocking them to sleep for those little ones.

  14. Mar Guest #34

    I'm 53 and have been doing it my whole life. My mom and sister too, but for them it stopped after puberty. I took a break when I started living together, but once I picked it up again and my partner got used to it, I can't do without it.
    It's a way to calm yourself down. But it's really tricky with sleepovers and school trips... places where you'd rather not be, and then I'm the only one who has to stay awake all night.
    Hope it stops naturally for your kids.

  15. Romelia Guest #35

    Hi everyone,
    Babies do this because it's a repetitive movement from how they went through the birth canal. They shake/move back and forth through the birth canal to get out. Or when they got stuck in the birth canal.
    Babies store these experiences in their bodies (cell memory) and can't tell you about it, so they repeat these movements with their bodies. That's how they tell you. This often happens with babies who got stuck in the birth canal and were born via emergency C-section. Babies born as "star gazers", babies who were helped with a vacuum extractor, or babies whose pushing phase took a long time. The experience of this phase was overwhelming for the baby, and indeed, when they are tired or lying down, they repeat this. Stroke their little head, acknowledge that you understand it was probably intense, and indeed remove pillows so they experience that it's now soft and nice around them. I have a lot of experience with this. It's a natural way for our body to share how something was for us, and especially with overwhelming experiences, babies show it like this. It's not serious, but it is an unconscious way for the baby to share with you how it was and often their need for clarity from you. Kind regards, Romelia

  16. Hartje #36

    You're crazy, really. They just find it a nice experience. Here they all did it, one 45 min in the birth canal, the other 1 min and the next in breech so head also just 1 min.
    Nonsense.

  17. Anonymous #37

    Hi sweetheart

    I understand your reaction. It's still a fairly unknown science that I'm talking about, and it often comes across as a bit airy-fairy and unlikely because we haven't been taught to look at behavior this way in our society. But it's completely natural behavior that babies, but also children, show. A baby shaking its head has moved its head in that way to come out of the birth canal. Besides the contractions, the baby also moves to get out. Children who were born with help show this a bit more often, as do babies who had a tough delivery. Besides, a baby (and a human being) remembers movements and postures of the body that they have experienced earlier. They then sometimes show these movements later on. It can't do any harm, but it is good that you as a parent ask yourself how the delivery went. Because babies and children tell their story through their behavior instead of with words. If it was tough for the baby, he will really show that more. If he or she was in pain, or if it was very overwhelming, he or she wants to get that feeling out and wants clarity about it. Children and humans also want that in overwhelming situations, and babies want it just as much. That need starts from zero, in the womb.

    Kind regards, Romelia

  18. Susanna #38

    My daughter was a star-gazer and was born via emergency C-section at 42 weeks, but I don’t remember her ever doing that. So she didn’t come through the birth canal.

  19. Anonymous #39

    Hi Pineapple,

    As a star-gazer, normal birth is very painful for the baby. So they didn't go through the birth canal, which is what we're talking about here. So the C-section was good for her! Restless behavior can have multiple reasons. An ADHD diagnosis also has reasons from the start. If you know that, it gives you more insight and tools to help your daughter with her restless behavior. And you too!

    Kind regards, Romelia

  20. Hartje #40

    I absolutely don't believe in it. More family-related.

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