my 3 months old always scratch his eye WHILE HE'S SLEEPING!?

Question

i understand that scratching he's eyes means he's sleepy, but he's doing it while he is sleeping. we need to wrap him in a blanket so he can't move his hand because he woke up when he scratch his eyes.
is it normal????

Answer 1

All babies have poor motor control when they are young (i.e. less than 6 months.) In many infants, this causes them to scratch their own eyes, face, hands, and arms....pretty much anywhere they can reach. Your son is not intentionally hurting himself, he just can't quite control his hands yet.

At many baby stores, you can find little mittens for his hands. These will be made of soft cloth, pretty thin, so that his hands don't get hot. They have a bit of elastic around the edge to hold them on his wrists, and basically look like tiny bags. They are made in many different designs, and many of them have soft rattling toys attached to entertain the baby.

Alternatively, to keep from spending extra money on yet another thing that will last only a few months, the simplest answer is to slip a sock over each of his hands. As your son's motor control increases dramatically over the next few weeks, he will begin to equate his hand movements with their results (the scratches) and will stop scratching himself. Just be patient.

Also, buy a pair of baby nail clippers. These are just like adult clippers, but are tiny and easier to use on little hands. Try waiting until your son is asleep, so he doesn't wiggle as much, or let your partner hold him so you can manipulate his hands the right way. Hold the baby's finger,and gentle pull back on the underside, to expose more of the nail and get his skin out of the way. Then just clip away the long nail. It is important to do this around once a week, to get your child used to having his nails trimmed, and to keep them shorter so he doesn't scratch so bad. Another tip is to clip nails right after his bath. The warm water will soften the nails and make them easier to cut. Also check his toenails, those may need to be clipped just like yours' do.

Good Luck, and do know that your son is totally normal!

Answer 2

I am in the SAME situation right now! My kitten is about 9 weeks old... he can be so sweet and loving and then the next minute he's coming at me full speed and latching onto my leg or hand or face. I'm totally scratched up! I have tried evvvvverything! Water bottle, more toys than you can imagine, everything . I yell no when he hurts me, and have grabbed his neck skin and held him down. Sometimes this does help and if he pops back up in attack mode I do it again. I feel that he knows but just is crazy right now. Hoping that he grows out of it! I still don't even trust him on his own now... and when I work he stays in a room with toys litter box food and a window to look out. I'm worried abt him chewing cords even tho I've taped them and sprayed them with bitter spray! I guess my point is hopefully he will grow out of it. He has his 2nd vet appt in a few weeks and I'm going to ask for more advice then! Try the water bottle! Worked great for a cat I had years ago - just not this guy! Just don't spray the face! Good luck! And ill let you know if I come up with other ideas!

Answer 3

My little guy used to do this too. He loved to sleep with his hands near his eyes. We tried swaddling him but he hated it abd would bust out of the swaddle all the time. Try buying baby scratch mitts (or just use baby socks over his hands). Carter's makes baby sleepers with built in scratch mitts but I am not sure if they are available in the 3 month size. If he does not like having tings on his hands, then make sure his nails are trimmed regularly.
Best of luck!

Answer 4

I know it's not the most easiest thing to cut a new born baby's nails with out trying not to cut them to short but the best thing I can tell you is to try using the baby mittens at night for him and if you don't have any of them now the next best thing is putting baby socks over his hands.

Answer 5

Very normal! And believe me I have 5 kids. First of all clips his nails, they have infant safety clippers to keep from cutting him and if you clip while he is sleeping he is less likely to struggle, if not there are little mitten things to put over babies hands for just that reason. There are even nightgowns(for both sexes) that have them built inyou just roll the cuffs forward and they turn into mittens. Relax it gets easier I swear!

Answer 6

Yes, it's normal as they still don't have complete control of their muscles and movements at this age. If he is scratching himself then you need to put a pair of baby mittens on him. If you have a hard time clipping his fingernails, wait until he is in a deep sleep and then cut them.

Answer 7

Yes it's normal. Try swaddling your baby tight (not too tight), some babies don't like a loose swaddle, but love a nice firm one. The easiest way to cure this problem is baby mittens. If you are low on cash, just use his socks.

Answer 8

My little girl will rub her eyes at night right after I put her to bed. I usually hold her arm so that she cannot do this until she is more fully asleep. I slowly take my hand off her arm and if she moves I put it back. Soon she stops and is fast asleep. I hope this helps.

Answer 9

I would say to put some of those little baby gloves on him before he goes to bed, or purchase some sleepers that have the sleeves that fold over his hand, (Gerber makes them) so even if he rubs his eyes he won't hurt himself... babies are really unpredictable congratulations and good luck

Answer 10

My 7 month old does it as well, asleep and while awake. I keep her nails trimmed, at least I try to. I would suggest putting socks on his hands, or using mittens as already mentioned, unless he sucks his thumb.