Hands in the mouth?

Question

My 4 month old daughter has had her hands constantly in her mouth for well over a month. This is causing pretty bad eczema on her hands. Does anyone have any suggestions to keep them out of her mouth? I don't want to keep socks on her hands all of the time because I want her to be able to learn to graps things and touch things. HELP!!

Answer 1

My daughter is 5 months old and she also loves her hands. When she was about 4 months old I found a Razberry Teether that I thought looked neat. It has a bumpy nipple that looks like a raspberry that massages their gums. My daughter now loves to chew on it and it does help relieve her when she gets crabby due to her teething. Here is the link and good luck!!
http://www.cheekymonkey.ca/Razbabyteether.htm

Answer 2

This is called oral fixation and is part of development. Babys spend a lot of time chewing fingers and you will notice pretty much everything they touch ends up in their mouth. This is how they discover the world. They also are building up their immune system by introducing bacteria and other bugs into their system.

I would try a few child safe chew toys. I like the water/liquid filled types that can be set in the freezer to chill them. Baby can safely chew on these and the cold keeps sweeling down in the mouth as baby teeth present themselves.

In troduce a few types of chew toys and soon you will find a favorite. My daughter use to chew on the shoulder strap covers of her child safety seat in the car. She loved to chew and suck on the ears fo the rabbits on each side of neck.

Try a few items. Head to Babys-R-Us and ask their staff for help i selecting a few good safe items. You will be sure to find plenty you shild will find interesting enough to leave her hands alone to heal.

KK

Answer 3

Try putting something sour on her hands like lemon, or pickle juice ya know something you know she wouldn't like. It doesn't need to be a whole lot just enough for her to get the taste in her mouth. The safest way to go is to use the socks though at least until she stops putting her hands in her mouth. She also might be teething. Try a cold washcloth or teething ring.

Answer 4

Try giving your baby something to chew. Mine is the same age and is doing the same thing. He doesn't like his pacifier as much anymore. I found a "chew rag" that he likes. It's a piece of soft cloth that doesn't have any lint or strings coming off of it. He also likes some soft toys, so you might try buying one. I think Infantino has a teething ring that's unique. It has two rings. One is small enough to fit in the baby's hand and the other is larger (I guess for him to chew on).
What I like is that the small ring moves around so it makes it easier for baby to place the bigger ring inside his mouth.

Answer 5

Try a teething ring. See if that helps to keep her hands out of her mouth.

Answer 6

Baby's put their hands in their mouth when they are hungry, or when they are teething. Is she hungry? Have you tried feeding her more, or giving her a pacifier?

If she is drooling a lot, she may be teething already. Mine started around 4 months. You have to start using Tylenol or Orajel or Anbesol and give her a cold washcloth or teething ring.

Answer 7

It's pretty hard to fix that. She is more than likely teething and there is nothing you can do. I understand the eczema issue, but she will grow out of it.

Answer 8

Put iodine on her hand or anything that is not plesant to have in your mouth. Hand soap, vasoline, lemon, mix it up so she will not know what to expect.