My little girl has been rocking and bouncing against the sofa occasionally for a couple months, but now she rocks at night in her crib--bouncing her head off the rails or sides of the crib. She does not babble while doing this so seems to be part of her sleep, although she looks right at me when I go in to lay her down. She sleeps good for a bit then rocks off and on through the night and in the morning entertains herself with this until one of us goes to get her. She is a good kid--usually has a reason if she is fussy. The rocking is loud and wakes my hubby and I up---wondering if anyone has any ideas or has had this problem. I am thinking about having her rest in her pack and play until this phase is over. Dr. says don't worry. All age appropriate milestones are met and she is a happy little girl.
My daughter does someting similar...she rythmically bangs her feet against her crib rails while laying down to sleep. I think it soothes her. She is almost 16 months now but has been doing this for quite some time. It is also very loud! I think it is normal and just a self soothing technique.
What's interesting about babies is that they do what ever feels good. My oldest used to do this and my youngest used to like to hang upside-down (I won't even go into the details about how she did it without help). They find something that feels good or interesting and they do it over and over.
If you are really concerned or just want it to stop, I would suggest that you put soothing music on for her - something without a beat like Enya or classical music - when she goes to bed at night or even periodically throughout the day. Put it on "repeat" so that it gets into her subconscious. After a while, her movements throughout the day will become more fluid and the rocking may not fit in with her new physical/musical consciousness.
It will be important for you to pick just one or two CD's so that she gets to know them and like them. Changing the music around too much will create confusion rather than calm.
I would be a little concerned about Autism, or PTSD, you might want to see a child psychologist just to be sure she isn't suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Here are some other sites:
www.safeminds.org/mercury
http://gfcf-diet.talkaboutcuringautism.org/essential-hand...
http://milk.elehost.com/html/why_does_calcuim_leave_the_b...
http://www.drlam.com/A3R_brief_in_doc_format/print/2003-N...
http://home.bluegrass.net/~jclark/calcium_foods.htm
My daughter (almost 2) has done something similar... I was told that 'Head banging and body rocking are normal self-comforting behaviors in babies.' Also my ped said that the head banging could be her distracting herself from teething or other pain (ear infections, bug bite etc).
I brought up emotional or development problems and the pediatrician said that it is very rare for this to be the sign of that type of problem, especially if all milestones have been met.
My pediatrician said that is more then likely a comfort thing and that she would out grow it by her third birthday. I could not stand seeing her do it so I decided to help her out by giving her something else to do (less harmful)... We got a small blanket with a bear head on top (fuzzy on one side and silk like on the other) which is now her 'lovey.' I started out rubbing it softly against her face to sooth/calm her. Thankfully she now does it by herself instead of banging her head. That was the first thing we tried... we got lucky. Try teaching a different pattern, so if she starts the head banging or whatever, get something else for her to do at that time like rub a blanket or stuff animal on her cheek. This will then 'train' her to do something none harmful.
Hope you find something that works for you!
My son does the sme thing. It is normal for some children to do this to soothe themselves, I remember doing this as well when I was young. Just make sure that she is not hurting herself & let her rock. Move the crib away from the wall if that helps with the noise problem.
Moving to the pack & play may solve the noise issue (all though they can get them rockign pretty good as well) but if she rocks while sitting up make sure she has a onesie or zippered pajamas. My son's shirt would sometime ride up & his back would rub on the mesh of the pack & play & he would get a rug burn on his lower back. It didn't bother him but it sure bothered me so we always made sure he was well covered if/when he slept in the pack & play.
Hi B., my son Garrett does the same thing! He is now 2 1/2. He started doing the rocking and hitting his head when he was about 1 year old. He is a very normal little boy too and our Doctor says that some children do this to comfort themselves for one reason or another. I even asked his nurse about it before he came in and she was like, "oh yes, my son and daughter both rocked when they were little...it is how they comforted themselves. My daughter is now 21 and she still rocks while studying or when doing something stressful." That was refreshing to hear!!! We have asked over and over again if this is "ok" and no one seems to be concerned. Like your daughter he has passed all his milestones for his age and is a very happy and smart little boy! He just ROCKS! Anyway, I wanted to let you know that there are others out there that have experienced this and unless you have reason to think she has developmental delays, she will be just fine! Oh, and if you figure out how to stop the rocking, let me know!!! We have tried everything!!! T. Hughes
My son did this until he was about 2 years old. I can't say I have a cure for it, but I can tell you he grew up completely normal, gets wonderful grades in school, and is going to be getting his drivers license next week. So all in all he never had any problems later from it. I'm a mother of 4 and my youngest is borderline autistic and if for some reason you start to think that anything more than odd childhood things are going on with your child keep seeing different doctors until you know for sure. Mothers tend to have a feel for when something more is wrong, if you keep it in the back of your head that this could just be a "Kid" thing then you will know if something else comes up to cause you more worry. Good luck
Read up on sensory integration issues or if it continues have her evaluated by an occupational therapist for sensory issues. The rocking is how some kids soothe themselves, especially spirited kids or kids with sensory issues. My brother was one of them and my older son went through sensory integration therapy for a mild case of sensory issues. They are both happy, successful people.
I agree w/Cindy, Heather and Tracy. . .be sure and check into any possible allergies/health issues/behavioral issues. These can be signs that something is just not right. (Possible milk or casein issue? Did this happen when she transitioned to milk?)
One thing you can do is to chart what she eats~taking away a particular ingredient at a time ~recording the behavior that goes along with it and see if there is a pattern.
But most of all, follow your gut. If a Dr.'s response doesn't resinate with you, keep talking until you get a response that does.
You know best!
Good luck!
J.
We had the same problem years ago with one of our twins. My mom actually made crib pads because he had worn all the hair off the back of his head and had a big bump back there. When I asked the Doctor about it, he said kids who have problems with their ears often rock in their cribs. Sure enough, he ended up having multiple sets of ear tubes along with allergies.
