Wierd Habit?

Hi L.! My friends daughter did/still does this when she sleeps. They got her a hat and sowed fake hair onto it. When she sleeps they tuck her hair up into the hat and she just pulls on the fake hair. It works for her. They take that hat everywhere if their daughter will be sleeping. Good luck!
A.

My daughter did it until she was about 2 and a half, she ended up eating it though too. THe doctor said she was craving hair apparently.

I have a friend that had a little girl that made one side of her head completely BALD. But she had a GREAT idea and it worked, now she is 3 and has very LONG beautiful hair. Mom bought one of those scrunchie type fake hair attachments, you know, the kind with no clips or anything. She would give her that to hold and she stopped. They called it "harry" LOL! The little girl still loves her "harry" Try that!
K.

My daughter started pulling her hair when she was nursing about that age also. Usually it meant that she was tired. She has stopped now and it didn't last too long so just hang in there.

It's not so much of a habit as it is soothing to them somehow. My daughter started rubbing the back and side of her hair when she was nursing - probably around 6 months. She's 2 now and still, when she's tired, she will take her cup in one hand and rub the back of her head with the other. She has occasionally pulled it out, but does not currently.

Definitely speak to your pediatrician and ask for suggestions. In the meantime, try giving her a super-soft blanket (maybe fleece) to hold against her face or one of those tiny "blankies" with the animal attached. You might also try to get her to hold your finger or another soft toy or doll when she nurses to distract her.

I have heard other moms say their kids do similar things. I hold my sons' other hands so they can't do anything with it (someone told me their daughter would pinch her other nipple and I wanted to make sure that didn't happen!)

I also have a friend whose daughter did this, but only when she was trying to sleep. They figured it was stress (just moved, just had a baby sister born, living in a much smaller place) so they tried to eliminate as much stress as possible. That seemed to help somewhat.
Good luck! I like that one person's suggestion about "harry"!
J. B

I hope that this passes, and that you can help her to rub instead of pull. My daughter is 4 1/2, and pulls her hair ONLY when she sucks her thumb. Her hair is VERY thin on one side of her head....we've tried lots of tricks, with no sure thing yet. You are certainly not alone in this, although it feels like such a big thing now.... My prayer is that it will seem small when she graduates from college someday....

Just try to intercept her hand before she gets to her hair and say "no, no".
You could have a small toy or rattle to offer her in that hand at the same time just to distact her from the hair.
One of the best things about nursing your baby is that you always have a free hand to take care of things like this or your other kids' needs!

Hi L.,
Our 2 year old daughter has done that too when she nursed around that age. I don't think its a habit, I was told that it was more of a soothing thing for them. I had asked how it could be a soothing thing when she is PULLING her hair out?!? I was told that they had found something soft and soothing and they grab it and pull because they don't quiet know what it really is yet. We had gone and wrapped her up in a light blanket but strong enough to hold that arm down so she can't grab her hair or we'd give her something else to hold onto like my shirt or the blanket or even a soft stuffed animal, soon enough she forgot about the hair pulling. I had noticed at times she had pulled her hair do to the fact that she was fighting her sleep and it would keep her up, because she now does that while I have her lay down for a nap. But the pulling of the hair had stopped awhile back when I found other things for her to hold while she naps. Good Luck!

Be thankful its not yours!!:) My daughter would grab handfuls of my hair while she was nursing. It is just something they do to soothe themselves. It helps to find a blanket or a toy that has a soft texture they can rub or pull on while they are relaxing. Good luck!

how about putting socks or mittens on her hands?

Any chance she has gas? My daughter twitches and grabs and squirms when she nurses and is gassy - Infant Gas-X or Milocan (sp?) does the trick, sometimes she even asks for it! Good luck!

Hi L.,
I'm so sorry to hear that your child is having that problem. My two grandchildren would twiddle around with their hair each time that they were being fed, but it was never to the point that they pulled their hair out. I'm thinking that you should speak to your childs doctor about it. I wish you luck.

I have a 5 month old that does that. Also, my son who is 2.5 years old also did that when he was nursing. He eventually grew out of it. I ended up cutting my hair short and no more dangly earrings.

Two of my DDs would hit their heads and pull their hair, it didn't seem to bother them, but it sure bothered me! Hopefully in your case it just looks like a lot of hair coming out that would be falling out anyway. I taught my youngest the word rub, kept repeating it in a gentle voice. Then we would softly rub her dolls, animals, toys. We moved on to her head, her belly, her cheek to show her what a rub meant. Even now I know she's tired and needs to self-sooth when she rubs her hair. Best of luck.

You've gotten some great ideas here. Hope one of them works for ya. The "hairy" one is a hoot. What a great idea. lol
Anyway,
You could also make a nursing necklace. It's not the soft texture that some are going for, but it's something to do.
Just string some chunky beads of many textures & shapes on a long cord & wear it around YOUR neck as a necklace for her to play with as she nurses. Maybe she's just "bored" and looking for anything to do.
Hope you find something to stop her from pulling out her hair. OUCH!!