Scratch mitts

[autumnberry]

Are these necessary items fr me to buy? Do babies really scratch themselves?

[LynetteScavo]

Yes they do. Newborns can pop out with quite long nails. You are a braver woman than me if you dare to cut them. Scratch mits prevent red marks of cheeks.

[autumnberry]

Thanks Lynette. So they do scratch. Do they scratch on the way out, too?

[LynetteScavo]

No, no, not on the way out! don't worry about that!

Their little faces are a lot more delicate than our vagina's honest!

I meant red marks 8on* cheeks, of course.

[katherine2008]

my DD never wore scratch mits and never scratched her face - some kids do, some don't...

[Panzee]

My son was terrible for scratching. And I never could get near his nails, still can't really!

[japhrimel]

A lot of newborn and 0-3 month sleepsuits have integral scratch mitts, so sperate ones may not be needed if you get those.

[lurcherlover]

Official advice is not to use them as they stop babies from using their hands/fingers to self-soothe. My baby is 5 weeks old now and has never scratched his face. I'd wait to see if you need them first before buying them.

[Panzee]

Official advice? From where? I've never heard that one before.

[stressheaderic]

My DD wouldn't settle at all for a few days after coming home from hospital - we popped scratch mitts on and she began sleeping fine. Think her little hands were freezing (born in Feb on v snowy day).

[FessaEst]

My DD scratched herself terribly for ages, still sometimes does despite my best efforts. I really found the integral mitts in babygros form Next and Sainsbos the best solution, was really quite disappointed when she got to 6 months and they no longer came with them.

[LynetteScavo]

I thought "official" advice was to give a baby a dummy to sooth, as it is proven to prevent cot death.

[violetwellies]

And I thought the scratch mitts would be for me... with lacerated legs do to frantic itching, feel like a bag of fleas - no one warned me about this :(

[Nicolaplus1]

Be caeful of scratch mitts a friend of mine went to check on her lo only to find him with the mitt in his mouth at few weeks old ( he was fine luckily) some are really loose.
I used the sleepsuits with built in mitts for night time and if i used them in the day the ones from boots are fab they have a really good cuff.

[autumnberry]

Oooh. Lots of different advice. My instinct would be that babies need to be able to move their hands and fingers freely.

[ohnelly]

I never bothered with them after trying them with DS1 and found they just fall off all the time anyway. I just cut their nails (when they are asleep is easier when they are very little!)

[LynetteScavo]

But then if you are going to swaddle the baby (and most babies like to be swaddled) you won't need scratch mits.

[DirtyMartini]

Mitts are absolute rubbish, they fly off, no matter what sort you buy. I have had two VERY scratchy babies. DD still draws blood on herself regularly at 6.5 mo. I have tried trimming, filing and biting (!) her nails as per various bits of advice, to make sure there are no sharp corners, but it happens nevertheless.

She has outgrown the sleepsuits with integral scratch mitts, so I bought a pair of these recently and they're great. I'm making do with one pair for now as they are very quick to hand-wash and dry on a radiator. Highly recommended to anyone with a scratchy baby.

Obviously she doesn't wear them constantly, as she needs to use her fingers to play at her age; I just put them on for sleeping and very occasionally at other times during the day. If I'd had them when she was a newborn I'd have had no hesitation to use them round the clock though (she slept all the time anyway).

Promise I am not a marketer in disguise :)

[autumnberry]

And what about socks? Do they get kicked off too?

[DirtyMartini]

Should add, part of the reason it is a big deal to me is that she has mild eczema on her forehead and a very dry scalp; so the scratching is almost constant at night and her head gets very raw and sore.

If it weren't for that I would prob not mind the occasional single scratch.

[DirtyMartini]

Yes, socks get kicked off. Socks are pointless for tiny babies. Just get things with feet built in. Or tights.

I found Gap triple roll socks stayed on well from around 6 months. Before that, though, all socks from the little Trumpettes to the cheapies from George at Asda were equally useless.

[DancingThroughLife]

Second (third? fourth?) the mitts not staying on. DD was a scratchy newborn, but trying to keep those mitts on was futile. The integral scratch mitts come on mothercare sleepsuits too, and they're so much better than the little dots that stay on for a minute!

Considering she lost her mitts all the time, she keeps her socks surprisingly well, even now she's discovered her feet.

I think the dummy/cot death link is that babies who have a dummy early should keep it for 6 months and then it reduces the risk of SIDS. Babies who never have a dummy aren't at the same risk as those who are used to one and suddenly don't have it. Or so my GP and bf counsellor led me to believe.

[BikeRunSki]

DS had scratch mitts. HE hated wearing the, but then again, he never scratched himself, so my pg panic buying of scratch mitts was unnecessary.

He was pretty good with socks though, and I second Gap socks for their staying power.

[Bodinga]

I used socks on both my kids hands when born - stayed on far better than the mitts.

[autumnberry]

Thanks for all the info :)

[MumNWLondon]

I swaddled with arms in until 6 weeks to stop scratching and then I nibbled the nails (while feeding) to keep them short!!!!