Starfish baby??

[ahhyesiseeyouvepooedonsanta]

My 17 week old has her arms straight out all the time, she has always slept like this but now its 95% of the time, if she's sitting in her chair, being cuddled..anything? Now she is pfb so I know I'm guilt of over observing but I just wanted to check it was just a bizarre habit not anything to worry about?

Hi, Your post and title made me smile I think you shouldn't worry but you should definitely point it out to your hv. I'm not trying to alarm you at all, just want you to be aware that this could be a sign of high muscle tone. My dd1 always seemed to have quite straight out arms when I dressed her, I used to boast how easy it was to get her arms into sleeves and how she was almost "helping" to get dressed so early on (as a baby). At one year adjusted age she was diagnosed with spastic diplegia (cerebral palsy), she had high muscle tone especially in her legs but also all over incl. arms. I'd had partial placenta abruption prior to giving birth and dd1 arrived 11 weeks early, so there was a specific reason for this. So please don't get anxious, but do bring it up with your hv or pediatrician so someone can check her over. If she does have high muscle tone, it might be easily fixable with physiotherapy. Does she clench her fists a lot?

That's good to know - it's always hard to gauge when I'm being over -the-top with worries! I shall ask the hv at her weigh in next week :) yes she does clench her fists quite a lot she is also very good at "standing" - bracing her legs rigidly on my knee and holding herself upright, its the first thing she tries to do when you sit down holding her

My dd1 did the standing thing too, even before we were discharged from SCBU. But at the same time, dd2 (5 months) is also constantly straightening her legs and is happiest when you let her stand on your lap, rather than sit, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her. What is she like when you move her feet up to her face? Does she complain? Can you get them there?