5 month swaddle (picture below)

[firsttimeyoungmum]

So my DD has been attacking her head and face in her sleep or a while. We've clipped her nails, tightly swaddled her and even have to hold her arms down if we catch her. Problem is I can't watch her 24/7 especially when I'm asleep. She breaks her swaddle within seconds by rocking and rolling over. I can't give her mittens because she sucks her hands a lot and I don't want them getting sore. Basically I'm asking 1) is this normal and 2) is there any way to stop it?

Sorry, can you explain the thing about mittens? Why would something get sore? Just didn't quite understand that bit!

Oh gosh, bless her.

I don't think it's normal as such, however I have two possible relent things I can think of:

• one of my son's self-soothes by twirling the hair at the base of the back of his neck. This movement was evident from newborn. As a tiny 3 week old he would always sleep with his arms up by his ears. By the time he had the motor skills to control his hands, they were behind his neck at sleep time. Then once he learnt fine motor skills to actually play with his hair, he did that. But even as he was first born, this desire to touch the back of his neck was there.

So on from this, the head scratching could be a self-soothing mechanism for your dd. She may not have the dexterity yet, but maybe she will be someone who likes to stroke her hair when tired? Or just run her head.

• the other thing is, have you considered eczema or allergies? A little boy the same age as my daughter had horrible scratches on his face as a baby. It turns out that he was allergic to cows milk and also that he had eczema. No one realised at the time, but hindsight would suggest his skin was itching and him rubbing and scratching himself was him trying to scratch the itch.

To solve it - see a doctor if it might be medical.

There are swaddled you zip the child into, so she won't get her arms out. But if she likes to suck her hands, it would stop that happening.

Look up double swaddle. May work for you.

Have you out any cream on her head? It may be itchy (shampoo or soap related?) And need soothing. Or if you have put cream on, that may be irritating her.

It looks sore. Poor wee lamb.

Try Aveeno cream to soothe her head and Scratch Sleeves which are fantastic mitten type things that were fantastic for my DS who had severe baby eczema. Google them.

Scratch Sleeves - saved our DS's little noggin from scratching until he bled. They are brilliant! Also Capasal shampoo, from the chemist; it's coal tar so it smells vile but gets rid of any irritation.

You can get body suits that fold over at the ends

Can you gently file down her nails so they're not as sharp?