Hitting head on cot bars

[GirlsAndHorses]

My 5 month old is very good at self soothing but this involves her thrashing about for a minute or two. She sleeps in a cot next to our bed. The last few nights, she has woken up crying as if she was hurt. Last night, I happened to still be awake and watched her ‘thrashing’. Turns out, she is rolling over and thumping her head on the wooden bars of the cot and getting her arms through. She basically gets herself in all kinds of knots! I looked at bumpers but have been warned not to leave them in while she is sleeping. I also looked at possibly cutting a thin pool noodle to pad the bars? Has anyone else had this issue? How do I make the bars soft so she stops hurting herself?

It’s not uncommon and if she’s not got a bruise or a lump and she’s not upset then she’s not hurting herself. Don’t put anything around the bars, just leave her to grow out of it.

She has got 2 small bruises on her head. One on her forehead and one on the side but I think they are from repeated bumps. Do you think she will just grow out of it eventually? Sorry, this is my first baby so I’m clueless and really just winging it!

Yes! My eldest definitely did it, and I remember searching mumsnet at the time!

Mine did this too, also liked to gnaw on the cot bars - but has grown out of it!

@GetOffTheFrog when we took the cot down eventually (we used it for all 3 boys) we found tooth marks on ours! I’d forgotten all about that until I saw your post! We never did know which one of the 3 of them it was

@PotteringAlong Children really are crazy things

Thank you! Good to know she will grow out of it and it’s not just her! Sometimes I wake up and she is sideways in her cot or has her head where her feet should be. She wriggles and moves so much in her sleep.

Yep I hear you OP, I had to pull arms and legs out the cot bars more than once. She’s had a fair few bruises but she doesn’t seem bothered!

Now she’s taken to biting the rails so there’s scrape marks everywhere.