Baby Hits Head Softly On His Crib To Go To Sleep

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Baby Hits Head Softly On His Crib To Go To Sleep

by Veronica
(Yukon, Oklahoma, USA)

Why does my baby hit his head on his pillow to be able to go to sleep? Is this behavior something I should worry about?

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Baby Hits Head Softly On His Crib To Go To Sleep

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May 16, 2008

Who Knows Why...?
by: Baby Help Line

Hi Veronica!

For one reason or another, your baby probably finds it comforting to do his little routine. Some babies schratch their mom's or their own cheek, twist their hair (if they have any, mostly older kids, though) or do something else.

Unfortunately, when he is old enough to tell you why, he probably stoped doing it a long time ago!

/Paula

Jun 05, 2008

no!!
by: Anonymous

try to find a way for baby to stop. my cuz used to do that when she was tiny and now she's 11 with a huge black scar on her forehead....

Aug 25, 2008

Advice
by: NannyNurse

Babies all have certain routine motions they go through when falling asleep. As long as these are not damaging (the area on his head is not red or bruised which I am assuming it is not) it is fine to let them continue.

Generally though it is also quite easy to change that motion to something else. Try covering the side with a pillow or blanket. He may fall for it at first and then with time you can ease the pillow or blanket down into the crib until he is used to laying down while he falls asleep. You may find that he changes the hitting into rubbing his head back and forth on the pillow (I know a child who this trick worked on)

Alternatively if you are able to you can always give him something new in the crib that is distracting (such as a new mobile) and try laying him down only slightly reclined so that he can feel like he is still sitting up.

Good Luck and hope all work out for you, in the end as long as he is not causing any damage, there is not really any harm. He will out grow it eventually.

Nov 01, 2008

I did when I was little
by: Anonymous

I used to hit my head on my pillow as a child;

The reason wass simply because it somehow felt good and made sleep easier; I eventually grew out of it however.

You dont need to worry unless its really hard or it continues on after a certain age.

Feb 25, 2009

Help Me Please.
by: Anonymous

Hi, View's
I had this problem when i was a baby i started to twist my head back and forth and i got use to it and i keep on still doing it im getting sick of it but for some reason it feels good when i fall asleep i dont want this routine anymore can u give me some advice.

Mar 19, 2009

dont worry!
by: JamieLynn

My Younger brother used to do the exact same thing and continued to do so until he was a teenager. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him-it was just something he did to help him go to sleep. Sometimes he would even bang his head so hard he would wake me up in the middle of the night! I would just leave it be because in some way it is probably comforting to your baby. Good luck!

Apr 14, 2009

sleep problem
by: Anonymous

My 11 year old son has been banging his head on his pillow since he was a baby. His doctor says it was harmless just so longs as he is not banging his head on the wall. He was diagnose
at 7 years old has having ADHD and is on medication. My concern is this head banging will continue into his adult life and affect things such as sleeping with a spouse. Does anyone have any advice?

Nov 20, 2009

im 21 years old
by: V

While i try and sleep, i will lay on my stomach with my hands under my pillow and i will bang my head into my pillow. For as long as i have been alive I have been told i do this, i have 2 Brothers and a sister and my oldest brother said he put a book under my pillow to get me to stop. but i was like 3 and didnt... every week or so i will have either a recurring dream, or just a bad night of sleep. and my girlfriend will tell me i was doing it... this is mainly subconscious, im scared it wont stop. i also have back problems wich i fear could be from sleeping on my stomach for so many years.. i try switching positions but i always end up they way i want i guess..

Apr 19, 2010

Ive been banging my head for 33 years.
by: Anonymous

I am 33 years old and have been banging my head for as long as i can remember, my whole life. This the only way i could sleep, until i got married and was still banging my head but i eventually stopped. I guess she was my comfort and i found myself falling asleep without banging my head. we have 4 kids now and the little guy has taking over my bed so i sleep in the other room i found myself banging my head again.

Jul 09, 2010

Relief!!!
by: Anonymous

My youngest is five and she does it too! she's been doing it for as long as I can remember and the doctor said its nothing but I couldn't help but worry especially when people see her doing it and act like its the strangest thing they have ever seen :-)! thank you so very much. what a relief!

Aug 16, 2010

I do it too
by: Philly

Hi, I'm 16 and I still to that even since I was a baby. My mother says she used to rub and pat my back to I'd stop as a baby. She also says my brother used to do it and my cousin. It makes me feel better that there are other people who do it. Because I always feel like a freak. I'm hoping I can stop soon but I think it's some kind of therapeutic, vicarious life.
As if, all my troubles ease away. Here's how I feel: Comfortable, because the feeling makes me 'feel' (sounds weird, I no). Safe, it's as if by occupying my body I'm protecting myself. And I feel sleepy, somehow banging my head makes me feel sleepier faster.
I also listen to music right up until I feel the sleepiest. I guess I'm a busy body... I HAVE to do something all the time. Weird thing is.. I don't do it when I'm not in the room by myself. Like at sleepovers. Maybe I feel protected or self conscious... or maybe I just don't like being alone.

It would be nice if anyone with this problem who is older than 10 could e-mail me: I_achieve2011@hotmail . com
I still feel like a freak... and does anyone wake up sweaty and feel faint and drained a lot? And my back has just started to hurt yesterday.

Aug 24, 2010

WOW
by: isaac

yo this is soo cool that other people do this. i thought i was weird. yea it does the same for me as the person above said, it's kind of therapeutic. i can make myself not do it but in the middle of the night i will find myself doing it without knowing. i also dont get a lot of sleep b/c of this. as i am bumping my head im usually thinking about a lot of stuff and time slips away.

Oct 08, 2010

i m 45 and still doing it...
by: Anonymous

i read most of ur messages and all of them remind me of myself !!! i ve been doing it for ever, have 2 kids (they don t do it) and had a husband and a lot of boyfriends... after few weeks i just explain it to them and ALL of them had been ok w/ it!! it is the most soothing thing for me, it s like meditation, a doc. told me it is because of the little bones in your ears that move around in liquid and it give u that relaxing feeling as you got them to move faster... i will NEVER stop doing it ! i think we are lucky to have a way to let go of the stress and it is better then alcohool or drugs !!!

Nov 12, 2010

I've been doing this my whole life...
by: Mary

I am 25 years old and I do this and my mom does to. I don't do it anymore because I live with my boyfriend and every time I am sleeping in the same bed or room as someone else I don't do it.

However, if my boyfriend is out sometimes I will just for that little bit of comfort. I never had a blanky so I like to think that was what I did instead. It always comforted me and I have insomnia so I always felt it helped me fall asleep. Furthermore, I always listen to music before I went to bed since I can remember (again, I stopped after I was about 18 and started living with other people). I always listened to music and banged my head or would sing to myself if there were no music.

I think it is totally fine but I remember feeling a bit weird about it as a child as my mom wanted to put me in a study about it.

Anyways, I don't think you ever grow out of it but you can definitely control it. It's so neat to hear about other people that have the same thing as me!

Nov 29, 2010

me too
by: monica

i have been doing that since a was a baby,i don't know exactly the name of it, but it is soothing, im 28 years old and haven't stop hitting my head on the pillow to fall asleep.i now can sleep without doing it,but when i sleep alone i do it.my mother tells me that its my birth mark:)

Dec 12, 2010

Wow
by: Jeremy

Wow its good to know other ppl do this I have been doing this all my life too. Im 24 years when get restless i othen bump my head too sleep. I been trying to stop but some night i catch myself doing it... I mostly do it when there is a lot of stuff on my mind when im going to sleep...

Dec 23, 2010

headbanger!(:
by: Anonymous

Hedy I'm 14 and I have been having my head since I was 1 or 2?? and now that I know other ppl do it too and it's totally harmless I am very relieved but yea It feels good when I do it and helps me fall asleep than I eventually stop during the night!

Dec 24, 2010

I do this also....
by: SYCD

And I'm almost 20. I was wondering if anyone else did this lol. I don't do it very often anymore in fact I almost forgot about it until I had a hard time sleeping one night. I felt really tired but my brain wouldn't stop thinking lol. I lightly tap my head on the pillow and have other muscles in my arms, legs and stomach follow right after another. It used to help burn energy when I was a kid trying to sleep but I tried doing it for the first time in almost over a year and it isn't as effective as it used to be, makes me wish I had a rocking chair or recliner.

Jul 04, 2011

Head banger for life???
by: Anonymous

My son has been doing this since he was a month or two old. I figured it was soothing to him, much like other children suck their thumbs. I'm glad I was right, I had to google it just to be on the safe side. Thanks for the reassurance from the previous posts. :)

Dec 20, 2011

I'm 21 and I still do it NEW
by: Courtney

But it's all voluntary. I don't do it and not know about it. I come home, put my headphones on and bump my head. The only time I CAN'T do it is when I don't have music. When I was little, I would do it without music and just hum or sing. I also used to do it in chairs and in the car, but now in my bed and listening to music are the only circumstances where I can do it. And I REFUSE to do it when somebody else is present. My family knows that I do it, and I'm sure they think it's odd that I haven't grown out of it. I've told two of my friends that I do it, and they think it's weird enough, so I'm just hoping that by the time I start sharing a bed with somebody, I'll have stopped. Right now, it's kinda like my one big secret. I can do it for hours. If I wake up in the middle of the night and feel like I can't go back to sleep, I turn on my iPod and go to it. HAHA. It might not do any mental damage (for nervous parents), but it IS a bad habit. Because most kids sleep on their stomachs to do it, it's bad for your back. Try to get your kids to... sleep on their backs and hum. No one ever tried to stop me and I'm paying for it now. It's also REALLY bad for your neck, simply because you're constantly bending your neck the opposite way that it's supposed to be. Trust me, I've seen my X-rays, and I now go to a chiropractor. (which doesn't do me a whole lot of good because I can't stop). Just work with your kids. There's nothing wrong with them. They're just soothing themselves.

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