frantic baby scratching own face

positivenote

hi all, as you can guess by the time of this post we have a newborn whose breastfeeding. He is 6 days old and for the past two days has got into a frantic hysterical scream biting on his own hands and scratching and pulling at his eyes. He is being feed alot (every 2hrs approx for 30min+ on each breast) can anyone help how we can calm him down when his fit starts as we are afraid he's going to hyperventalate or do himself some damage...
really concerned so any help would be great.
THanks

Boxoffrogs

positivenote wrote: »

hi all, as you can guess by the time of this post we have a newborn whose breastfeeding. He is 6 days old and for the past two days has got into a frantic hysterical scream biting on his own hands and scratching and pulling at his eyes. He is being feed alot (every 2hrs approx for 30min+ on each breast) can anyone help how we can calm him down when his fit starts as we are afraid he's going to hyperventalate or do himself some damage...
really concerned so any help would be great.
THanks

The only thing I would suggest is covering his hands with mittens, I used to do it with my little guy. Their tiny nails, although thin can be very sharp. You can nibble on his nails as it's not advised to go near them with a clippers as babies rarely stay still and it's too risky. Just try to keep him cool when he's crying for long periods. I hope you get some relief soon.

Moonbeam

newborns feed loads:)
It is also quite common that they scratch themselves.

You can get scratch mitts in Dunnes or most baby shops or put a pair of socks on his hands.

I gave my lo a soother despite saying that I was never going to until I started weaning her then took it away she was about 5 months and it definately helped.

Grawns

Swaddling is good too as they like the security of being wrapped up. Worth a try! Best of luck

slarkin123

My son was just the same when he was born. I had to keep mittens on him day and night. I'd take them off every now and again to give his hands some air. He eventually stopped doing it, so no more mittens. Now he'll rub his ears if he's tired.

Das Kitty

They do this in the early days when they're trying to build up Mum's supply of milk by feeding all the time. They get panicy and frustrated. It'll sort itself out in no time. Hand biting is usually a sign of hunger in a newborn if they are also rooting with their mouths.

crazy cat lady

The first few weeks of breastfeeding are really hard work, but don't worry, you're baby won't do himself any serious damage!

The crying is just frustration. This will all be sorted once your supply is boosted which is done by pretty much constant feeding!

Pop little scratch mitts on, or we got baby-gro's with little turn overs at the hands which we found much better as the scratch mitts can fall off. We got the baby-gro-s in Mothercare I think.

We also got a baby grooming kit in Argos for about 5 Euro. There are some soft emery boards in it which we used to file down her nails while she slept. We found ourselves doing it every few days.