8 month old still rubs his eyes/face when hes asleep and makes himself cry!

[Beccaboop]

So he started doing this at 8 weeks and still does it now and it can wake him up every 10 mins to every couple of hours depending on how deeply hes asleep.

We used to swaddle him but now hes too old for that as he can roll over and if we even try he gets really frustrated .

We've tried scratch mitts and even his sleeping bag has sleeves with fold over mitts on it but it doesnt stop him rubbing his eyes and face until he crys!

Hes teething which i think is making it worse. I read that he could over tired so i make sure he gets 3 naps a day and isnt awake longer than 3 hours and goes to bed about 2.5/3 hours after his last nap which helped a little bit but didnt stop it completely.

I keep hoping hes going to grow out of it but he still hasnt at 8 and a half months!

Help! How can i get him to stop rubbing his eyes and face? I think its when he stirs but instead of getting himself back to sleep (which i know he can do cos he will occasionally do it but not very often) he just rubs and then crys!

 

[Feebster1]

Strange..

Hmmm not sure what to suggest honey, if making sure his sleep is ok helps then possibly it is something he will learn to stop.
If his eyes are actually sore though it will encourage him to do it as well, dont know if you get a cooling product thats suitable for a babies eyes??

I know sometimes Grace will rub her eyes as she is getting to sleep but ive found that if i give her the end of her bib or something else soft she tends to rub her nose with it instead. At night till recently its been the mitts she has used for bedtime.

Hopefully if all your ducks stay in a row with naps etc then he will just stop on his own.
Sorry not very helpful!

 

[maggie111]

Have you tried giving him a comforter instead? I'm not sure if that'll help, but just a suggestion.

When I looked into them Jellycat comforters and Taggies were well recommended.

 

[Beccaboop]

Yeah we got a couple of comforters when he was born but he either has no interest in them or he will rub his eyes with it and still cry! Maybe I need to take him to doctor and make sure his eyes are.ok.

 

[Feebster1]

Cant do any harm to get it checked honey then at least you can be sure if its a habit or not.

 

[maggie111]

Yeah we got a couple of comforters when he was born but he either has no interest in them or he will rub his eyes with it and still cry! Maybe I need to take him to doctor and make sure his eyes are.ok.

Tried to get my baby off to sleep last night and he was rubbing his face and I thought of your thread! He also doesn't want a comforter but when I gave it to him he still rubbed his face a little but less than before. I think it helps his hands settle. He's having a sleep regression at the minute so he is waking up lots and refusing to sleep when he's put down. I think maybe your baby is half-awake half-asleep and that's why he's rubbing

Do you hold him for 10 minutes before you put him down to get into a heavy sleep first?

Of course still go to the doctors and check.

 

[Dragonfly]

Throwing this in but could his face be itchy or eyes? I am allergic to dairy and my face gets itchy and my eyes. But you cant see things like a rash when it happens. It would make me rub my face.

 

[Bean66]

My LO does this more if overtired. Just a thought. Probably not helpful sorry.

 

[Beccaboop]

Yeah we got a couple of comforters when he was born but he either has no interest in them or he will rub his eyes with it and still cry! Maybe I need to take him to doctor and make sure his eyes are.ok.

Tried to get my baby off to sleep last night and he was rubbing his face and I thought of your thread! He also doesn't want a comforter but when I gave it to him he still rubbed his face a little but less than before. I think it helps his hands settle. He's having a sleep regression at the minute so he is waking up lots and refusing to sleep when he's put down. I think maybe your baby is half-awake half-asleep and that's why he's rubbing

Do you hold him for 10 minutes before you put him down to get into a heavy sleep first?

Of course still go to the doctors and check.

We put him dowwn awake and he normally goes off to sleep quite quick and does rub abit but we just move his hand away but he just stay asleep long.
I think he is still in a half-asleep half-awake state when hes doing it but j
he doesnt stop until hes awake and crying!

I'll try the comfortater again but i dont know if it will help. Thanks x

 

[Beccaboop]

Throwing this in but could his face be itchy or eyes? I am allergic to dairy and my face gets itchy and my eyes. But you cant see things like a rash when it happens. It would make me rub my face.

He does have a milk allergy but is on neocate milk and only eats dairy free foods.

 

[Beccaboop]

My LO does this more if overtired. Just a thought. Probably not helpful sorry.

I dont think hes overtired cis (like i said in the main thread) i make sure he gets 3 naps a day and isnt awake more than 2/3 hours and no longer than 2/3 hours before bed.
Thanks tho

 

[Bean66]

My LO does this more if overtired. Just a thought. Probably not helpful sorry.

I dont think hes overtired cis (like i said in the main thread) i make sure he gets 3 naps a day and isnt awake more than 2/3 hours and no longer than 2/3 hours before bed.
Thanks tho

Sorry, it's me that's overtired and can no longer read properly or remember anything. sorry.

 

[jaya4]

i know this was 6 years ago but I am going through the exact thing now with my 8 month year old. I searched the internet, have not found any solutions that worked. Curious how this all worked out with the OP (Beccaboop)?