Do your kids have any comforts out of the ordinary? I'm not talking about the blankey, bear or doll they need to sleep with, thats pretty normal stuff. It I'm talking just nutty things that they need to sleep or do when they need comfort. For example, My daughter now 2 1/2, NEEDS my elbow to sleep. yes very odd. She rubs the skin, sometimes scratches it a little, but has to have it in order to fall asleep at night. (naps not so much for some odd reason). in the car I used to have my arm in the backseat so she could feel my elbow sometimes when nothing else would help. It started when she was about 3 mths but it was pinching the back of my arm as i had to rock her to sleep everynight. She used to do so hard it left brusies! It stopped for a while but reared its ugly head again when she was about 7 mths, slowly it moved from pinching the back of my arm to just soft pinching then down to the elbow where it has been ever since. So my question is, how many of you out there have experienced this or something like it? Do they grow out of this? Any suggestions to help it stop? (Even though i know once she stops i'll miss it)
My son will be 4 in April, and he's always liked to have his hand on my face or neck or something to start falling asleep. Lately he likes to "shove" his hand under my face when I lie next to him so that the palm is against my cheek. Falls under the annoying but cute category :)
My 3 year old will not go to sleep unless after she gives kisses and hugs and you're closing the door she asks (EVERY NIGHT!!) "Wait! I have to tell you something! What does the garbage truck do???!!!"
We always reply that she knows what the garbage truck does and then she says "It takes the garbage away. Goodnight!"
It's odd and pretty annoying but still kind of cute.
My daughter twists her hair when she is tired. It drives me nuts, the knots would be so bad sometimes in the morning when I'd go to get her that I had to cut them out. I finally had to cut her hair shorter so she can still twist it but it doesn't knot up so bad and I am able to easily brush it out.
for years, my daughter had her calmest moments rubbing her cheek against my tricept area. i always chuckled because they are so flabby! but she LOVED the soft feel of that skin against hers. she'd tell me she liked the 'cool soft feel' of my arm. she's now 11 and hasn't rubbed her cheek on my arm for at least 4 years. i miss it!
It's kind of weird/funny, but when I can't sleep, I roll onto my stomach and twirl my ankles. I've done this since I was a kid!... I've caught all 3 of my kids doing the same thing!! It drives my fiance nuts, twirling my ankle like that, and now I've got 3 kiddos doing it too... their poor future SO's!! ;)
We have twin 2 1/2 year olds and one has to have Daddy or Papaws ear, the other has to have 'Mommy hair'. She will twist her own hair if she is stressed, but to sleep at night she has to have my hair. This started at 6m. Little Miss Ear pincher has drawn blood from Daddys ear!
I know you talked about blankets not being a comfort. For my almost 4 year old...its a necessity!!! AND.....its a particular blanket. She shoves about a 1/4 of it in her mouth. Talk about stinky in the morning!!! Funny...my husband did the same thing as a child...my MIL thinks its hilarious!!! I dont know WHO the joke is on...its ME having to wash that darn blanket!!! She will shove a 1/4th into her mouth...then take (while she is sleeping) another corner and put it in her ear or eye....weird...I know.
I bought 3 of the same blankets...one has bit the dust...the other two are holding on by a thread. I swear, if she doesnt have them..she doesnt sleep...the clock is ticking!!!!
Hi R., my daughter's 'lovey' was my eyebrows. While she was nursing she would reac up and rub them backwards, in such a sweet gentle way.
When she got to be about 9 or 10 months, it started to annoy me (I know how cold that sounds), so when she reached up for them, I just gently took her wrist and guided her toward her OWN eye
brows.
So, she's
13 now, sigh, and occasion
ally when she's at the table doing her homework or watching tv and lost in her own world I see her reach up and rub her eyebrows. She is very consious of it and will snatch her hand away if she sees me watching her.....but it is just the most precious thing, you know?
Teach her to use her own elbow.
She has two of them!
My daughter was a thumb sucker and the weird thing is that she would suck her thumb with one hand and rub her other elbow with the other hand.
It was totally a comfort thing.
Even when she quit sucking her thumb, she rubbed her elbow.
It soothed her.
Maybe if you rub HER elbow for a bit to get her used to it, she will be able to rub her own elbow.
Just a suggestion.
Best wishes.
audrey doesnt have any but my boyfriends uncles daughter sucks her thumb and rubs your arm. it can be anyones arm but she rubs it
The ONLY lovey my DS has is my Hair - he's never taken to anything else. he's gotta run his fingers through my hair :-) He has Ripped a Ton of it, but whats a few spit ends ! LOL It can be a problem tho because DH doesnt have any hair, so I think thats the reason Mommy HAS to be the one to put him to bed at night. The teachers at his school Love it, he's such a snuggle bunny so whenever they need a 'pick me up' they go to see him and he gives them Huge hugs and rubs their hair! haha Like another mom said 'Annoying but Cute' :-)
My SIL had one twin son who HAD to pinch the skin on her throat. Sometimes it would leave marks. That didn't sound very fun or pleasant to me! I don't know if he still does, he is about 1st-2nd grade now.
This reminds me of a similar post from a few weeks ago (only the body part of choice was ears, lol):
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/17641698000038395905
Like I said to the other mama, I think it's VERY normal and most likely subconsciously associated with the comfort of nursing. The only difference here is that she thinks she NEEDS it to sleep, which has turned something of comfort into a bit of an addiction. So my advice is to handle it just like you would if it WERE a pacifier or a bottle or anything else toddlers get "hooked" on.
At two and a half, she can be somewhat reasoned with, so you might want to try a compromise. Are you still rocking her to sleep at night? If so, that might actually be what she's addicted to...not just the elbow. And if she's addicted to the rocking....well, I can think of worse ways to spend a few minutes every evening, but it's important that you put her into her own bed before she is completely asleep.
If you're not rocking her and are literally stuck leaning over her bed at night while she strokes your elbow, then clearly something needs to be done. You might consider going BACK to rocking her at night so she gets that special comfort time and laying her down while she's still awake (but just barely). If she fusses, I think she's old enough for you to explain that your elbow is for when you're rocking her and that's done for tonight. Be consistent and it will stick eventually. Over time, you can shorten the rocking time by small increments and eventually quit altogether if you wish.
I used to have a daycare in my home and one of the little boys had to rub and squeeze my elbows to take a nap. I always thought it was great. It gave me a reason to stop a minute.
