Baby Scratches Me While Nursing -(Reason & Solutions)


Your baby can be scratching you while nursing because of several reasons. Most of the time if because they are developing cognitive abilities and exhibiting reflexes. Aside from that, they can be bored or just seek your attention. Also, when they learn to grasp it’s very natural to scratch.

Baby-Scratches-Me-While-Nursing

 

Pretty much all the reasons are natural, right? But now how to stop it? Don’t worry, throughout this content I have discussed the ways to stop scratching and the reasons for scratching more elaborately. 

So, I’m inviting you to dive deep into the main segments. 

Is it Normal for Babies to Scratch While Nursing?

Scratching is a very common behavior among babies. Scratching you while nursing is also no different. There is no need to get worried about it. This is not anything such as side effects or symptoms of other health diseases.

Instead, you should be happy if you see this behavior in your kid. It’s a sign that they are growing and developing their ability to feel their surroundings. And very soon they are going to learn grasping. 

Reason 1: Babies Want Your Attention 

All babies want their parents’ attention. So due to lack of attention, he/she may be scratching you.

In this modern era, most parents love to multitask. For example, breastfeeding mothers can scroll social media posts or listen to audiobooks. But most of the babies don’t want you to lose attention from them. At any cost, they will want to you look at them, talk to them, or massage them.

So it’s a natural behavior of a baby to scratch you while nursing if they don’t get proper attention from you.

Reason 2: Your Kid Is Bored

Babies are always busy with something. But while nursing they generally don’t get lots of things near them to play with. 

Now they know when they scratch you they get a reaction from you. To them, it’s like a game to search for you and get your attention..

So, most of the time when they are bored, they try to scratch you and want to see your reaction. 

Reason 3: Theta are Developing the Cognitive Abilities

This cause is kind of related to the previous one. In the first year, a child learns to focus their vision, thoughts, and surrounding activities. This is also known as the development of cognitive abilities. 

First, when you are nursing them, they start to feel everything more attentively. During this time they can’t do so many things. Scratching is one of the things they are free to do 

Second, during nursing, they keep searching you to get a reaction out of you. They want an effect on their activities. However, different kids end up reacting to your reaction differently.

Reason 4: You Kid is Exhibiting Reflex

This reason is another regular development in kids. After several months you should find your kid hitting or starching you during breastfeeding. It is the reflexive nothing your kid exhibits. 

Your kid sometimes doesn’t even realize they are hitting you. This is actually a blessing. This aimless swing is the basis of coordinated movement. It will help them to grasp objects more quickly. 

Reason 5: You Child has learned to Grasp

When the baby learns to Grasp objects they try to grasp everything near them. While nursing the closest thing to him is you. So it’s very natural he is scratching you.

Plus when they are relaxed they try to explore things more. During breastfeeding, they won’t just stop slightly scratching your skin. They try to scratch harder to explore more. 

5 Ways to Stop  Baby From Scratching While Nursing

So now what to do to keep your baby from scratching. Obviously, you can’t scold your LO. There are some easy tricks to stop it. Let’s learn about them.

1. Cut the Baby’s Nails

The very best option for you is to cut the nails of your kid. Generally, it’s recommended to cut their nails once a week. However, their nails start to grow just in 2 days.

So, the thing you can do is – cut the nail twice a week. So it will be a matter of concern for you whether they scratch or not.

2. Use Mittens/Socks While Nursing

If you are lazy enough to cut your baby’s nails twice a week there is another option for you. You can just put on mittens or baby socks (hand) during nursing. Your babies shouldn’t react. Now they can continue scratching you without hurting you. 

If you are planning to use mittens then here is a warning for you. 

Avoid mittens that are made of polyester. It can cause irritation on the baby’s skin. With my experience, I would suggest MENOLY Magic Stretch Mittens. It’s made of soft acrylic and spandex fabric which is completely breathable. Besides, it produces enough heat that will be helpful in winter. 

3. Offer Your Child Toys

You Baby won’t stop scratching. To stop this on your skin you can offer them soft toys. Let them scratch toys such as rubber balls or sponge-like toys. 

Now if they are able to grab toys you can put hard toys inside their fingers. It should stop them from scratching, instead, they will clasp.

4. Play With Your LO’s Little Hand

The next thing Is quite easy and tricky. You can play with your baby’s hand whenever they try to scratch you. 

Hold their hand softly and slightly swing it right to left. It should make them distracted from scratching.

5. Bring Change in Environment

If you’re breastfeeding your kid in a bright room with noise around, I would suggest changing the environment.

Next time try to feed them in a darker and quiet environment. It should keep them more relaxed and calm. 

Now What If the Baby Keep Scratching Himself?

Just like a baby scratching you, the baby scratching himself is also a general behavior. You don’t have to worry about it. But when they scratch you it shouldn’t affect your skin so much. But when they search for themselves it should be harmful as their skin is softer.

Here the best advice is to keep their nails short. Always keep toys around them. Whenever you find them scratching their neck, head, or other organs, discourage them. And praise them when they avoid it. Another tip is to use mittens or hand socks.

Final Verdict

So, in the end, I would suggest if the baby is scratching you while nursing there is no need to panic. Let them scratch everything near them and grow up faster. However, I added some tips for you to get rid of this behavior. 

You can try any of them and continue nursing in relaxation.

 

About Sujana Vij

Hi, this is Sujana. I am an independent strong woman. My noteworthy identity is I am a mother of two children and also a baby site blogger. Besides, the part of my job I love to help parents by giving them useful and practical suggestions that I gained through many difficulties. Normally, we use many products or items for our baby. As a mother, I know how difficult to choose the best product for your baby. In addition, if you are a rookie parent then it's much more difficult. You might need to talk to real parents. That's why I share my experience and feelings upon the best baby products and parenting tips