baby mittens, when do they come off?

[steven888]

Hi, my baby is now 2 months old. She has been wearing baby mittens for the past 2 months because she constantly scratches her face. We know that baby needs to see her fingers to stimulate herself so we occasionally take the mittens off to let her explore, but don't know when do we should take it off all together. I would love to take it off right now, but the minute it comes off, she goes for her face. Any ideas, suggestions?

[Tondi G]

Take em off! Trim her nails and let her have her fingers/hands!

[elliput]

Your baby needs to get used to her hands in her face. Sure she may have a scratch mark here or there, but they disappear quick enough.

[kijip]

IME, baby mittens come off within seconds of being put on.

Sorry, just could not resist.

I would keep her nails short and smooth and see what happens. She will get used to her hands soon enough.

[niccig]

If you keep them on, check the insides for loose threads. You have to do that with socks as well. My DS had a loose thread from a sock wrapped around one of his toes, it was very tight -no damage done, but I mentioned it to the pediatrician and told that when he worked in the ER of a childrens hospital, he saw babies with damage to fingers and toes because of loose threads that got wound tight. Even though DS is 4 and old enough to tell me if something hurts, I still check the inside of his socks.

[o_mom]

We never used them at all. I bought nail clippers. :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

I never used them. Babies need their hands. They find comfort in them and it seems mean to cover them up, imo. Use a nail file.

Beth

[hillview]

Take them off.
/hillary

[caleymama]

I never used them. Sure, both DDs scratched themselves occasionally, but it was no big deal. Teeny nail clippers were my friend.

[bubbaray]

We used them until about 5m with DD#2 BUT she had severe eczema that resulted in her entire body being infected. Long story, but until she got the right treatment, we had little choice. We also had to swaddle her or she wouldn't sleep (most people don't swaddle that long).

With DD#1 we d/n use mitts or socks on the hands.

[swrc00]

My DS is two weeks old. At his doctor's visit this week, the doctor said cut his nails and keep the mittens off. I cut his nails and the ones that seemed a little too close I filed.

[rebeccaravit]

I never used them. I bf both kids and they needed their hands to root. I used to file their nails while they ate and we never had a scratch.

Seems that the longer they go w/o something the worse it gets........ is that why she goes straight to her face, since she's been unable to do so?

Just keep her nails trim. If you're nervous, wait until she's sleeping in the carseat and then it will be easier.

[JBaxter]

Ive had 4 kids and have never even owned a pair. Get a nail file and smoother her nails babies need to feel/explore with their fingers. I vote take them off ( but I would have also voted not to bother using them)

[DrSally]

Neither DS nor DD liked them, esp. DD. So, we never used them. I do agree that they need to see/suck their hands.

[steven888]

Well, I GUESS the general consensus is, "take 'em off!" Just what I thought. So now, the next question is...how do I convince my wife that this is the best step? She is so scared to see Katie hurt, that she will not listen to me. It's like an endless battle. Sometimes, I think that this is a minor problem, and I should save my energy for bigger battles. It's sooo exhausting! We just came back from the pediatrician's office for her first shots, and my wife was sooo freaked out, that she couldn't even be in the same room as the nurse. I took the day off to go with her instead.

[SnuggleBuggles]

At worst baby will get a scratch and even that probably won't happen.

Not every injury can be prevented and she just needs to accept that. When baby gets more mobile injuries will happen. She can try and prevent things- trim the nails, childproof well. But babies are not as fragile as they look. They don't hold a grudge and they heal fast.

Tell her that she is doing baby a disservice by keeping baby's hands away. She may even notice a happier baby. Those hands were a source of comfort in utero and I bet dd will be happy to have them back. :)

Beth

[DrSally]

Even if she does get scratched, the scratches are really superficial and disappear really quickly. The benefit of having access to her hands far outweighs a really superficial scratch once and awhile, IMO. Think of it as a metaphor for life. We can't live with "kid gloves" on forever.

[AngelaS]

We never used them either.