Strange baby behavior - we can't stop being scared....(long)

[Judegirl]

I know it's not an emergency, so I'm trying not to call the pediatrician, but dh and I are starting to freak out over the way dd has been acting lately.

It's 1:30 am, and dd is still awake, alert, and full of energy. Okay, fine. But when we lie her on the floor, she starts this dance - swinging her head from side to side and shimmying her hips at the same time, FAST. She's been doing this for days, and she grins when she does it, but it's happening a lot now - on the changing table, on the floor, in our arms. It's hysterical and adorable to watch... except that we're getting scared now.

When we try to feed her, she starts bobbing her head front and back super fast, coming off the nipple and back on while banging her head backwards and then into the bottle. She's grinning when she does this, too.

She's thumping her legs like crazy, and banging her arms down on everything she can - but she doesn't seem frustrated or in distress of any kind. She just seems like she's on speed. She laughs or smiles or screeches happily through all of this...for very long periods of time. Then she'll suddenly start blowing raspberries.

Last night we brought her back into the living room after umpteen unsucessful tries at sleep. We laid her on the floor. After rolling and crawling (not on all fours) around, she grabbed a dish towel, rolled onto her back, and started flailing it about, shaking it senseless and laughing louder and more heartily than ever before.

This is all happening on very little sleep; she was going to bed at 6-7pm before all of this started.

She just got two teeth in. She just started solids last week. She went from one-armed creeping to commando crawling in the past two days, so we were assuming it was related to all of this. But now it just seems...worrisome. Is she okay?? Why is she thrashing and spazzing about like this? What's up with the dance she's doing all the time...we're worried that something's wrong with her head...she shakes it, one way or another, a lot. She seems to be rubbing the back of her head on surfaces, like a bear trying to scratch an itch.

Please tell me that this is normal baby behavior, and we can just laugh at it and wait for it to pass. I've never seen a baby do these kind of things, or heard of it, so we're getting a little worked up over here. She seems fine physically...but we're worried about her mental state...does that make sense? What do you think? Anyone?

Thank you for anything you can offer...
Jude

[Rikkele]

I really think this is all normal baby behavior. Sounds like she has discovered the wonderful world around her and is just so excited and delighted with herself at all the great things she can do now. DD also doing a funny dance on the floor with knees pulled in and butt up in the air and then shoots her legs out behind her, fast, over and over - almost like a caterpillar but she isn't going anywhere. The thumping the legs up and down on the mattress is great fun for her and so is blowing raspberries and "spitting." I totally would not worry at all if I were you - just try to catch some of it on the video camera!

[C99]

I don't remember Nate doing anything exactly like what you described, but it's also 1 a.m. here and I'm TIRED (and pregnant and my little journal for him is upstairs in my bedroom where my husband {lucky!} is asleep). I'm going to guess that Riordan keeps doing the dance because you've reacted well to it in the past and she's learning now that she can create a reaction in her parents, make sense? I think that if she's happy while she's doing everything you describe, she's fine. Maybe she's just excited that she has such control over her body that she wants to exercise it at every opportunity?

[quikeye]

Wow, sounds like Kai lately. He's been not sleeping, but insanely hyper/active... I figure it's b/c he just learned to pull himself up and is doing it EVERYWHERE... I mean, we're nursing he's doing it, we're lying down he's doing it, we're out for a walk... etc. It's worst @ nite when we try to sleep (we co-sleep, so we're his mountains to conquer). But with the pulling up is this MANIA not to sleep (no naps! no bedtime!) which I think *fuels his fire* and makes him even more nutty and hyper. Like, he can't stop trying to pull up everywhere, even though he's tired... he'll do it 1/2 asleep, nursing to sleep, etc.

I neevr saw K do that dance though-- sounds cute :) I can say about the whole pulling off the nipple/bottle thing-- a few months ago K became WAAAY exccited when he figured out my nipple was making milk! He'd pull off while nursing, stare at it, pinch/pull/examine, pop on... pop off... repeat. Over & over; our nursing sessions started extending from a wonderful 5-10 min to a (boring) 30-45 min of popping :) ... He's still doing it, but not as obsessively. He did the same w/ his sippy cup.

With the head rubbing, it's the front of my son's head. He buries it in pretty much anything soft (lately, it doesn't ahve to be soft). DH thinks it's b/c he uses it to help prop himself up for standing (can't di it yet, but he's on all "fives" lately all over the place). He'll even try to scoot it on the floor (we have hardwood, so it kinda *sticks* instead of moves!) One day I think he'll flip himself over... :( And the blanket-- K loves pulling blankets/etc all over himself & then pulling htem off-- smaller blankets he plays peekaboo w/ himself, larger (comforter sized) blankets he'll bury himself under and then dig out... all the while laughing up a storm. He's my little weirdo. But nice to be so excited about everything.

I know it's not a lot of advice, but just wanted to lend a sympathetic voice from someone w/ a little insane one lately, too.

BTW, if you're concerned you shouldn't hesitiate to talk to your ped... They actually *do* hear it all and may love to hear yours. BEst of luck :)

[Judegirl]

Thanks for the replies...that's reassuring. Every day seemst o bring something weirder and weirder, and I've posted thinking it was teething or crawling or whatever, hoping lots of people would say, "Yes, my baby was kooky and wild too!" LOL. A few did, but then something else would happen and we'd start worrying again!

We'll do our best to just enjoy it, then, and run it by our ped when we see her.

Thank you!
Jude

[Momof3Labs]

Jude, you think it has been weird so far - you haven't seen anything yet!! I can almost guarantee that if you keep on looking for weird behavior, you will keep on finding more and more of it - as they get older, they come up with more, umm, interesting things to do. And when they see that mom and dad react - in any way - it only encourages the behavior.

ALL babies are kooky and wild in their own way, it is just easy to forget when you have a kooky and wild toddler running around the house!

[ALLEYCAT]

Wiley has had this type behavior for several months also. I thought he had autism he was so crazy, banging his head on the highchair, smacking himself in the face, blowing raspberrys and now shrieking. And shrieking, and shrieking...Our ped said this was normal so we just go with it.
I have noticed it gets worse when he does not get enough sleep.

[Judegirl]

Oh, thank goodness you posted this. That's exactly the kind of thing about which we were worried...I'm so glad you told me that Wiley has gone/is going through the same thing.

Riordan never gets enough sleep, so it's hard to gauge. But I'm sure the two are related.

Thank you, thank you!!

Jude

[barbarhow]

Oh yeah. They do weird stuff sometimes don't they. When Jack was that age he did something we called Riverdance. Yup. He would lie on his back on the floor with his arms by his side and kick his legs and kick and kick and kick. It was hysterical. But then we started to freak because he wasn't using his arms. "what's wrong with him??????" We made ourselves nuts! He also did this head shaking stint and some other stuff. It looks weird but it is all abou them learning control over their bodies and learning that they can get a reaction from us.
Tonight Jack did a standing Riverdance in the living room for all of DHs family. He had everyone rolling on the floor laughing. Still doesn't use his arms for that dance.
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03, a Red Sox fan
expecting #2, a Yankee fan, around 5/9/05!

[lablover]

I'm so glad to hear other babies do the head shaking thing! My DS will shake his head back and forth every so often when he's laying down, has been doing it for a while now, and every time I worry that there is something wrong in his brain! He'll do it for 5 seconds or so and then stop, and do it again. I even mentioned it to my DH once and told him it didn't seem normal but then I told myself it had to be some sort of developmental thing. But it's just so disconcerting when they do weird things like that! I'm sure his behavior will only get "weirder" as time goes on so I'd better get used to it.

[memedee]

My gs does this head shaking thing too.
I call it dancing and clap for him.Then he claps.
It kind of looks like a Ray Charles head thing side to side.It is odd and funny.Hes also opening up his arms real wide over his head like hes saying the whole wide world.Funny.
He is 13 months too.

[Melanie]

I recall a child-specialist saying in a class I took, after observing a dog-like head-shaking from a child, that it was a teething behavior.

[Buffys Mommy]

Jude,

Sarah was a night owl for months. I remember reading all the posts on here about kids sleeping at 6 - 8PM and freaking out because she would be wired for sound until midnight or later. And if I tried to put her down at 6 or 7 PM, she would take an "nap" and be up even later. She has just in the last month settled into a routine of going to sleep around 9PM.

As for the happy dance, like a PP said, Riordan is probably just so excited with her new found movement and abilities. Sarah went through a long period where she wouldn't stay on while nursing unless it was very quiet. Even now, she pops off quite often - which can be very annoying.

Hang in there - but also trust your mommy sense. If you think something is wrong, a call to the Ped won't hurt her. And if it gives you the piece of mind you need, then it is well worth it.

Tammie
Sarah Michelle 10/13/03

[barbarhow]

Last night Jack did some dancing that we decided was alternating between a Stevie Wonder thing with the arms in the air waving back and forth and Sammy Davis with some tap dancing. Like it or not DH, this boy is going to be a dancer!!!
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03, a Red Sox fan
expecting #2, a Yankee fan, around 5/9/05!

[lablover]

Interesting! DS has been cutting molars...hasn't been fun....