My son is showing some weird behavior lately, and I'm wondering if any of you have babies or know of babies who do this. My seven month old shakes his head "no" quite a bit. It started when he was six months and was just a half shake to one side. It almost seemed as if he wasn't in control of the movement, so I took him to the pediatrician because I was worried that there was something wrong. Of course he didn't shake his head at all while we were at the office! Our ped asked me a bunch of questions and said that it didn't sound like a seizure or anything, but was willing to refer me to a specialist if I was still concerned.
Now at seven months, my son often shakes his head back and forth both ways like he's saying "no." Many times he does this when he hears music, so I began to think that he might be dancing. He also does it at other times though. He might play for half an hour and shake his head almost constantly. Then again, sometimes he'll play for half an hour without shaking his head at all. A couple times he has shaken it just slightly while nursing. When he's playing and shaking his head, he acts completely normal otherwise. He still alert; he still smiles, babbles, and continues with whatever toy he's playing with. I had dismissed this as just a new trick he's practicing, but another mom saw him do this last week and confided that she thought there might be a neurological problem until she saw that he was capable of stopping the behavior for long periods as well. So that got me thinking again! Does anyone else's kid do this kind of thing? Should I be worried and see a specialist?
No need for alarm. My son did the very same thing. According to "What to expect:the first year" the head shaking is his way of learning that he has rhythm. My son would do it so violently that it would move his walker. We just played like he was saying "no,no,no." I even had video of it to confirm his motions with my ped. Be forewarned, my son now rocks as well. His father did it, and so did his father. All perfectly normal.
It's crazy but this post reminds me of a post I did about 4 years ago. My 7 months old started shaking his head side to side. It was like he was saying no but constantly, when he was happy or listening to music. We went to the neurologist and came out clean. My son is now 4 and we have finally gotten a diagnosis. He's autistic. I don't want to scare you, and he's probably just fine like my son is. He's a smart boy, but he has some social and behavior delays. The reason he sways back and forth is to deal with the stimulation, they just get so much emotion and excitement the swaying helps them to stay focused and channel that energy. Since he was 7 months old he's done other "odd" things, like grind his teeth, clench his jaws, clench his fists, but again these are all behaviors to deal with his energy. If you have any other questions, let me know. I'm not saying your child is autistic, but I just remember this exact symptom when my son was 7 months old.
Just FYI: shaking head and hands are diagnostic symptoms of autism ONLY if your child has outgrown the age at which they are developmentally appropriate. At 7 months, these are totally normal behaviors--they are experimenting with their bodies and ways of interacting with the environment. He's probably just rocking out. If he is still doing it at 3, it will need to be checked out.
All three of mine did this before age one whenever they were lying on their backs. They all got big bald spots in back, and they're all fine. My 7 month old daughter does it now, and I had to cut off the long dark "tail" below her bald spot because it looked way too weird! :) I wasn't worried, because they were "doing" the shaking, it wasn't "happening to them". Follow your gut, and get it checked, but most likely he enjoys the motion and friction!
Hi B.!
Call Early Intervention in your area to come out and do an assessment. Getting an appointment with a specialist could take months, but Early Intervention usually will come out to your house within the month and they will let you know if they have concerns regarding his development. Sounds like what they call 'self-stim' behavior which can be completely normal or could be a sign of a developmental issue...the best thing to do is always get it checked out by Early Intervention...it's a free assessment. Don't worry...it might be absolutely nothing! In the meantime enjoy your delightful baby!!!
Get it checked, preferably by a developmental pediatrician, just to be sure.
I have a similar story to some of the other moms - my son did this as a baby, I was told it was normal.
And he WAS fine, enrolled in regular school, etc. Then he regressed into autism at age 4.
Better to head off any problems early, and do your research on anything you decide.
Hey B.
My youngest son is all about movement! Shaking his head, bouncing, twirling... I really think that as your guy gets a bit older you'll see that he loves the different sensations that come with different movements!!! Enjoy watching him have fun with himself!!!
Sounds to me like he has found his head! All of my 5 kids at one extreme or another has done this heading shaking thing. It's like when they find their feet and keep kicking, they find their hands and fling them around, find their tongue and do raspberries... they shake it like they're saying no... because they can and it's a game. They can be doing it for many reasons. Some babies don't do it. Some do it sometimes. Some go completely insane shaking it all the time until they fall over, lol. I wouldn't be concerned at all.
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
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My grandmother remembers my son doing something similar at about the same age. I don't mean to scare you, but my son is now almost 3 and developed a seizure disorder in November. I would make an appt. with a neurologist just to be on the safe side. Good luck!
P.S.- they expect my son to outgrow the seizures by about age 5 so we are hoping and praying for that :)
Hi B.,
My son who is now 14 yrs old. Did the exact same thing at 7 months old. In fact I still remember it was on Halloween and we were ans. the door I was holding him in my arms and he kept moving his head back and forth. I was very worried at the time. I asked around and some people thought he had an ear infection. I took him to the Ped. and there was no ear infection. He did it at different times thru 8 months . I thought he might have some nuerological problem. Finally he stopped doing it.I still do not know what it was.I think he may just have liked the way it felt.or that he was tired.
He out grew it within the month and it was not a symtom of anything.
Hope your son has the same,Good luck,
L.
My daughter did this too and she was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 3. I told my doctor and they brushed it off. I thought it was an ear problem too but it was not. It is so difficult to know what is "normal". Some behaviors are normal and the child outgrows it and some mean there is a problem. My son had a lot of problems that were ignored (urinary and digestive) even though I repeatedly expressed concern and it turned out he had a blockage below his bladder. Had the doctor paid more attention to my concerns, it would have been found and corrected. As it was, it was not found until he went into kidney failure at the age of 21 months. Now his kidneys are destroyed and he will need a transplant. I have learned to trust my instincts, if you are concerned, get him checked out and NOT by a chiropractor but by a real doctor - a pediatrician or a specialist. It probably will be fine but better to know than to worry.
Did your Dr check out your sons' ears? Our son is 13 months old now and still does it some but started at 5 or 6 months and it was due to fluid in his ears and then the movement became a "learned" behavior. He actually developed a semi-circle bald spot around his head from rubbing his head against the high chair and car seat while shaking his head.
He does it now but not as much though he doesn't have fluid in his ears. I think he just got used to doing it and plus we tried to take advantage of the movement to teach "yes" and "no" (he still won't do "yes" but thinks its funny when we do).
Good luck.
we just had my 7 month old at the ped and she did not seem too concerned at all but scheduled an eeg for him to cover all bases.
Hey! I hope everything turns out alright! I would have him checked out, just in case...However, my daughter did that constantly! It started out when she was tired, pretty much as soon as she could shake her head in a "no" manner. If she got the slightest bit tired she would shake her head. She is doing great, she's now in Pre-K. My son who is 15 months does it when he's dancing or tired, he does it occasionally when I can't particularly pinpoint the reason, but he's doing great also. Like I said, I would have him checked out, just to be sure, but he may be just playing in his own way, too! Hope this helps.
Hi, B.:
Take him to the physical therapist, or a chiropractor.
Hope this helps. D.
