My Sons Hands

Enjoy the tiny newborn. He will be opening the hands with time and starting to reach out for things. Congratulations on a baby boy!
H.

My friend's little girl did this and the worst part was the stink that came from that area because it was so hard to clean her hands! It will pass! Just a phase.

Not too worry :-) They will open up but it may not be until he is 4 or 5 months old. I had the same concern and all is fine. Remember he is only 7 weeks old...still very very young. Enjoy and do not worry.

He's fine. My son only started to open his hands when he was 10-11 weeks and he still clenches pretty tight. His hans are only relaxed when he's sleeping. YOu can stroke the back of his hand to make him open it, but that may not work for a few more weeks!

My second born (out of four) did this until about 3-4 months. He is now 23 and perfectly normal. :0) The worst part for me was the debris he would collect in his fist - yuck! That baby did end up being my most "high strung" child, so you might want to do some baby massage on him, play soothing music, and just give him the most calming environment you can. Bottom line - normal behavior. Nothing to worry about.

Hi,
He will grow and start using his hands in time. There are a lot of things that your baby will do earlier or later than other babies. Try not to compare and worry about things like this.

Dear Angelina,

Spend a lot of time with him, playing, showing him something interesting, something cool, something warm, just play and laugh and be happy, he will open his own hands. C. N.

don't worry it is completely normal. My son still perfers that his hands are that way when he isn't playing and he is 11 months old. It doesn't happen as much as when he was younger but soometimes he will hold his bottle with fisted hands and I open them for him.

NORMAL!!! Don't worry mama! :)

When you open them and put your finger in his hand does he grasp it? I had 2 preemies and neither one of them stopped balling up their fists until 3-4 months. I am a professional photographer and photograph a lot of newborns and babies. Most all of them do this. I have even seen 5-6 month olds do this too! I think this is perfectly normal as long as he has use of them.
Hope this helps!
J.
Giggle Moon Photography
http://www.gigglemoonphotography.com

Hi Angelina,

My son who is 13 years old, was born with the same problem, I thought it was "a problem", well it has never been. It took me 6 months of exercise with massages, playing with soft balls and just giving him toys he could grab and play with. It will go away. I took him to the doctor and he said that some kids are just like that and this wasn't a problem at all.

R..

This is normal and he will outgrow this once he starts using his hands more to explore. Both my son and daughter did this until they were around 4 - 5 months.

My four month old is finally opening up his hands and reaching for things. This seems very normal to me!

Hello, Angelina,

Have you looked in craniosacral therapy? This could be extremely useful for you and your son.

My very best,

T.

Hi - No, I think it's very normal! You're just in the "new mom" phase where everything is so new and you haven't seen it before. There's another weird thing about little hands - they are so soft that everything kind of sticks to them for years, like they've got a bit of adhesive on the palms! It's adorable - everything so adorable. So just kick back, don't worry, and enjoy the ride.
M.

Just remember to open the hands up daily and clean them well, you'd be surprised how dirty they can get when they are all bunched up like that all day, especially between the fingers.

Just continue to massage them. You can also put something in his hands like a rattle, rolled up baby wash cloth or something of that nature. He will eventually open up his hands.

Angelina,

My son did the same thing. It's very normal. I used to count to one through five with my hand in front of his face and it would calm him and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle" to him with the open and closed hand movements. He loved to watch it and soon he was opening and closing his hands all the time.

Blessings,
M.

Hi Angelina,
It is perfectly normal for his hands to remain fisted. He will begin to grasp objects around 3-4 months but will likely keep them fisted the majority of the time even up to around 6-7 months. You don't need to exercise them, just open them up and wipe them clean daily. It is a primitive reflex that will integrate when his nervous system is ready. Don't give it another thought or worry. Enjoy your bundle!

Hi Angelina - I think it's normal.
I have an 11-week-old girl and she kept her hands in fists all the time until recently. I would find dirty sticky lint in there when I finally pried her hands open. (Not sure how the lint got in there!)
Now she still makes fists part of the time but is starting to grab stuff and keep her hands open. I still find sticky lint, unfortunately. :)

-R.

Hi Angelina, I think it is normal, I have a 7 week old in my daycare and her hands are always in a fist as well. You don't want to try and open them, with to much force, but i knpw for this baby, i am going to start putting things in her hands, so she gets used to gripping. J.

Hi Angelina,

My son (now almost 8 months) did the same thing when he was very little. At some point (maybe 3 mos, I can't quite recall), he started clenching his feet as well. When he was about 3 or 4 months old, he started using his hands more to grasp and grab. Now he seems to want his hands occupied nearly all the time, and when he is without a toy he does a lot of waving, grasping with fingers, looking at his hands, and the like. I believe this is all pretty average. The one thing that bugs me a bit is that when he is very tired or overtired, he tends to clench and unclench his fingers over and over again. I would imagine, without having done any research on it at all (because he is happy and healthy otherwise), that this is linked to his generally being very alert and interested in what's going on around him.