9 month old is frequently..*ahem "self-stimulating..."

[catters]

So, DD just turned nine months old. I'd say she is developmentally normal through and through. But, recently she has begun to "rock" constantly in her car seat, high chair, exersaucer, ERGO!!...
Now, ever since she was brand new, she would fall asleep with her head on my shoulder and we'd be holding her with one arm under her bottom and I guess she was doing this rocking thing until she fell asleep. Not until NOW did I realize that this is what she was doing almost every time she fell asleep!
I discussed this with my pediatrician who assured me it is quite normal, but DS has NEVER done this. (is he NOT normal?! AGH!) So, at first I was like, "Okay, cool, you know, it's totally normal, the limbic system unhindered by the cerebral cortex, all good". But it's A LOT. So, of course, I Googled.
And suddenly there are all these articles about babies who regularly "self stimulate" have high rates of all sorts of emotional and mental disabilities!
She seems completely happy and healthy otherwise. I definitely do not want to assign this as a problem, but seriously, EVERY time she's in her high chair? EVERY time she tries to fall asleep? EVERY time she gets into the car seat? EVERY time she is in the exersaucer? EVERY time in the Ergo?!

Is it just a phase?! Anyone else? Thank... (BTW: I searched for this topic and found NOTHING here on MDC...eek!)

[hildare]

since you discussed this with your pedi, i'll assume you did, but just to check:
did you rule out any sort of infection? vaginal or uti? it could be itchiness and not stimulation.

it could also be a habit, like nursing to sleep. or it could be that she's discovered how fun those parts are to rub! If so, it's bound to pass. You might try distracting her or trying to get her to find another habit to substitute, if that's the case.. and even if you had her tested for an infection, you might revisit that; sometimes they don't show up or aren't considered to be an infection if the numbers don't fall right on the doctor's scale, but could still be enough to bother your dd. kwim?
good luck!

[GreenGranolaMama]

Hey Mama, I guess I am confused- when you say self stimulating, do you mean she is just rocking back and forth, like her entire body is rocking back and forth, or self stimulating meaning she is touching her vagina? *

I know when babies are about to reach a milestone, they sometimes pick up little, for lack of a better word, 'habits' because they are concentrating so hard/ so excited with what is going on.

When I was still working as a home visiter, I had a client whose 9mo would rock back and forth and flap his hands at the wrist every time he was excited, concentrating etc... it was almost like a coping mechnasim. He soon grew out of it though.

*ETA: Not that it really matters, from what I've read, both behaviors are completely and totally normal. My 9mo DS 'found' his diaper area when he was 4mo and very regularly explores that part of his body. He also has a clenched fist, wiggle dance type of thing he does when he is thinking/super excited/ over stimulated.

[catters]

^Yes, to be specific, she is rocking her body but really concentrating on rubbing her girl bits specifically on whatever happens to be between her legs (ie. the car seat strap, the high chair bar, exersaucer, etc.). She sort of glazes over and makes little grunts (oh, and clenches her fist and sort of raises her arm...). Oh, I KNOW that that is what she is doing and the pediatrician agreed that this is the case, but it sort of JUST started when she went in for her nine month visit, and since then, she,well, does it ALL the time whenever she is in the situation when something is between her legs, or, in the instance of going to sleep, our arm is under her bottom. I mean, I "know" discovering that area is normal development, but the regularity of this activity is what concerned me enough to post a topic . I suppose it is likely a phase. As in, she's just figuring out this feels good, etc. I certainly don't want to draw any negative attention to it, as I don't want her to have negative associations, of course, so as it is now, I do just try to distract her. I had never even thought about a possible infection as she doesn't seem to be red or any odor, or really bothered down there. But I will certainly be alert to this possibility.

I was thinking that this could be associated with a milestone. She's on the verge of walking now AND she has just pushed through her first tooth and I can see that three more are ready to come too. So, we'll see. I was just hoping someone else would be like, "Oh yeah! My DD/DS did that ALL the TIME for a while and it was just a phase. Eventually they tapered off".

Thanks for the responses y'all.

[Buzzer Beater]

My DD did this off and on through baby/toddler/child hood... I remember being a bit disconcerted about it too. Luckily she was very social and normally when other people were around she'd be more interested in them. On occasion we did talk to her about privacy for that. Just to let you know, she's almost 19 now, off at college, and perfectly normal as far as I can tell!

[hedgehogs4]

Totally normal happy little discovery for your DD She's too little to give a "in your room when your alone talk" obviously so your choices are to either ignore or distract, but either way totally healthy, normal behavior!

[sugarpop]

Glad to hear I "was" normal at some point in my life...yes you read that right "I". And I was being funny I am still normal. My mom mentioned to me that I apparently had a facisination as a small child. To the point that I wore the crotch out of things, underwear I think...maybe pants but I can't imagine that. Anyhow, I am a completely "normal" well adjusted not overly facinated or sexual being these days. I don't remember my facination so it must have worn off quite young. And according to my mom I did the same sort of rubbing on things...and was too young for the "in your room talk" as well.

OK now I feel a bit awkward...but I just wanted you to know that you aren't the only one, people must just not talk about it. I am glad you brought it up, now others won't worry when they see there children start this too.

[JayJay]

Well okay let's take this apart a bit - other posters have mentioned it's normality and I completely agree: totally normal, and hey, she's discovering her body and what an amazing thing it is! However, let's take it's mechanics into consideration when thinking about things: this is a fascination thing, a "what do we have here?" thing, not anything deviant or odd.

When I say mechanics, I mean simply that when one rocks a certain way against that certain part of the body, it's possible to elicit a kind of "ping" from the girl part that then involuntarily sets off a reflex in both legs - know what I mean? That, if discovered, is probably a really fascinating sensation to a little one. Am I making sense? I betcha that's what's so interesting about this particular movement, nothign sexual but instead an exploration of the reflexes. XxX

[catters]

Thanks for the reassurances, everyone! I definitely don't think she's at all doing anything deviant . But it IS quite a fascination with her right now. The few other IRL mamma's I've mentioned this too were like, "Huh? My child never did that!".

[lilacblue]

My dd just turned one year and she just started this. I noticed it when she was sitting in her highchair and I first thought she was just uncomfortable and trying to get out. But then it continued every time.

I figure it is a normal stage. I try to distract her and I keep the time in the chair limited. For example sometimes I would dillydally getting her food together while she sat there and that is how she would amuse herself..I guess. LOL So now I move a little quicker to get the food in front of her. I don't want to make it a negative thing, but I don't want to let it become a natural part of the dinner routine!

[wombatclay]

The few other IRL mamma's I've mentioned this too were like, "Huh? My child never did that!".

It's possible they never noticed... or not connected what they saw with what they think of as self-stim. There was actually a bit about it on an episode of House a few years ago.

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

It's possible they never noticed... or not connected what they saw with what they think of as self-stim. There was actually a bit about it on an episode of House a few years ago.

That's right! I remember that episode of House - that bit was very funny!

[fyrwmn]

it may just be a soothing/"stress"relieving type sensation to her too, much like sucking one's thumb. when dd found her girly bits, we simply began reminding her to be gentle with them. as i recall, she was on the younger side when she discovered them.

[KempsMama]

Ever since DS1 found his "wee wee" (his term, not ours) he's been enthralled. Every diaper change or nakey time his hands are all over it. He's two now, and this still happens, and I don't worry about it. He gets erections, and fiddles with it during diaper changes, and will not let me touch it at all-I've had to teach him to clean under it with a wipe himself, as he hasn't potty learned and has a bit of an issue with, erm, frumundu cheese in the a.m. Although on a completely unrelated note, this is all but gone now that we cloth at night.

A couple of weeks ago he was playing with it in the tub, and peed all over his face. For days he told everyone "I pee pee on my head!!!"

[TiredX2]

Totally normal. I think kids do this a lot more than people realize (because they don't think of infants as sexual, kwim, so they don't see it that way). We have friends who are very anti-masturbation (as a religous thing) and it took them quite some time to realize that their daughter was doing this *often*.

That said...

You mentioned the car seat. Please make sure the straps are tight enough. You should NOT be able to pinch any strap horizontally--- it should be that snug.