Palm Kisses and Sleep

[october]

My daughter is 5 months old today.

For the last month or so, kissing her palms has had an incredibly soothing and pleasurable affect on her. When she began having her 4 month regression in sleep, I found it difficult to guide her to sleep at night.

HOWEVER,

I discovered that kissing her palms will cause her to immediately settle down, stop flailing and moving about, and her eyes roll back into her head and she falls asleep.

I feel like I found the holy grail. (Which makes me realize this just can't last!)



Anyone else experience this with palm kisses?

If you haven't tried it, it can't hurt! Let me know if it works for you!

[Blessed1]

Wow, never heard of it...I am going to try it!! thanks for sharing!

[annettemarie]

I've never heard of it, but it's very sweet.

With all of my babies, if they would start to get restless, I would reach over and hold their little hands or let them hold my finger and it would help settle them down. It still works with my three-year-old!

[cocoanib]

So sweet!

Originally Posted by annettemarie

I've never heard of it, but it's very sweet.

With all of my babies, if they would start to get restless, I would reach over and hold their little hands or let them hold my finger and it would help settle them down. It still works with my three-year-old!

This is what works for DD. I let her hold my hand or play with my fingers and she relaxes.

[Ldogg]

Love it! And I'm totally going to try it.

[Devaskyla]

Ds3 still LOVES having me kiss his hands when he's tired. He's also fallen asleep by sticking his hand IN my mouth.

[BunnySlippers]

Yup
that and slowly stroking dd's face with my fingers tips would knock her out as well.

She is 8 and I can still put her to sleep with tracing her face, but i save the palm kisses for when she is sleeping and my heart aches to hold her as I did when she was a baby.

[october]

Originally Posted by BunnySlippers

Yup
that and slowly stroking dd's face with my fingers tips would knock her out as well.

She is 8 and I can still put her to sleep with tracing her face, but i save the palm kisses for when she is sleeping and my heart aches to hold her as I did when she was a baby.

I almost cried. That is so sweet. <3

[NicolleLynne]

Originally Posted by october

I almost cried. That is so sweet. <3

Same here. What a lovely reminder to us newbies to cherish this precious time!

[Knitting Mama]

That made me cry too!

For my Cecilia, it's gentle stroking of her hair, down to her scalp (not petting the top of her hair) or stroking from between her eyes down to the tip of her nose.

[jsh7809]

Awww! That is awesome, I"m going to try it.
I have been stroking her hair (or scalp, she's pretty bald ) because that's what I find soothing on my head. Mostly she still needs to suck to calm down but even that is cute now that she grabs my finger and pulls it to her mouth.

One thing that I remember from being little and starting kindergarten is my mom giving me a bunch of kisses on the back of my hand, and then telling me "whenever you get lonely, just touch the back of your hand to your cheek, I gave you 100 kisses so you won't run out". So cute! I can't wait to do that for S when she's older too

[BunnySlippers]

Aww, now you guys are making me cry *sniff*

loved those baby moments for sure

[ShanaV]

So sweet!!! My mil was here a few weeks ago and said she would hold dh's little hand/s when he was wiggly or slightly fussy in bed, and she worked the same magic on my boys too. I use this trick now too, and it really helps. Now I will add little kisses in to the mix for more love and comfort. Thx for the tip!

[akat]

I've always kind of held my kids' hands a lot while they nurse [often to sleep], but since I read this thread I've been doing it more methodically and WOW does it work like a charm.

My guy is 7 mo. old, getting his top two teeth, and starting solids, so he's been really fussy getting to sleep.

I tried kissing his palms, they are a bit sweaty and I have to pry the hand open, it doesn't seem to hit the spot. But I hold his hand tightly wrapped around my finger and kiss the backs of his fingers...he literally closes his eyes and falls asleep in 15 seconds. Real 15 seconds, not a figure of speech.

Why haven't we ever talked about this before?

[shotmama]

i do that to my 10 month old to get her out of a bad mood while cuddling before a nap! she giggles and then it's easier to get her relaxed after that.

something i learned from an acupuncturist friend of mine ::

for teething babies, there is a lot of added pressure in the ears from saliva, so if your LO loves to sleep on his/her side, this can be pretty uncomfortable. gentle massaging from behind of the lower side of ear (against the head, not the ear itself), going down slightly along the jaw line, to under the chin, helps reduce the pressure!

to be honest, i'm not sure how it works but it always works like a charm with my LO (8 friggin teeth with molars coming in already)! she might just like the massage, who knows? sometimes she starts complaining when i stop doing it though, hehe.

[cocoanib]

I love hearing all these sweet stories. Such loving Mama's

Originally Posted by akat

I tried kissing his palms, they are a bit sweaty and I have to pry the hand open, it doesn't seem to hit the spot. But I hold his hand tightly wrapped around my finger and kiss the backs of his fingers...he literally closes his eyes and falls asleep in 15 seconds. Real 15 seconds, not a figure of speech.

Why haven't we ever talked about this before?

Awww
I know right. Seems like the hands are the sweet spot for getting little ones to relax.

Originally Posted by shotmama

i do that to my 10 month old to get her out of a bad mood while cuddling before a nap! she giggles and then it's easier to get her relaxed after that.

something i learned from an acupuncturist friend of mine ::

for teething babies, there is a lot of added pressure in the ears from saliva, so if your LO loves to sleep on his/her side, this can be pretty uncomfortable. gentle massaging from behind of the lower side of ear (against the head, not the ear itself), going down slightly along the jaw line, to under the chin, helps reduce the pressure!

to be honest, i'm not sure how it works but it always works like a charm with my LO (8 friggin teeth with molars coming in already)! she might just like the massage, who knows? sometimes she starts complaining when i stop doing it though, hehe.

I'm going to try this tonight.

[MCPM]

I wonder if there is a pressure point there or something. I know there's one on the top of the foot for getting to sleep.

[Deir]

Originally Posted by BunnySlippers

Aww, now you guys are making me cry *sniff*

loved those baby moments for sure

Darn!! I am crying too!!!!LOL

[ChocolateNummies]

Awwww... I'm crying too.

This makes me think of

Song for a Fifth Child
by- Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

[gardenmommy]

Originally Posted by ChocolateNummies

Awwww... I'm crying too.

This makes me think of

Song for a Fifth Child
by- Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

That is sooo sweet! I think I need to print that off and read it. Lovely!