He bangs his head on the cot mattress to fall asleep. Every night now

basil_lantern_357410 Aug 2026

Started about two weeks ago. He gets onto his hands and knees and rocks, and then thumps his forehead into the mattress, quite rhythmically, until he drops off. Five or ten minutes. He doesn't seem upset while he does it, and he's cheerful in the morning. Daycare says they haven't seen it at nap time. I work with children with additional needs all day, so of course my brain goes straight to every checklist I know. I'm trying to remember that a single habit at bedtime is not a checklist. Anyone else's baby do this? Did it stop by itself?

1 comment

apricot_diary_927010 Aug 2026
very common at this age. rhythmic, at sleep time, child otherwise happy = mostly a self-soothing thing. mention it at the next routine visit if it worries you. try not to watch it on the monitor all night 😄
- basil_lantern_357410 Aug 2026
  Thank you. Saying it out loud to someone helped more than it should have. Writing this at 3 because he's at it again and I'm, of course, watching it on the monitor.
- teal_drum_837112 Aug 2026
  Replying to @basil_lantern_3574
  Our younger daughter rocked like this until she was about two. Hands and knees, rocking, some thumping. We tried going in every time and it only seemed to make it last longer, so we stopped reacting, and it faded over a few months. She's nine now and sleeps like a stone. I remember the 3 am monitor stage very well.