Question About Bouncing an Infant

B.,

Re. the reply that the DTaP vaccine causes shaken baby syndrome. I am an epidemiologist and public health professional. There is not any evidence supporting the link between shaken baby syndrome and vaccine! You sound like a concern mom and will use good judgment when reading website on the internet.

There was a recent pertussis outbreak at a private school in El Sobrante and they had to close the school. Pertussis (whooping cough) kills many young babies under 2 each year and is preventable with a vaccine.

Babies deserve to be protected against vaccine preventable diseases.

Both whooping cough and shaken baby syndrome are preventable!

My husband has bounced and thrown all of my boys with great vigor. They loved it! Never a problem. I'd say relax and try not to worry, she'll grow up healthy and strong.

Your baby is fine. This is just the beginning of years of worry. Just wait till you find out your 19 year old wants to quit school and buy a motorcycle and tour the country, or join the military to become a Navy SEAL.

The worry never ends.

I could be wrong but I think it is the foward backward motion that or side to side motion that you should worry about more than an up and down. Think of a 2 ft slender stick with a tennis ball stuck on the end.. Now hold it in your hand and bounce it up and down. not much movement at the top of the stick. Now jerk it side to side, back and forth. Here you see the movement at the top of the stick..similar to how the neck would be swaying at the same motion..

B.- Please don't worry too much! I have 2 beautiful girls, ages 5 & 9, and when my 5 yr old was a baby, we used to bounce her on our knees as well. I was also concerned about the whole shaken baby syndrome thing, but I am very pleased (and relieved!) to say that it didn't harm Kylie one bit! And, boy did that girl love to be bounced! Also, if your daughter was laughing and having a good time, chances are she is perfectly fine. I wouldn't worry one bit about it, unless she starts showing signs of something being wrong. Kylie used to get bounced on a daily basis, and she is already doing basic math problems...and she just started Kindergarten (she never attended pre-school)...today is her 3rd day! I am sure your little angel will be just fine!

Dear B.,
I'm sure that bouncing your baby as you described is perfectly okay. There is a huge difference between playing and bouncing and severely shaking your baby to the point of causing damage. Even if it wasn't hurting her and just scared her, she would have fussed or cried. As long as she was held securely and her little head wasn't snapping back and forth and she wasn't being roughly jarred....let her have fun bouncing!
My little cherub was a full-on head banger for a while when she got mad. On the fireplace hearth of all things. She turned out just fine.
I know what it's like to be a first time mom and I'm a bit of a worrier by nature. But you will know the difference between playing and being far too rough.

Best of wishes and don't be afraid to let your baby have some fun and bonding play time.

Well, I'm not a doctor, but I do remember my pediatrician telling me that bouncing games are not a serious concern. Certainly it would be possible, but the bouncing game would have to be extremely violent bouncing, with a lot of snapping of the head. She reassured me that this was not something a normal person would do with a child. She said that bouncing or shaking hard enough to cause injury is not something that is done by accident.

Hope this eases your mind!

B., I have seen first-hand the effects of shaken baby syndrome. As others have already mentioned, you would have known right away if something was wrong with your baby. The effects are noticeable, dramatic, and immediate. (Loss of muscle tone, eye movement, breathing, etc. There is no way not to notice.) The difference between playing with your baby (babies are quite a bit tougher and more resilient than we often give them credit for -- how would the human race have survived for so long otherwise?), and the violent shaking that causes SBS, is vast. The book probably mentions SBS in conjunction with bouncing for parents and caregivers who don't understand that difference (sadly, there are those who don't know how to lovingly play with a baby).

As others have mentioned, of course, you are the parent, and you should intervene whenever you feel uncomfortable. But if your baby is happy and enjoying herself (and laughing!), that should be a good indication that everything is A-OK. She'll let you know if she doesn't like a certain type of play.

Enjoy your daughter!

Hi B.,
I'm sure your baby is perfectly fine, especially since she was laughing. My peditrician mentioned none of the bouncing "stuff" until baby is at least a year old. She said she was probably being overly conservative, but since my pediatrician is pretty laid back, I tend to take her advice seriously. My father-in-law did this when my son could barely hold his head up. I nearly died! My husband happens to go to all of the well checks for my son, so he gets an earful of all kinds of good info. This is good for me b/c then I don't have to be "the bad guy!"

Bouncing is just fine... now trying to see if they bounce off of the floor... not a good idea. Sadly, the medical system has "created" shaken baby syndrome to cover up the mass epidemic that has been created from the Pertussis vaccine. It can cause swelling in the brain. Now I"m not saying that there aren't stupid parents out there in the world who get frustrated and shake the baby... but there are far too many to call it this and the rise sharply increased after the vaccine was added... especially when used in conjuction with the other two.
Have fun with your baby! If she is having a good time then go for it.
I KNOW I will be attacked for this information that i have presented... but I'm ok with that. Read The Sanctity of Human Blood by Dr. Tim O'Shea. He's a doc in San Jose.

Relax, no harm was done! Especially if your baby was giggling/laughing. But I being the mom of 4 little ones also have sat their watching w/that fine line of "cute, my baby's laughing" vs. "get the hell off my baby what are you doing"- some people bounce, some people shake them. Big lesson of being a mommy- if you feel uncomfortable, do what you feel is right for your child- do not worry about hurting another person's feelings. i.e. next time just take your baby and say something non-confrontational if you have to: "I'm sorry I'm a first time mom and I get scared w/any bouncing or shaking..." My best friend used to shake the heck out of my baby to calm her and it made me sick. So, I would rip her out of my friend's shaking arms (and she's a mom) and just pretend I had to run to the bathroom... note to self- you will not feel comfortable leaving your baby w/them bc of this.

i know that if your sister was just bouncing your daughter on her knee that more than likly no harm was done, Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is very serious and it would have to be a lot of bouncing and trying to harm your daughter for it to happen, you would know if she had been harm, she would be slow to respond and sleepy and such things. i highly dought that any thing has happend to your daugher.

Dont' worry. Baby lets you know if it is fun or doesnt feel good. Your sister wasnt abusively bouncing the baby was she? Baby laughing, I dont think so! They do say it is GOOD for babies to have both mom & dad cuz mom is more gentle nurturing soothing but kids need dads horseplay and tosses into the air and stuff like that TOO.

You would have to be too be bouncing too hard for your daughter to enjoy it for it to be a problem. I've never heard of a baby laughing through a traumatic brain injury, so your daughter is certainly fine.

I'd say as long as your daughter is enjoying the bouncing then it's an appropriate amount. And shaken baby isn't something that could be happening without you noticing anything was wrong, so breath easy.

What a good mommy, though, to be so vigilant about your daughter's well being.

T.

Hi B.,

Your baby would show symptoms pretty soon after so she is probably fine. I wouldn't do any kind of play that is bouncy or has jarring motions. Stick to gently wiggling her pudgy legs and flying airplane when she is strong enough to hold up her head.

Better to be careful than regretful!

E.

If your baby had been bounced too hard, you would likely see neurological symptoms such as those one would see after a concussion -- lethargy, nausea, changes in demeanor/behavior. While I'm sure it is possible to be bounced too hard, please keep in mind that people have been bouncing babies on knees for generations. Unless the bouncing was unusually rough (way up and down or severely side-to-side), I wouldn't worry about it. You can always ask your sister to bounce your daughter more gently (especially of she doesn't have kids -- she might not realize that babies' necks aren't that strong). That being said, if anything bad had happened, you probably would have noticed neurological changes by now (they usually show w/in 24 hours, 48 at most -- at least w/ concussions).

Gentle bouncing is very different than SBS. Gentle bouncing produces giggles and smiles, you know your child is enjoying it. Music, dance and play are all very good for our babies. We even have our child in a bouncing toy called a jumperoo that he loves. It's great for his muscle development and gentle enough for his head. SBS is often done out of frustration or anger, not enjoyment and love.

B.,
Just to ease your mind, this type of bouncing is FINE. Where your child was being held above her leg or knee. All my kids loved this so much. You'll know when it's harmful, and it sounds like the baby loved it too!
I use to put my babies on my foot,while holding them against my leg (they would hold on to my calf, the trick is to cross your legs so you have leverage) and I would raise & lower my foot & leg(faster as they got older) and sing...."Ride the horsey,
go to town,
Hurry up, but
don't fall down."
Then I would release my foot,so they kinda slipped off to the floor.....Boy they would laugh & laugh.....My kids (the youngest is 12) would still ask me to do it for them but I would break my leg. A friend of mine has a son who is now 4, every time I come over for a visit he says" lisa, ride the horsey?" .
Any type of shaking is no good,but bouncing? I just don't see it as a problem......and don't think twice about asking for some friendly advice WE ALL WORRIED more than we should have with our first child, that's why the second & third always seem so much easier. They aren't but we are not as worried anymore.....LOL
God Bless,
L.

Just keep in mind that books have to give advice to cover people of all intelligence and experience levels. It is easier to tell people "don't bounce your baby" than to hope that they know when it is too rough.

Just like, off the record most MD's will tell you a little beer or wine or caffeine occasionally while pregnant or nursing is perfectly fine-but of course the "party line" is to abstain from those items-since we can't trust people to know when it is too much.

If the activity did not cause you concern while it happened-it was probably totally fine. Additionally, you would know by now if it had caused a problem.

I wouldn't worry about her being bounced on the knee unless it was agressive like 3 ft high. As with anytime the babys head should be supported. You are the parent so dont hesitate to speak up if something is making you uncomfortable.