If I heard someone asking a question like “why does my baby shake his leg” during my college days, I would have laughed for a few minutes. But, I am a mother of three boys now and have spent my share of days waking up in the middle of the night to check whether the baby is still breathing. I am a pediatrician, and people think I did not do those craziest mom things after giving birth. Well, all of us are females evolved to be careful about our offsprings. Does not matter how many times we graduate, we will always be the mothers staring at the babies thinking if we are doing everything right.
The babies move their legs and arms from day one of their life. But it worries the parents when they do it more often, and the movements start to look abnormal. Nobody can blame you for being too conscious about your baby. I have seen more than enough cases where mom instinct saved the lives of the littles ones. Shaking a leg is a harmless behavior that is normal to the babies, although there can be rare cases that might need medical intervention. This article addresses the reasons why your baby shakes his leg so you will know when to worry.
CONTENT
1. Why does my baby shake his leg?
2. When to be concerned about leg shaking?
1. Why does my baby shake his leg?
Immature nervous system.
Your baby has a nervous system that is still developing. The brain tells our body what to do, and the nervous system carries that message to the relevant part of the body. There will be disconnections in this process as your baby’s nervous system is not fully developed yet. If the brain sends the message to move the baby’s leg, it will result in a little leg shake due to the immaturity of the nervous system.
These movements will not be restricted to the leg as the immaturity of the nervous system impacts the entire body. This shaking happens without the knowledge of the baby. You do not need to worry if your baby continues to do what he is doing and does not notice the movements in his legs.
Mucous Myoclonus
Do you remember those times you dreamt of falling from a stair and suddenly woke up? We feel like we are actually falling from a higher place, and our bodies move to respond to that. Our babies too experience this falling effect. The medical term Myoclonus is referred to call this feeling. Nocturnal Myoclonus is also another term for this condition.
This can be caused by a natural reflex that happens within the body of the baby or something that happened around the baby such as switching on a light or a subtle noise. The baby will shake and wake up. But he will fall back asleep soon.
Moro Reflex
Moro reflex is a sudden movement in your baby’s body. You will see your baby spreading his arms and legs at once. Moro reflex happens when your baby’s system responds to a surprising phenomenon in the surrounding of the baby. But your baby does not do it on purpose, and he will not even know what happened.
Until your baby grows out of Moro reflex around three to six months of age, it will be a common occurrence. The baby will spread his arms and legs as much as possible while arching their back. Many babies do this in sleep. But some babies will have their eyes wide open after a Moro reflex. You can always comfort your baby with a hug if he is surprised and upset.
Showing resistance.
Your baby cannot talk, and he needs to use other ways of communication to tell you what he needs. If your baby shakes his legs vigorously while changing a diaper or wiping him, your baby might be showing his dislike to what you do. It is not news that babies hate diaper changes. There is nothing to worry about if your baby shakes his legs only during diaper changing sessions. Read this article to know how to deal with a baby who hates diaper changes.
It can also be a sign that your baby is hungry. He does not know that he should wait till you hit send in that urgent email. When the baby has an intense hunger and wants you to know about it, he will cry and shake his legs. If leg shaking happens when it is past his meal time and followed by a cry, you can be sure that the reason is hunger.
2. When to be concerned about leg shaking?
Seizures are something that parents do not even want to think about when it comes to their babies. One or two spaced seizures will not be a big health risk, but it still is concerning to the parents. These few signs to identify a seizure that needs medical attention.
- Every episode shows up in the same way, each time. They are indicating symptoms that are identical to each other.
- The baby is alert, and no identifiable change in the surrounding has happened to cause a reaction. The posture of the baby remained the same throughout the episode of shaking.
- The movements happening are symmetric and rhythmic. If you can notice a particular pattern or in these strange movements, your baby is probably experiencing a seizure. Their hands, feet, arms will also be shaking to the same rhythm.
- You have held the legs or arms of the baby, and it did not stop the shaking. If it is not a seizure it must stop as soon as you touch your baby’s leg or arm.
- The babies who experience seizures tend to have no other health problems except the seizing episodes. They are healthy and reach developmental milestones on time.
