Not sure where to post: Absolutely HATES having her face wiped

[CaitlynsMom]

Hi there! I've only posted here once before and appreciated the help I recieved and now I need more advice. My DD is almost 9 months old and feeding solids is almost like torture. We have difficulty getting through a meal without her fussing/crying but the real challenge comes at the end of the meal when I have to wipe her face. She totally freaks out and I mean freaks out. She gets so worked up that it takes a few minutes to calm her down and all this from the facecloth! I have considered many things like is the cloth too hot/cold, too rough, am I wiping too hard and have consequently tried different textures of cloths (even baby wipes), and wiping so soft that I'm hardly touching her at all. I've tried distracting her with toys, singing, feeding her water and nothing works. Has anyone ever experienced this and if so do you have any advice or tricks I can try? I just dread mealtimes because I know I will have to deal with a major meltdown while wiping her face. Thanks in advance for your help!

Karen

[Sylvia.]

i remember this time so well, dd was the same, she had a dirty face a lot of the time, eventally she got over it, she even asks to get it wiped these days, hang in there, sorry i don't have any advise

[JennŠ]

Totally normal.  We make a game of it and say silly stuff like "washa washa".  Also pretend cleaning when she is not eating.  It helps some.   

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Ds is still like this. We too make it into a game - I pretend to wipe my face first "oooo, Mummy's face is so dirty", and making silly noises whilst I do it. Then he allows me to do it - I have to do the silly noises though

[Lola]

M hates it too. However, apparently i have made the cloth really wet lately adn when i wipe her face now she licks the cloth, so apparently she doesn't mind so much.
the other we do that she likes is to run some warm water in teh sink and i put her over my arm, face down and use my other hand to wipe her face with teh water! She thinks that is great fun and plays with the water coming from the tap!!
 

[teezee]

we also make a game out of it and say/make funny sounds. i also make up songs and sing them and that really gets her attention away from what i am actually doing

[mrs_kat]

I use baby wipes to clean Kenzi's face, and she's more content if I give her one first to play with (read: suck and chew on).  She still squirms, but at least she's not screaming.

[Marisa's Mom]

Ah yes... I remember those days with DD. She HATED having her mouth/face wiped during or after meals. A dry napkin or dry bib were the worst, and we only used those when we had no other choice. If we're out, I'll use a baby wipe. At home, I used a warm wet baby washcloth. In the early days, she hated being wipes so much that she would turn her head to one side. This would actually HELP me wipe her face.    Just hold the warm wet washcloth still while she turned her head, it was like a "self wiping" system.  Of course she didn't know that she was helping.

It's been many months since we started eating solids, and she STILL hates having her mouth wiped. However she will tolerate it if I do it quickly. Like diaper changes, she's figured out that it is one of those unpleasant things that will get done...

Good luck!

[sophiem]

Both my girls were like that. We did animals sounds while wiping or we have washcloths with Winnie the Pooh. Winnie would give her a "kiss" HTH

[CaitlynsMom]

Thank you all so much for the advice....I've tried making sounds/singing songs and washing my own face too and she doesn't seem as bothered lately. I guess it's just one of those things we have to stick it through!!

K

[andibig]

yes DD hates having her face wiped. like pp said we make a game of it

[Minibird]

My DD hates it too.  I read this thread hoping to find a miracule cure   .   As everyone has said, make a game.  I have found that using a natural sponge is very good at getting the food off with minimum wiping - especially round the nose!

[Mum to Ella Rose]

One thing we found that helped a bit (though maybe your lo is too young?) is to stand in front of a mirror and show her what we were doing. Don't know why, but it made a difference! 

Sharon

[tstasko]

dd isn't too too bad, but surely doesn't enjoy it.  like others said, we make a game - but what seems to work best (when we have the time!) is that i take her into the kitchen, run the tap water to lukewarm, and she gets VERY excited (she LOVES running water..) and i let her watch the water and make excited sounds.... and then i swooooosh in her (usually green/orange/yellow - depending on what she had for the meal!) hands and giggle and then do my hands and then hers again and then with my wet hands sneak in a wipe....lol....it works! 

[molynekl]

My son had this problem, but what we do now is give the wet washcloth to him.  His holding it gets the gunk off his hands and like everything else he can get his hands on, the cloth goes to his mouth.  Yes, a lot of it goes into his mouth, but the rest cleans up the residue all around it.  I still have a few stray particles here and there, but nothing he gets upset about my cleaning.  He actually gets excited when he sees the wet washcloth coming now.