The Planking Baby

Do you have a baby that loves to plank? If they do the below then the answer is a big YES. By planking, I mean that the baby makes their legs stiff and also their torso, which means they don’t want to sit down or lie down at all.

• I try and put the baby in the pram and this is met with stiff legs, arching back, screaming and carrying on.
• I attempt to put the baby in the car seat and he stands up. I try and make him sit down but he ends up with stiff legs and a very tight stiff little body that resembles a plank. He then turns over and just tosses and turns which makes it even harder to put him in the seat and to finally attempt to put the seat belt on him.
• I want to change his nappy and take him to his room where the change table is and all of the nappies and supplies, and yes you might have guessed it. He tightens up makes his legs super long and straight and will not allow me to put him on the table. He yells and screams and I think it is a reaction to not wanting to go to bed now. I tell him that all I want to do is to change his nappy but he continues with his planking efforts and struggling so much that it is a fight to just get a nappy off him and put the new one on.

I am not understanding why normal things that you have done without an issue before have suddenly become a fight. My little boy has been doing this for a while now and I think it started at about six months or so.

I’ve tried a different tact. I played with him for a bit. I blew raspberries on his belly, arms and legs, plus tickled him under the arms to great giggles of delight. Once we had a bit of playtime I tried again with the reason I was in his room in the first instance, to change his nappy. That did not go well as he thought we were playing and it was all fun and games. At least he was happy with the games and tickles.

Has this happened to you? Suddenly you have a baby that fights you with getting in the pram, the car seat and getting his nappy changed? The twins did not do this and I for one am finding it difficult as the twins are always at each other lately, and now it feels like everything is such a struggle.

I wondered if this was happening to other mums so I looked online. The answer is yes other babies are doing the same thing. I really don’t remember the twins doing this and some of the answers say that babies get stiff legs and don’t want to be in the pram, car seat or get their nappy changed. This is due to being frustrated, playing or just not wanting to have this happen to them. I cannot pick the times that I want to change a nappy, sometimes it just needs to happen. I had two prime examples of this today, the baby did back-to-back skanky poos and that had to be changed immediately! Although the baby did his planking and turning I soldiered on and managed to get him in a fresh nappy without making a mess. Winning so far!

I know it would be frustrating not to be able to communicate with the people around you and make things difficult for your mum or dad by wanting to stand when you are really wanting your child to sit means that the kid is trying to control the situation.

Is this the start of Alexander telling me that he doesn’t want to do something? If it is, I hope not. My little baby boy needs to come along regardless of whether he likes to or not.  I already have two kids that think they are future lawyers due to their skills in questioning and trying to change the situation, I don’t need a third yet.

Let me know if you have a baby that loves to plank when you just want them to sit or do something else.

How have you handled the issue of the tight legs and the carrying on when you just want the kid to sit in their car seat so you can leave the shops?

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