Ear Piercing for Babies Without Pain: 5 Tips
Rowan has completely transformed the ear piercing experience for infants, children, and adults alike. Ear piercing for infants is often clinical, simply focusing on safety and efficiency. However, Rowan has created a celebratory medical ear piercing experience, that is not just a milestone for the infant, but for families as well!
What does medical ear piercing for babies look like?
Truthfully, it looks similar to any other medical ear piercing we complete! Whether five months old, five years old, or fifteen years old, the process remains the same. We arrive at your home at whatever time works best for you. Being in your home environment already reduces everyone’s stress!
At this point, nurses often go over the procedure and aftercare instructions. This gives parents and opportunity to ask questions and confirm their selection of Rowan’s hypoallergenic earrings. Luckily, all of Rowan’s ear piercing studs are hypoallergenic, making your choice that much easier!
Nurses will start by washing our hands, cleaning our piercing device, and donning gloves. We assess baby’s ears, cleanse the front and back of the ear with alcohol, and mark small dots with a single use sharpie. Parents will have the final say on placement. At this point, we will clean the ear again, insert the sterile cartridge into the device, and ask you to hold your baby. Then, it’s time to pierce!
Do Ear Piercings for Babies Hurt?
Piercing is not incredibly painful in and of itself, but of course it hurts a bit! The stress that leads up to the experience can definitely contribute to a painful experience. These five tips are designed to reduce stress in your infant (and you!) and make the baby ear piercing experience a celebratory milestone!
Truthfully, I think what most infants resist is being held tightly for the experience. While there is a tiny pinch, it’s not incredibly painful. While Rowan nurses carry lidocaine to apply to the ears, many parents are apprehensive using any form of medication on their tiny babies. As a mother, I understand the worry and am here to offer you five tips on ear piercing for babies without pain!
1. Timing is Everything!
Scheduling the piercing at a time when baby is in a playful, alert time is ideal. Trying to pierce a hungry, tired infant can make it much more stressful for baby. However, don’t fret if we arrive and you’re getting ready to feed baby or baby is sleeping! We can work around this and have more tricks up our sleeve to reducing ear piercing pain!
2. Distraction, Distraction, Distraction!
Prior to the actual infant ear piercing, our nurses are assessing baby’s skin integrity and ideal ear placement. Often times, our nurses encourage families to help by playing with baby, singing songs or nursery rhymes, and playing television or videos! While nurses need parents to hold baby for the ear piercing itself, we try to avoid this prior to the actual piercing. We want this milestone to be filled with happy memories and taking a playful approach helps to create a meaningful, less stressful experience.
3. Pacifiers, Snacks, and Teethers, oh My!
Oral stimulation is an important part of child development and can help with calming a baby! Babies have unique preferences, so encouraging whatever they prefer is ideal for reducing pain during the piercing. An older infant might enjoy a snack, while a younger infant may prefer a pacifier. The goal is to provide some form of oral stimulation that will help to calm baby and reduce any discomfort during the ear piercing!
4. A Firm Hold!
This is probably the least favorite for babies and parents alike, but so important to minimize ear piercing pain! If baby is squirming too much, the entire procedure will take longer and be much more stressful for the entire family. The hold Rowan nurses often use is a seatbelt hold. One hand will be over baby’s arm like a seatbelt, while another hand will be on baby’s head. A firm hold assures that your Rowan nurse is able to pierce quickly and efficiently!
5. Get Ready to Feed Baby!
Parents find that baby calms quickly when offered the breast or bottle immediately after piercing. Whether breastfeeding or bottle feeding, baby’s find comfort in drinking their favorite milk right after their ear piercing!
Make Infant Ear Piercing a Joyful and Pain-Free Milestone with Rowan!
Rowan’s medical ear piercing is designed to be a fun, pain-free, and celebratory experience for every family member! Whether adding a piercing for yourself too, encouraging an older sibling to choose baby’s ear piercing studs, or starting baby’s first earring subscription, Rowan nurses are here to make baby’s experience a memorable and pain-free milestone!