Why Does My Baby’s Chin Quiver Occasionally?

I was at church on Sunday and was gazing at the newest baby in our extended family.  I noticed that the baby’s chin was quivering.  As a seasoned mom, I knew that this was a normal and that it is caused by a baby’s immature nervous system.  As a first time mom, seeing your baby’s chin quiver might make you run and grab the phone or run to the doctor’s office to determine if your baby doesn’t have anything wrong with them.

Disclosure: This blog post is for informational purposes only.  If you feel that your child needs to be seen by a doctor, please contact your child’s doctor or health care provider for an appointment.

If your paediatrician’s office is anything like ours, it normally takes the nurse at least an hour or longer to get a get a phone call back from the doctor’s nurse. The nurse will tell you that newborn chin quivering is normal symptom if your baby is under three or four months of age.

I remember when I noticed the jaw trembling in my son my first instinct was that he must be really cold, I had not really come across anything mentioning chin quivers and I thought it is a normal enough thing. But it happened again and it freaked me out. I had a chat with a friend who’s a mother of three so she had practically seen everything there was to be seen! She told me it wasn’t anything to worry about and generally a newborn’s chin quivers and that it would go away by the time he was four five months old. But as a mom, simple answers never satisfy us! So, I had a consult scheduled with my paediatrician and she pretty much told me the same thing.

While your baby was still in the womb, they were protected by your amniotic fluid and once they are born they have to quickly adapt to life outside of the womb. After your baby is born their nervous system is still immature. Their nervous system will continue to develop during the first several months of your baby’s life.

If you see your baby’s chin quiver (Jaw Quiver), don’t worry it isn’t a sign that they are cold.  If your searching for information on an newborn’s quivering chin , more than likely you won’t find it in any baby books. often times isn’t of the baby books that you read while you were pregnant or after your baby was born. Lack of information may cause you to worry about their baby.

Your baby’s quivering chin is a simply a symptom of  baby’s underdeveloped nervous system.  In fact, you may even notice that your baby’s arms and legs shake as they are drifting off to sleep.  Parents there is no need to worry about the quivering chin or shaky arms and legs; however, if you are still worried about your baby please contact your child’s paediatrician for advice. Most of these symptoms should begin to subside by the time your baby is three or four months old.

Tips to Keep Your Baby Relaxed to Reduce Infant Chin Quivering

The best thing that you can do for your newborn is to keep them as relaxed as possible. Your baby is less likely to exhibit the signs and symptoms of an underdeveloped nervous system, if they warm, fed, and relaxed. The best thing you can do for your baby is to give them plenty of skin to skin contact.

Although, I would say this that be on a lookout for any other symptoms, if everything else seems normal then the chin trembles will go away on its own by the time the baby is four months old. If your baby seems normal, with usual appetite and alertness that can be attributed to an infant that age then don’t worry.  If you see him acting strangely in any way an infant should not or if you have a history of seizures in your family then I would suggest a visit to paediatrician will do no harm, if anything it will put your mind to ease.

If your child is still having symptoms of a quivering chin after they reach three or four months old, please consult your paediatrician to rule out other causes.

Have you ever seen a newborn’s chin quiver?If you find this article helpful and useful, please share it with your family and friends. Sharing helps Uplifting Families grow. Thank you for visiting.

Image: David Lipscomb on Flicker