A new mom was left scratching her head after receiving an unusual baby gift -- only to discover it had a very practical purpose.
Posting to Reddit under the username syntheticpurples, the woman shared a photo of two small white pouches she had been given for her newborn.
At first glance, she assumed they were socks. But after taking a closer look, she realized they didn't have the typical heel or shape of infant footwear.
Unsure what she was looking at, the original poster (OP) turned to the internet for help. The response came soon enough: they were baby anti-scratch mittens.
Newborn fingernails, commentators explained, are surprisingly sharp and grow quickly -- often faster than parents expect. Combined with limited motor control, that can lead to accidental scratches, particularly on the face.
"They're basically mittens," summed up one contributor.
"Newborn fingernails are SHARP, grow faster than you're gonna be able to keep up with trimming and they randomly flail their arms and hands as they're figuring out body control.
"They slice their own cheeks amazingly often without mitts like this, especially while sleeping. Not like super deeply, but you'd still rather prevent it. And across the eye would be bad."
According to Healthline, newborns lack full control over their movements and often react to stimuli with involuntary reflexes, including jerking their arms toward their faces.
"Babies don't have full control over their bodies when they're first born. Instead, reflexes control many of their movements," the outlet reported.
The Moro reflex, in particular, can cause babies to fling their arms outward and then inward, sometimes resulting in scratches.
Another common factor is nail growth. HealthyChildren.org notes that, "fingernails grow about 0.1 mm each day," adding that, "long nails on the hands of newborns with little to no control of them predictably result in stray scratches."
Several commentators offered practical advice for managing those tiny talons.
"I wanted to add that I trimmed my kids' nails while I nursed them. They will be distracted and give you time to take your time while trimming them," one person shared.
Another suggested an alternative if mittens don't stay put: "If these don't stay on too well, you can also use socks! My son tore his face up when we was still in the hospital and I didn't have these!"
For syntheticpurples, the mystery was quickly solved. What looked like an odd pair of tiny pouches turned out to be a small but useful tool for protecting her newborn's face -- prompting her simple reaction: "Wow."