piratecat
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Post by piratecat on Apr 3, 2018 8:57:24 GMT -6
My 10 MO has been doing this thing recently where he will bite down and kind of pull to one side and it is pretty painful. He doesn't do it all the time, maybe only when he is not as hungry? But when he does it, he does it over and over. I unlatch him and say "ouch" and tell him that it hurts. The first few times he thought it was funny, but now he pouts and starts crying. Then I let him get back to nursing and he does it again. Unlatch, "ouch", pout. After a while I figure he's just not that interested and end the session, but I also WANT him to nurse (he is small and my supply is low and decreasing), and I don't know what I should be doing. He only has half a tooth right now and I imagine it will only get more painful with more teeth.  |
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Post by gimmesugar on Apr 3, 2018 9:17:16 GMT -6
piratecat My son goes through phases of this. He has 2 bottom teeth, so if he does it hard, it HURTS. He knows he’s not supposed to do it because he’ll shake his head “no” as soon as he does, and now he’ll usually just nip lightly instead of bite. I have to correct him every time or he’ll bite harder, though, because he’s testing that boundary. Then, it’ll stop for several weeks before he does it again. It’s the chomp/pull, and he does the same thing to his bottle sometimes. He only does it at the end of a nursing session when he’s basically done anyway and just messing around. The first time he does it, I look at him sternly and say “No biting.” I try really hard not to react other than that so that he doesn’t think it’s funny. If he bites hard, I smoosh his face into my boob to get him to unlatch. I’ll cover up for a moment, and we’ll do something else. If he wants to nurse again, I let him, but if he bites again, I put him down. I’ll say, “OK all done” and make the sign for “all done.” Anyway, it sounds like you’re doing all the right things. If he’s truly hungry, he will nurse, and he can’t nurse and bite at the same time. I get nervous about supply too because my pumping output has gone down over the last week or 2. I’m trying to remind myself that he’s eating a lot more solids now at nearly 11 months old, so I’m sure this is normal. Just last night, he barely nursed 5 minutes before bed (he ate a lot at dinner) and did the chomp/pull thing a few times. So, we used that time to quietly read some books instead, and I pumped a bottle before I went to bed. In the back of my mind, I was a little worried that he wouldn’t sleep well, but he did fine. ETA: I wear a teething necklace thing that I offer him after covering up if he bites in case it’s teething pain that’s leading him to do it. Sometimes it helps and sometimes he’s not interested.
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piratecat
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Post by piratecat on Apr 3, 2018 9:25:46 GMT -6
piratecat, yea he was doing it last night before bedtime and I had to cut it short and had the same concerns as you. I'll try covering up for a bit or taking a longer break like you do and see if it helps. I really want to get a better handle on it before he gets more teeth. He is definitely getting much better at eating solids and bedtime nursing happens almost immediately after dinner so I'm not surprised he's not that hungry. He always latches on enthusiastically though but will start doing it almost immediately. He's not used to me being stern with him and being told "no" and he gets so sad and pouty, which is funny and cute but I'm like dude, you're hurting me and I'm the one that should be crying!
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Post by gimmesugar on Apr 3, 2018 9:41:53 GMT -6
piratecat Haha! Yeah, when my son started shaking his head “no” after doing it, I had to try hard not to laugh because it was pretty cute. I didn’t want it to turn into a game. He recently started trying to stand up in the bathtub too, and I’ve had to be stern about that, which makes him sad....but I tell him, you’ll be even more upset if you fall and hit your head! I read somewhere that they recognize “no” and are storing that in their memory bank in order to test the boundaries later, so consistency is key. That’s also why we don’t use “no” unless it’s super important for safety reasons....and biting lol 😉
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Post by moutonrouge on Apr 3, 2018 11:34:10 GMT -6
piratecat nothing makes me sadder after having been bitten than comforting the biter. And then there's also the nursing yoga that doesn't feel great but it doesn't hurt at least. If DD bites for real, I gasp very loudly (this is usually my real reaction, but sometimes I play it up), unlatch her, and say, "Please don't bite me. If you bite me again, we'll have to stop." Sometimes this will make her cry (I think she's starting to learn empathy, or at least that's what I'm telling myself). But it usually does not really deter a second bite, and I hold true to my word and stop after the second one. I've noticed the true, very painful biting really only seems to happen when she's teething. And it never lasts more than a week or two. But during that time it happens at least once a day. She will now unlatch herself and wander off when she's done, and probably 50% of the time she gets a nip in as she leaves. I don't have a solution for those times.
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piratecat
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Post by piratecat on Apr 3, 2018 11:54:17 GMT -6
gimmesugar, J just started shaking his head "no" when I offer him snacks that he doesn't want! Snacks are serious business around here, haha. That's a good point about reserving "no" for serious things. It's like when I first got my cat as a kitten - I'm pretty sure he thought "no" was his name.  moutonrouge, I know, right? Oh okay please don't cry... BUT WHAT ABOUT ME??! Learning empathy is a good way to think of it, I hope it's true! I'm trying to think back on when this all started. He recently got his first tooth come through so the timing might be about right. He's only got half a bottom tooth and I keep waiting for the other.
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piratecat
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Post by piratecat on Apr 3, 2018 11:55:50 GMT -6
moutonrouge, is nursing yoga when they nurse while squirming all around with their feet on my lap and butt in the air?
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Post by moutonrouge on Apr 3, 2018 12:03:11 GMT -6
moutonrouge , is nursing yoga when they nurse while squirming all around with their feet on my lap and butt in the air? That's what I call it. DD will also nurse with her head turned the other way (e.g., nursing on the left side while facing my left arm). Sometimes she blows raspberries. She's a goof  |
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Post by moutonrouge on Apr 3, 2018 12:04:55 GMT -6
Also, it 100% gets more painful with more teeth. DD has 6 now and it definitely hurts quite a bit now and she'll leave marks.
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piratecat
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Post by piratecat on Apr 3, 2018 12:13:33 GMT -6
moutonrouge , is nursing yoga when they nurse while squirming all around with their feet on my lap and butt in the air? That's what I call it. DD will also nurse with her head turned the other way (e.g., nursing on the left side while facing my left arm). Sometimes she blows raspberries. She's a goof Haha I'm glad to hear there are other babies doing this too! They're such little rascals! |
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piratecat
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Post by piratecat on Apr 3, 2018 12:16:22 GMT -6
Also, it 100% gets more painful with more teeth. DD has 6 now and it definitely hurts quite a bit now and she'll leave marks.  It took J a while to learn to latch and nurse properly without causing me a lot of pain and I'm not looking forward to going back there. |
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Post by babystandish on Apr 3, 2018 18:45:39 GMT -6
N goes through phases of this too. It’s usually followed by new teeth. I usually gasp, unlatch her and see her reaction. She usually gets upset but sometimes keeps doing it anyway. If it’s not bed time I’ll just distract her with toys because I figure she’s maybe just not hungry or bored.
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piratecat
Diamond
Posts: 36,048 Likes: 143,957
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Post by piratecat on Apr 4, 2018 7:17:07 GMT -6
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Post by babystandish on Apr 4, 2018 10:28:05 GMT -6
I’m good! Life is kinda crazy, but the kids are doing well. It’s hard to believe the May babies will start turning 1 soon! How have you and the baby been doing? |
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piratecat
Diamond
Posts: 36,048 Likes: 143,957
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Post by piratecat on Apr 4, 2018 11:22:43 GMT -6
I’m good! Life is kinda crazy, but the kids are doing well. It’s hard to believe the May babies will start turning 1 soon! How have you and the baby been doing? We are doing pretty well. It's crazy to think that they are almost one. Ahhhh! I just got myself a running stroller and am going to give it a try. It's been a while since I've run so we'll see how it goes! |
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Post by babystandish on Apr 4, 2018 16:34:26 GMT -6
piratecat awesome! I’m sure you’ll love it! The jogging stroller is the only stroller we own lol.
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