Painful pinching - help!

[penguinthermometer]

DD is still feeding once a day at 18 months and all is normally fine except that she's developed an entrenched habit of pinching my breasts (or upper arms if she can't get at the breast). She does this when feeding or when trying to sleep. Nothing seems to stop the little pinchy hands, and it's very painful! :( Has anyone else had this problem, and can anyone offer any suggestions for stopping it?

I've been taking her hand away gently and saying "no pinching" for a couple of months now, but it's getting worse not better. She won't be deterred and won't rest until she's pinching away. I have little sore marks and bruises and am now getting angry with her and it's spoiling breastfeeding for me. I don't want to wean her because of this, but I also don't want feeding to become a pinching battle! I also don't want to just let her do it because it really is painful. Help!

[ElphabaTheGreen]

I had this with DS1 - mega-hair-pulling was also an infuriating feature I stopped at 17 months (not for that reason) so didn't endure it for too long, but I believe a necklace like these can be a helpful distraction?

[Solasum]

My DS 10mo does this too, ouch. While sadly I do not have any 'booby beads', I have indeed found that wearing a shiny necklace does distract him enough to stop the pinching.

[Solasum]

When she is trying to sleep, maybe try wearing a thick jumper or fleece to protect your arms, and holding a soft toy over your breast? (These animals shall be called Booby Buddies, and will retail for £££ )

[hideandsqueak]

I've been having this exact issue with my 1 year old. My upper arms are covered in tiny bruises. The cuddly toy idea sounds good! DS likes to hold the boob with both hands whilst feeding and squeeze it as hard as he can. Maybe he thinks that's how the milk comes out?!

[ElphabaTheGreen]

hideandsqueak Squeezing the boob is very common and does help with let-down and milk transfer - they've asked verbal children who are still breastfeeding why they do it and apparently it 'makes the milk come faster'. I have certainly always done breast compressions myself while feeding for this reason, but since they're on the receiving end, they probably have a far better idea of what is needed!

[hideandsqueak]

That is really interesting! It seems he knows more about what he is doing than I do...

[penguinthermometer]

Thanks all! DD does pinch when feeding but the real problem is when she's not feeding but trying to sleep and it seems like it's for comfort - the hands go down or up my top searching for a bit of breast to pinch (regardless of thick jumpers!) It's a good idea to get something else for her to hold - I'll try to find a lovey or soft toy that feels nice and see if that helps. I hope she grows out of it....

[ElphabaTheGreen]

Got that, too, plus the hair pulling, all night long. It was horrid. When he finally did start sleeping longer stretches at night, the co-sleeping was no bloody use at all for me because I was being pinched, beaten, pulled and kicked black and blue. I ended up hiring a very good, gentle sleep consultant to get him into his own bed after getting a couple of worrying shoves in the abdomen when I was pg with DS2. Now his myriad of stuffed toys endure his night-long thuggery.

[RedKites]

As a slight variation on the theme, I had some success with giving DS2 a muslin to hold, and this came with the bonus side effect of becoming a bit of a comfort blanket for him at night.