To eat bits of my child?

[TastyMorsels]

Name changed here as what I'm going to admit sounds rather appaling. I have a lovely new baby, and her skin is flaking off now thanks to her being a tad overdue. The skin underneath is perfect and peachy soft. The bits that are coming off are causing her no discomfort. Anyway, when she's feeding I find myself plucking at her skin and teasing away bits that are ready to come off. And eating them. Is this cannabalism?? She doesn't appear to notice, and I only caught myself doing it once, and thought WTF??? For what it's worth i used to bite my older dd's nails when she was a baby, and nibble them up. It just seemed an automatic reaction to pop the bits of skin in my mouth, who knows how many bits i'd scoffed before I realised what I was doing. So, erm, aibu?

Charleneanne, have you got us confused with Netmums?

Given your previous posting form, I'm guessing you might fit in better with that forum?

Given she was soaking in your amniotic fluid until recently that layer is probably half you anyway, so if it is cannibalism it is only 50% cannibalism.

I don't think it is that weird to be honest, but then I am not particularly squeamish, even the crunchy spider leg story didn't phase me.

Enjoy your lovely newborn, I am quite envious! Of the baby not picking bits off.

You're probably still feeling the effects of pregnancy hormones that can cause weird cravings (pica?). They're not always food-related. I had one pregnancy when I craved the feel and smell of one of my other dc's skin. I restrained myself at first, then discovered that he loved the attention, so allowed myself to stroke and smell him. This sounds like more of the same sort of thing.

Probably best to stop and ask yourself, though, "Do I really want this, or is my hand moving to my mouth purely out of habit."

lol,imagine duty sw team screeching round to take child as charlene recommends.hell,get the wean outta there who knows what the mum will nibble next

amidst all the rl complex cases,and angst. a call out for a well loved and well nibbled baby would be light relief

sara maitland wrote a fabulous short story about "A woman obsessed with food devours her own plump and tasty baby."
read it -

www.amazon.com/Angel-Maker-Short-Stories-Maitland/dp/0805055290

It is massively weird. Please stop.

I think it's a good sign that you're posting in AIBU? Because yes, yes, yes, YES, you really are.

But charleneanne is being more weird.

certainly its unusual
but plain daft is call sw - remove the wean

You're weird

Yeah, it is a bit weird, but it isn't hurting anyone and she is still kinda you at that age so it is less weird than if she was older.

Weird but harmless so nibble away.

Er yes, charlene. Eating dry skin is definitely a form a child abuse and ss should indeed be notified immediately. Obviously.

Congratulations on the new baby!

Wash it down with a nice bottle of Chianti....

Well I suppose if you are biting at your own fingers etc then you eat bits of yourself. When babies are little they seem like extensions of yourself so I can how you would do the same.

It's very odd behaviour for a Western human female. But perfectly normal and natural behaviour for lots (most?) of other mammals, which eat the afterbirth/placenta and lick their newborns clean after they're born.

Does that help?

Some women eat the placenta, because they say it "contains vitamin K".

P.S: I did not eat my baby's dead skin. Just wanted to make that clear.

yab quite u.

I would rather not have read this thread but I guess each to his own......

Bit weird, but as others have kindly admitted, I've eaten my own skin (biting round fingernails etc) so it's not that much different. And harmless imo.

Oh, and congratulations on the new baby :)

I felt worse when a mate told me she'd done some midwifery training in little fairly undeveloped villages in India and she said many of the mothers would often suck the baby boys' willies if they were inconsolable and it was considered an acceptable practice culturally. I still haven't quite recovered from that information!

Do you actually swallow the bits of skin or just chew them a little bit and spit them out?

I totally get the peeling bit. I secretly quite like it when DF (what is the short for Dear Fiancé by the way as it gets confusing with Dear Father?) gets sunburnt as I can peel him a few days later... But.....eating it? Ewwwwwww!

Enjoy (snurk) your new baby!