9 month old pinching

[gandalfspants]

My 9 month old has most definitely mastered her pincer grip, yay.

Unfortunately she now wants to pinch everything, especially me, and especially while bf, but also most of the rest of the time too.

She's my first and I feel I have no idea what I'm doing. If I say 'no' and move her hand she does it again straight away, if I hold her hand away she cries. If I say 'ouch' loud enough she pauses before doing it again but does it regardless, if I say 'ouch' too loud she cries.

Would I be better not reacting at all?

It's really quite painful (she uses her nails), and it's making me not enjoy holding her.

Do I just have to grin and bear it until she can understand it bloody hurts (she's actually really good a being gentle with other babies, the dog, etc, just me she terrorises)?

If it helps my 9 month old just went through a phase of grabbing noses/glasses and chins. He also grabs and pulls my hair regularly! My only tip is to keep your DC's nails short.

Thanks for replying. I do try to keep her nails short, which helps, but she kind of rolls her thumb and first finger right over with my skin in between so she gets me with them anyway!

She's always grabbed noses, glasses and hair (and my lips, which she now pinches), the pinching just seems more calculated somehow.

Could be a sign of autism... my 1 year old doing same whl i suspect has asd as is brother does

Ahh, sounds like she's practising her new skill on you! Dd did this, not with pinching that I recall, but with her new skills.

I would gently physically prevent her from doing it and say 'I can't let you pinch me, pinching hurts - here's a __ that you can pinch if you want to do that.' And hand her something suitable. If she cries, just empathise - but I wouldn't let her do it if she is hurting you. I wouldn't overreact if possible, no need for ouch etc, but I wouldn't let her do it either.

I think ouch and moving away from her might be the best bet. At 9 months you need to keep it simple. So if she's having a cuddle and nips then ouch as you put her down and stand up. Obviously no need to leave her for long. Watch her reaction to gage what she sees as a 'punishment'. Might be you have to walk a few steps away, might be you have to turn your back for 10 seconds, or might just be putting her down. But be consistent.
IMO no point trying to reason with her, she's 9 months. And aren't trying to teach her how to interact as an adult or anything, just a quick fix to get her to stop pinching you.

Mine is 14 months and has done this from a similar age when falling asleep. It bloody hurts but apparently a soft toy etc to pinch is just not the same . Following your thread for tips OP, sorry not to be of any help. And user, really? that one isolated thing when OP has not stated any other signs whatsoever?

Thanks everyone.

user I'll bear that in mind. Her dad is almost certainly undiagnosed high-functioning autistic, and I'm not exactly a social butterfly so I wouldn't be surprised if she's on the spectrum at all.