PLEASE HELP ME!!

[Mocha]

I'm sorry if this rambles on but PLEASE help me.
DD is 10 months old and has got 4 teeth. She bites me when feeding and has also bitten my lip and nose today. She also headbutts me and hits me. I know she doesn't realise she is hurting me but what can I do. It is getting me down.

Oh poor you Mocha! Who said that at 1 year you are the most violent you'll ever be? (unless your name is Kray I guess). My dd is 9.5 months and does all of the above, plus tugs my hair till it comes out, kicks me in the stomach when she's lying on the bed, tries to rip my bottom lip off, grabs dh's chest hair and nipples, need I go on...

I presume it's a phase and will pass quickly.

mocha,i know shes really small but you have to be firm about this,an angry NO!! and putting her down might start making her realise that shes doing wrong,hope it gets better soon
hugs

Oh yes, I do say no when she does it btw! Or if it really hurts I scream!

Yep, my dd (9.5 months) does all those things too! She also smacks and grabs her cousin who is 5 weeks younger than her but who just sits there and takes it but will eventually cry! I have to tell her my dd is just being 'affectionate' and doesn't realise she is being quite so rough! Worst thing about dd - nails like razors - owch!

If she bites while feeding I take her off straight away and put her down, but she just screams.

Yeah - very familiar to me - my boy was a real biter at one - he didn't seem to know that others hurt.

A firm no, and if that's not enough, complete withdrawal of attention - by leaving the room yourself, putting her on the bottom step or in her room. Leave her for a few minutes while she gets upset and then talk to her with very simple words - we had to teach our boy three rules "no hitting, no biting, no kicking".

Just keep doing it and doing it - consistently, and eventually, it'll die down.

Does she bite at the end of a feed? If she bites, she isn't feeding....

When she bites, I do tell her !No, don't bite, it hurts mummy" but she just gives me that cheeky smile of hers and goes back on.

THanks everyone. She is asleep now. It sounds like I'll just have to put up with it for the time being

For biting when feeding I've heard of a trick that people say is very successful, although I didn't know about it when i was bfing. When she bites draw her into the breast, even though your instinct is to pull her off. Apparently, babies don't like that sensation and immediately loosen their grip. Wrt to an angry 'no' or a yell, it worked with my babies but I think it was Mears who said she did this to one of her babies who had such a fright they never breast fed again.

I agree that at your dd's age, she doesn't understand the concept that biting means pain, she is just enjoying the reaction as well as the satisfying 'chomp' that her jaws make. Avoidance technique is useful. By keeping a close eye on her actions you should be able to see when she is going to bite your face etc and can then, as others suggest, put her down, with a 'no biting' message. Best wishes and try to remember those famous words - 'It's just a phase.'

My usual advice is to try not to react at all as the reaction is what's so satisfying for babies - BUT - that's easier said than done when she's feeding. Poor, poor you. My ds didn't get teeth until after he was one, and I have to admit being a bit worried, but I see I should be pleased! Maybe her teeth are hurting her and a bit of gum gel might help - ds sometimes bit down when he was teething.

We're going through this at the moment - biting while feeding and DS (11 months - 4 teeth) also bites my shoulder when he's having a cuddle on his changing mat. Never bites DH! I think it's just a sign of affection and excitement - feeding is lovely, having a cuddle is lovely, and it's his way of expressing that.

Doesn't make it any less painful though. I've taken to saying 'No, poor mummy, musn't bite, etc' and yesterday he wouldn't look at me afterwards as if he knew it was wrong. It's easing off now and I think he does it when he gets carried away and forgets.

yup - same situation here too - DD 11mths, 5 teeth. LOVES biting. But I do remember that she always liked "gumming" my face and arms when cuddling, but that's just cute isn't it? Suddenly teeth come along and it's not so cute any more. Not b/f anymore luckily, but she launched herslef at me for a cuddle the other day and clamped down on my nipple, and even through bra and teeshirt, it hurt so much I screamed!

I am just hoping it is a teething phase, and just say "NO biting" whenever she does it. It did work after the first two teeth, and she went back to just putting her open mouth of my cheek, or arm or whatever, and not biting down, but seems to have resumed follwing the appearance of the top three that have just come through.

I was coming on here tonight to post something similar so loads of sympathy here. My DS2 is 12 months and still b/feeding. He tends to nip my arms, pull my hair, dig his nails in, scratch, pull any lumps of flesh he can find whilst pedaling his legs as if on a bike. Thankfully he hasn't yet bitten me but he left some nice teeth indentations after his feed tonight. I took him off tonight when the nonsense was going on and told him no, pulled my top back down etc. His answer was to lift my top and start poking his finger into my belly-button and laughing. I wouldn't have bothered only it was the bedtime feed.

Personally I am putting it down to a mixture of teething and boredom but it just seems like a long time since we had a nice snuggly feed.

Thanks for the advice everyone. It normally doesn't get to me but it is nearly time of the month so I was more emotional than usual.

My ds2 is 10 months and a real biter too. He went through a phase of biting when feeding but that seems to have stopped. He now will bite if tired, or sometimes I don't know why. My dd1 was palying gently with him yesterday and he bit her so hard that she got a bruise. She's very understanding but its a really tricky one to deal with

My baby started biting at 11 months and I realised in the end that she was telling me that she didn't want to breast feed anymore. mind you now she bites when she's teething. it hurts like mad doesn't it . Sorry I haven't got any handy hints of how to stop it.

Biting definately is a phase and will stop. It was my last baby who got a fright when I shouted out of shock because it was sore and I wasn't expecting it. She was 15months old but was my last baby. Her brothers went through the phase and stopped after I just kept discontinuing the feed whenever they bit. I tries for a fortnight to get her to go back on with no avail

Biting definately is a phase and will stop. It was my last baby who got a fright when I shouted out of shock because it was sore and I wasn't expecting it. She was 15months old but was my last baby. Her brothers went through the phase and stopped after I just kept discontinuing the feed whenever they bit. I tries for a fortnight to get her to go back on with no avail