I’ll never forget the first time Rhett bit me while he was nursing. He was around ten months and all of a sudden….ERRRRRRRK, I felt the worst pain ever.
I screamed because it was so unexpected. Needless to say, Rhett cried. I cried. It was a mess.
At first I thought the bite was a big mistake. I didn’t think he meant to do it and I was trying to just brush it off the best I could. Besides the fact that I was in pain for the next 24 hours, I hadn’t thought much more about it.
He nursed several more times over the 24 hours, so I thought everything was back to normal, until…..it happened again.
This time I knew Rhett did it on purpose. It was night time and towards the end of our nursing session when I felt another bite, followed by a big smile.
I didn’t know what to do besides get stern and say, “no, no.”
He did it anyway, again and again, day after day. Eventually, I became scared to nurse. I dreaded it. I knew he was going to bite me and it was only a matter of time during each session.
Over only a few days, Rhett had developed this new habit of biting every time he nursed. I still don’t know if it was for attention or if he was just testing the waters. But eventually, I figured out what worked for US to make him stop.
When Rhett would bite me, I began to immediately stop the nursing session and walk away. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t acknowledge the bite out loud (even though I was saying all kinds of words in my head, ha!). I simply just ignored it, ended the session, and walked away.
Rhett did the same thing every time. He would begin to whine and come crawling towards me with the saddest little face. His lip was out and he looked at me with those big brown eyes like, “mamaaaaaaa!” AHHHH– it got me every time.
I didn’t want to end the session completely when he would bite, because at the time, milk was still his main nutrition source. So, after a few minutes, we would try again.
There were times during this trial and error when Rhett would stop biting completely, and other times when he would try biting again.
What happened when he would bite again? I would do the same thing. Immediately end the nursing session and walk away. Come back a few minutes later and try again if I felt like he still needed milk.
After about a week or so of this whole biting thing, the biting completely stopped.
We’re now at almost seventeen months, and he hasn’t tried biting again.
I’m no baby biting expert here, but I did want to share what worked for us.
Something as simple as pausing the session and walking away showed Rhett that mama doesn’t mess around, haha. He began learning that when he would bite, there was a consequence…no milk and no attention. *Quite possibly the two worst things not to have for little man.*
If you’re going through this biting stage, know that it will end and it will soon be a memory of the past. Try this technique and see if it works for you. I sure hope it does!
Also..keep lots of ice packs nearby…I had to use frozen hash browns a time or two. No shame.
Love ya, mamas!
Until next time,
Katelyn
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