Give me strength to carry on...

[kellyincali]

I am starting to get really sick of BFing my 14mo. Whenever he's nursing, he's hitting me in the face, scratching my chest, pulling my hair out, pinching my neck, biting me (and broken the skin a few times now), poking me in the eyes, raking his fingernails along my gums, etc. I finally started nursing him before his naps because he seems to be a little sleepier and less violent, which had lead to a nurse-to-sleep issue, but at least I'm not bleeding as much! He's normally a really sweet, happy kid, but the second he latches on, watch out! It's like trying to nurse an octopus with razor blades on his tentacles.

He's not even close to being ready to wean, so I feel like I should carry on, but the violence really makes me dread our nursing sessions. *sigh*

[Erin M]

Oh goodness, that does not sound like fun at all!  Does he have a lovey, favorite toy, etc?  I find when my son gets super squirmy, I can give him his blanket to keep his hands busy.  Something like a nursing necklace maybe?

[~Lori~]

I would also try a nursing necklace or a blanket or something to keep him busy!!

[Fiver]

Mmm, we get a bit of this too (only doing a BT feed now, though), but tends to be the grabby hands going for my boob and twisting.  Annoying, but certainly this can be their way of doing breast compressions and getting more milk (the biting not so much so!!)

I presume you've tried firmly telling him to stop biting/pinching/hair pulling etc and stopping the feed there?  Sometimes it's enough for them to know that they won't be getting any milk if they carry on like that for them to stop doing it.  Others are more persistent!  A toy/necklace/blanket might help, as previously suggested too   Good luck!

[*Ali*]

Hugs, that does sound unpleasant.

Have you tried doing gentle hands with him like you might if he was hitting another child? So getting his hands and stroking your chest or face and telling him to be gentle etc. 

[kellyincali]

Hello ladies! Thank you for your suggestions. I have this bad habit of reading replies on my phone and then waiting until I can sit down at a computer to type out a lengthy response... which never seems to happen. So a late thank you for your ideas!

It turns out that he's biting because he has his one-year molars coming in. His canines have to be coming in at some point, too, so I'm thinking he's just really, really uncomfortable with all of the teething going on. Poor little guy. I've started giving him a little pain medication before our last bf at night and that seems to help with the biting.

And the necklace idea was genius!!! I have lots of chunky (rather ridiculous looking, if I'm being honest) necklaces so I try to remember to slap one of those on and it has really cut down on the hair pulling. He still pulls my hair since that's how he has always soothed, but it's much more manageable now. Thanks again!

[Erin M]

Glad to hear it. 

[Fiver]

Sorry for the delay, but good news indeed