How do you stop a baby from biting you now that he has teeth?
Our son has 2 small, sharp teeth. He would always pull our fingers into his mouth or gently gum our arms, neck, knees, etc. Now, with two teeth, it hurts! Saying 'ouch' or 'no biting' in a firm tone startles him and sometimes he pouts and might start to cry. It does not necessarily stop the action. I'm not sure we're sending the 'no biting' message. Any suggestions? [He's bit me while nursing too - double ouch!]
2 Answers
-
Try redirecting? When he starts to bite you, say no firmly, but then give him a chew toy instead and encourage him to bite that. Sophie the Giraffe is a popular teether.
-
Double ouch is right! :)
You might also try putting his fingers in your mouth and gently biting down on them, and comparing that with just closing your lips down without any tooth pressure.
I don't think there's a way around "no" or "ow!", and I do think eventually it will stop the action - it worked when my daughter started biting around 6 mos old, and when my son was a baby.
But (in case its helpful) here's a related story about what happened to us recently:
My daughter started biting down each time she nursed at around 11 months. She was teething intensely and congested with a cold. After a maybe 5 sessions with loud yelps from me "ow!" or "no!" and pulling her away, she seemed to "learn" to not nurse anymore. Maybe it was too painful for her to not bite? Maybe she learned that nursing had a negative reaction? Suddenly she seemed to be weaning and only taking the bottle.
There must be a workaround for this, I don't know what it is. I wasn't intending to nurse for much more than a year, so I'm just letting it go. But not without some sadness.
