Pinching is driving me nuts!

[KarlaC]

Ds is about 6 months old now. Still ebf, he's decided the ONLY way to nurse anymore is lying in the bed while going to sleep. Last week he started pinching my arms/face/neck during non-nursing times but the last 24 hours every. single. nursing session he is laying beside me & grabbing my arm(the soft part by the pit) or my breast & pinching then pulling it hard enough to leave big bruises.

It's driving me insane, especially when he gets ahold of the soft part on my arm.

He's been kicking, slapping & fidgeting his way to sleep for weeks now but the pinching...ugh. Any suggestions or is this something I should just try & get used to? I really don't remember this with the girls but they were ff & didn't co-sleep so they must not have had as much opportunity.

[lauren0289]

nak
My 6 mos dd does this often. I sometimes give her something to hold. Or sometimes if she's particularly going for my arm, I put this chunky beaded bracelet on. It helps occupy her hands. HTH!

[lifeguard]

I've been "fighting" with ds with this for months & months. I wish I could give you a magic answer. The best I've found is to keep my skin covered as much as possible & to hold his hand still with my hand (which he dislikes). Sometimes I can redirect his hand to a blanket or his own ear.

[bender]

Mine's been doing this as well, except it's the shoving fingers into my mouth/pulling on my face/pinching my chin thing. I've reintroduced the swaddle. I wrap a blanket around his arms and that's the only way he's allowed to nurse in the evening. It's really helped me keep my sanity.

[Italiamom]

Have you tried some nursing beads? Basically just a big old necklace with lots of beads on it that you only break out while nursing? When DS is especially grabby/pinchy/kicky it's the only thing that helps. And because you're wearing it, they can't take it off, throw it off the bed/chair, etc. DS will just pull mine round and round and round.

You can buy one (Mommy Necklaces makes really pretty ones http://www.mommynecklaces.com/) or you can just make your own with some high quality beads on a well knotted string. Either way, there have been many times that having a necklace has been helpful for me...

[Adsullata]

Second the recommendation for a nursing necklace. That worked beautifully for me when at 7 mos dd started pinching hard like crazy and I know what you mean- it is crazy making. I found a nursing necklace that I liked at a local shop that sells items made by local moms. It was and is worth every penny of the $19.95 I paid for it. You could probably find something like that in your area, if not online. The thing I like about the one I found: it's bright colored animal and other shaped beads mixed with abc's beads so that now (19 mos) dd plays with it as her own and is learning the alphabet from it; and, it has a break away clasp in addition to the strong cord, so no loose beads aka choking hazards. The only downside to mine is that it definitely does not look like a mommy necklace.

I also liked that I didn't have to restrain or "fight" my dd anymore. It's hard, but I'm trying to find creative ways to avoid doing that in any circumstance if possible.

[Kutie.Pie]

My DS is already doing that and he's only 4 1/2 mo. I got a nursing necklace for him and at first it didn't seem to work. After a couple times though, he got the idea that it was for him to play with and it helps distract his little pinching hands. It drives me nuts too when he starts grabbing me, especially my boob (I always know when I need to trim his nails lol). Even if he doesn't grab it on his own, I put it into his hand and then his attention gets diverted to it. Good luck finding a good solution! =)

[Pavlovs]

Originally Posted by bender

Mine's been doing this as well, except it's the shoving fingers into my mouth/pulling on my face/pinching my chin thing. I've reintroduced the swaddle. I wrap a blanket around his arms and that's the only way he's allowed to nurse in the evening. It's really helped me keep my sanity.

especially the bolded part.

[Kelly1101]

Originally Posted by KarlaC

Ds is about 6 months old now. Still ebf, he's decided the ONLY way to nurse anymore is lying in the bed while going to sleep. Last week he started pinching my arms/face/neck during non-nursing times but the last 24 hours every. single. nursing session he is laying beside me & grabbing my arm(the soft part by the pit) or my breast & pinching then pulling it hard enough to leave big bruises.

It's driving me insane, especially when he gets ahold of the soft part on my arm.

He's been kicking, slapping & fidgeting his way to sleep for weeks now but the pinching...ugh. Any suggestions or is this something I should just try & get used to? I really don't remember this with the girls but they were ff & didn't co-sleep so they must not have had as much opportunity.

My daughter liked to pinch/slap for a while. I would hold her hand, or put a toy or blanket in her hand. Sometimes it pissed her off, but usually it worked.

[mags]

My guy is 5 mo old and he sometimes pinches, but mostly punches me! OWWW! I do swaddle him before nursing him for naps and that helps. With one of my older kids who did this, I used to let him pick out a toy (he was older) before nursing and so instead of pinching/hitting me he would play with his toy. I may have to do the toy thing again, but at 5 mo, he drops things a lot, so I don't know if that will work out or not. Maybe I should try a nursing necklace.