My baby "hits" me!

[spunk]

I am wondering if it should be a concern if my 3.5 month baby hits me when she does not get her milk quick enough ... if that is a behavior to be corrected now, how do I do it?

Also, what about screaming? Sometimes she is playing and she screams and I am fine with that, but when she is seemingly screaming at me, like if I am preparing her milk and it is an angry scream, should that be concerning?

[sky_and_lavender]

Nope, nothing to worry about. Just normal stuff. She has limited communication options at this point and is just trying stuff out.

[AFWife]

Plus, she doesn't quite have total control over her arms yet...So, it's possible that she means to tap you or something and it comes out as a smack.

[ErinYay]

LOL my 7 week old does this too- she pounds her little fists on my chest when she unlatches due to heavy letdown.

I think it's pretty cute (for now, anyhow!)

[hakeber]

ds started doing this a little older than yours. At 6 months. I don't like being hit, and frankly it hurt. He has always been freakishly strong.

I just very quietly put my breast away, looked him right in the eys and firmly said, NO. Gave him a hug, and then proceeded to nurse. Took about three times and never hit me again...then he got teeth and we started again... he would bite me, I'd calmly put the boobie away. Three boobies go bye-bye, and he got the message. Mommy no like biting. Bite mommy, boobie go bye-bye.

I have an equally intolerant attitude towards screaming for fun. Screaming is for pain or fear. It scares me and I am very sensitive to it.

I gave him zero reaction and simply looked him straight in the eyes and said No, calmly, firmly, and did not make another move until he stopped. Didn't take many repeats for that fad to fade.

There are better ways to communicate needs and they are capable of learning them even in the early months.

[Icehockey18]

All normal! Ds is 8 mo and pulls my hair (really hard) to bring my face close to his. It hurts like crazy, but it's still too young to 'correct' him. I just un latch his hand and tell him to be gentle. I think babes are too young to understand that it hurts when they hit, pinch, pull, etc, IMO. They are just learning all these new skills and they can't quite control it yet.

[newmomroxi]

My LO who is 4 months does the smacking as well. And the angry scream. With him, it is obvious that he is just trying to tap or pat b/c he likes to pet our faces. The screaming is a different story. We can tell when he's just playing and when it's a tantrum. For the tantrums, we don't punish him really but we sternly say "Lake, NO." Sometimes he stops but we don't really expect him to. I think it's normal too.

[PikkuMyy]

Infants don't begin to use intentional communication until closer to 8-9 months. Right now they can communicate through screaming, crying, eye contact, babbling, but they aren't doing any of it intentionally to get you to do something for them. They are just crying because they are cold, screaming because they are hungry, etc.

[JMJ]

It's normal, but you don't have to let her hurt you. You'll resent it if she does. I know that DD will learn better ways to interact, and I'm willing to be patient with her as she learns. I don't think I'm teaching her bad habits by allowing herself to express herself, but I don't let her hurt me. If she scratches me, hits me, bites me, or pulls my hair, and it hurts, I stop her. This may involve moving her, holding her hand, cutting her nails, setting her down, putting my hair up, or moving into a different position. I don't do these things to punish her, just to stop her from hurting me since she can't stop herself yet.