Baby biting and drawing blood

[BlueWolf]

Not my LO, but my niece. My SIL is at the end of her rope and doesn't know what to do. Her 9 month old DD bites her so hard that she not only leaves teeth imprints but she also draws blood. In a 30 second period of time yesterday, I saw her bite her mom three times, twice drawing blood.

SIL has tried cheek flicking, tugging at her hair to startle her, lemon on her skin, and trying to distract or redirect her with no effect. She's getting desperate for something to work and she's running out of non bruised and bleeding flesh on her body. She has literally become a walking bruise... or a walking raw hide for her DD.

Any ideas on how to make the mauling stop?

[momofmine]

When I first read this, I thought you meant she was biting her breast while nursing and drawing blood. Ouch! But I think with biting the only answer is to take a very proactive approach. I believe that all that other stuff (the cheek flicking especially, that breaks my heart) just leads the child to more destructive biting behavior. Or if it gets them to stop, they will get their frustrations out in another, also destructive or negative way. If she is only 9 months, she can't be getting around that quickly to come up and just bite her out of nowhere. For now, the mom has got to be super diligent and proactive, and just watch for the signs that her dd is about to bite, and redirect her, or hand her something else to bite, like a toy or teether. She may be teething, she may just be frustrated and not have any other way to express herself, or she may be just going through a phase.

If she is teething, you might try getting a washcloth wet and rolling it up and freezing it, and letting her chew on that. I never tried that with my LOs, but it sounds like something that would be soothing for painful gums, especially now in the summertime.

[slimkins]

My son has gone through two phases of biting our shoulders when we were holding him. I notice that he would only do it if he was really excited, tired or if your were holding him, ignoring him and he got bored (like while shopping or talking to someone). So, I kept the triggers at bay and if I had to hold him during those times- sometimes I would hold him facing out (that always worked) or I would find a distraction or something to interest him (high reward toy or object he never gets).

Do you know if she has singled out the triggers?

[karika]

Originally Posted by momofmine

But I think with biting the only answer is to take a very proactive approach. I believe that all that other stuff (the cheek flicking especially, that breaks my heart) just leads the child to more destructive biting behavior. Or if it gets them to stop, they will get their frustrations out in another, also destructive or negative way. If she is only 9 months, she can't be getting around that quickly to come up and just bite her out of nowhere. For now, the mom has got to be super diligent and proactive, and just watch for the signs that her dd is about to bite, and redirect her, or hand her something else to bite, like a toy or teether. She may be teething, she may just be frustrated and not have any other way to express herself, or she may be just going through a phase.

dd2 is a biter. She definitely has reasons for doing it, it is not random. It can be about so many things... she wants to nurse, she is frustrated that she couldn't get the plastic spoon through the tube (or whatever she is playing with), she thinks she is being ignored, she is teething was a big one, just trying her teeth out.... I treat it like any behavior I do not want repeated. I try not to have a reaction and I redirect. I also figured out what she looks like when she is moving in for a bite, so I dodge it and give her something appropriate to bite on. As the child gets older, if she is still doing it, then you can dialogue about it with her and explain that it hurts. Mine hasn't made me bleed (yet). I do sometimes let her bite me and we talk about what she is doing as she does it and why, but mine is 18 mo now....

[BlueWolf]

Originally Posted by slimkins

My son has gone through two phases of biting our shoulders when we were holding him. I notice that he would only do it if he was really excited, tired or if your were holding him, ignoring him and he got bored (like while shopping or talking to someone). So, I kept the triggers at bay and if I had to hold him during those times- sometimes I would hold him facing out (that always worked) or I would find a distraction or something to interest him (high reward toy or object he never gets).

Do you know if she has singled out the triggers?

I'm not sure if she's singled out the triggers but I'm definitely going to suggest it. Thanks guys