May 09 - Keepin' Cool in July - Page 3

[j_p_i]

Originally Posted by Blessed_Mom

Baaaaaaawl

My DD has started biting me on a regular basis since 3 days while nursing. I am unable to nurse her beyond the first or second letdown...after which she has to suckle for quite some time to get a 3rd letdown or is just suckling for trickles (I don't know how milk really comes out). Anyway...seems like when she is a bit bored or impatient she takes a bite. I don't know what brought on this transformation (no new teeth..she has 7) but it is most unnerving not to mention hurtful. I don't know how to make her stop?!?!?!?

I have been constnatly telling her "no", of course pulling my breast out, sometimes fake slapping her hand and once scared her out of her wits by screaming in pain......to no avail.I hate having to pull my breast out. I hate having to be afraid everytime she is nursing and hate this new dynamic. How do I get her to stop?

mama! The biting is just awful and frustrating isn't it? We went through this pretty recently (for the second time, the first time was around 7 months and led to a nursing strike). It turned out that she wasn't noticeably teething, but several days later I felt the tip of her molar poke through. The best thing I was able to do was to shove my boob in her mouth to get her to latch on correctly (our problem was biting at the very beginning of nursing, if I got her to latch on she was usually okay) using my finger as a guide - she would bite my finger instead of my nipple. Also, my dh suggested giving her real food when she tried to bite, and it worked! We would give her a snack and then she would typically nurse fine after that. It surprised me but has worked consistently.

[Blessed_Mom]

I tried that JPI but it is not working I am so desperate. I feel like this is the beginning of weaning and will be led by me....I am so sore and am getting deathly afraid everytime she is nursing and pauses a bit. I get tensed that the "chomp down" is coming any minute...... I am praying so much too....I don't know what to do. I know for a fact she isn't wanting to wean , that she doesn't know what she is doing. She is acting a bit like she isn't understanding what to do and when I act in pain and say "ouch" she is leaving my boob and running away. It seems like she is confused about whether I am reacting to her nursing or biting. The bite happens very quickly (matter of seconds) and I am getting the feeling it is involuntary for her. Hence she is not getting the message to stop.

JPI - During the nursing strike how did you keep your milk supply up? And how long were the biting phases typically?

Auraji...I saw a similar post from you about Sophia. HAs she stopped now? How long was it? Or is it still continuing? What are you doing/ what did you do?

Will a nipple shield help in such matters? I don't even know how a nipple shield looks....

[j_p_i]

Blessed_Mom - I'm so sorry! It's a tough thing, especially when you feel like it may be the start of weaning. For me the nursing strikes lasted 1-2 days (there have been 2) and I kept supply up by pumping and hand expressing. I don't know that a nipple shield would help, I haven't tried that. One thing I do know is that I felt just as you describe, I would tense up when it was time to nurse and I thought she might sense that, and would either try to bite me or refuse. Have you tried giving her a cold washcloth or something like that before nursing? If she is experiencing some pain due to molars coming in or whatever, that might help her at least get through the nursing session without biting.

[~Katie~]

Sorry to hear about the biting. I haven't dealt with it yet with Laine but when Liam would bite I would say "No bitting, that hurts mama" and if he did it again that would be the end of the nursing session and we'd try again later. They learn pretty quick that biting = no nursing and if they value nursing (which they do) they learn to stop doing it. If she's biting after a period of nursing it could be that she isn't actually hungry anymore and is just kind of fooling around, a lot of babies bite after the milk slows down so it's a good idea to end the nursing session before they reach the point of biting.

Here's the info on kellymom about biting

[Comtessa]

Oh, Blessed_Mom, -- we've totally been there with the biting as well. I think she did it around 7 months, briefly, and I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. I did the same as Katie - screamed in pain and put her down. She learned pretty quickly not to do it, and we haven't had any trouble in a while. It breaks my heart, though, to have to yank her off the breast and put her on the floor and watch her burst into tears.

Trauerweidchen - I'll say some extra prayers for you as this job decision looms before you. I know how hard those decisions can be -- we've talked about moving out of state so that I can pursue my Ph.D., but we definitely can't move away from the grandparents while Olive is so little, we all need them too much and Olive is the light of their lives. I wouldn't be able to work at all if it weren't for my mother and MIL; I don't earn enough to afford child care. So my Ph.D. dreams have to wait -- perhaps forever. *Sigh* IMO, it's a very small price to pay for the joy and pleasure of raising a family in my hometown.

Cheryl -- Olive is a night owl too. She typically doesn't go down before 10:30 pm and usually I fall asleep while trying to get her to sleep! I'd love to get her down earlier in the evening, as DH and I don't get any adult time without her at the moment, but I can't figure out how to make it work. I've tried pushing her to nap more, to nap less, to nap earlier, to nap later, no naps at all -- doesn't seem to make any difference, no matter what I do. Perhaps that's just the time her body clock says is bedtime and there's nothing I can do about it!!!

Originally Posted by cheryllynn

Looking to add eggplant to her diet. I suppose I could just steam it up and add it to quinoa with some green beans or carrots. I personally do not like eggplant but I thought I'd let her give it a try.

I don't think Olive would eat steamed eggplant (I don't think I would eat plain steamed eggplant, either, actually), but she LOVES LOVES LOVES eggplant Parmesan. I soak slices of eggplant in salt water for 1/2 hour, pat dry, dip in a beaten egg and then in a bowl of breadcrumbs, then pan-fry in olive oil until they're crispy and brown. Then I layer them in a small casserole dish with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and plenty of spaghetti sauce and bake in the toaster oven (doesn't heat up the kitchen like the oven does) for 20 minutes or so. She could eat the whole dish.

[Auraji]

Originally Posted by Blessed_Mom

?

Auraji...I saw a similar post from you about Sophia. HAs she stopped now? How long was it? Or is it still continuing? What are you doing/ what did you do?

It's been going on for months and it has actually gotten worse. I've tried EVERYTHING. The pinching her nose so she would open her mouth and let go, she thinks this is some sort of game and just bites harder, wiggles her head and THEN lets go, the pushing my breast against her when she bites, again this is another game for her. The don't bite mama, it hurts mommy and putting her in the crib while I go take a breather and calm down. I actually just came online to make another thread about it and I'm thinking of weaning because I just can't take it anymore. This has been happening since she was about 10 months old and it was here and there, but now is everyday, several times a day. It doesn't matter what I do, where I nurse her, when, in what position, what I say. She knows I don't like it, but she keeps doing it. My nipples are supper sensitive and it makes me sad that I'm thinking of weaning her because of the biting, but it's to the point that I get really mad when she does it because I just don't know what else to do. Last night I just handed her over to DP and went for a walk. It'd be easy if it was just during bedtime, but it's at all times and more at bedtime.

[RomanGoddess]

Hi everyone,
My little guy was born on 25 April but the due date was early May and since I was part of the May 09 DDC, I feel like I belong here.
Biting has been a problem for us, too but. I don't think he does it on purpose, though. Sometimes he clamps down with his mouth just as he is falling asleep.

He has been walking for two months now but his right foot sticks out quite a bit when he walks. Anyone else's babe have something similar?

[trauerweidchen]

Thanks everyone for your supportive thoughts and prayers. We're going to be visiting the company/area we might be moving to this week, so we'll have a better idea of what we'd be gaining for the loss of close grandparents. Hopefully everything will be clearer soon. I just got a sub job locally, too, so we'd be moving from two jobs and our house as well; it'll be a hard decision, but I'm more or less at peace with it now, and I can see good things both ways.

Auraji, I'm so sorry to hear about the biting--that sounds really tough. Jules will bite sometimes, but only when his teeth really hurt (he seems to be getting his molars in now, so he's pretty ouchy, poor bub), and it helps to stop and give him some pain relief (usually ice chips) before continuing to nurse, but it doesn't sound like that's much of a solution to your problem. Honestly, it sounds like you're doing everything right, and she just doesn't get it. Do you have a local support group like LLL that might be able to help as a last ditch effort before weaning her? I know I'd have a tough time letting go of the nursing relationship when Jules was still interested, but if he were biting like you describe, I don't think I could keep it up indefinitely either.

At the very least, you might check out what "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" or another book might have to say about biting, if you haven't already. I just looked at my copy and they mention that nursing position can cause biting, if your growing baby has to tuck her chin to stay latched on--you can try shifting so she is tilting her head back more. Other suggestions the book has depend on when in the nursing session she is biting (if early on, try to get milk flowing before starting to nurse, with compressions; if late in the session, stop preemptively), and if you are using a pacifier or bottle, that can be confusing because those don't mind being chewed on. They also mention illnesses (which seems unlikely since she's been doing this so long), such as earache, teething, allergies, etc. At the very least, if her tongue is in the way (ie, she's latched properly), she shouldn't be able to bite so if you feel her moving her tongue, maybe you can get a finger in there or remove her before you get bitten? This all sounds easier in prospect than in practice, I know. Whatever you decide, I'll be thinking of you in this difficult time, and I hope it resolves itself soon.

In other news, Jules is trying really hard to run and is on the cusp of talking. I was away from him for 12 hours one day last week (about twice as long as I've been away from him ever!), and he handled it superbly, though he was quite happy to see me at the end of it. (I got to shadow a local CNM; it was a really informative and enjoyable day, since I am becoming more and more serious about studying to be a midwife myself). Since then, he's been much more enthusiastic about signing "milk" to me. It's really cute--he obviously missed nursing that day. Still, I'm glad he's old enough now that he can get by on solids for a few hours, since I've never gotten very proficient at pumping (and he isn't big on drinking expressed milk). He is also walking longer distances; he walked DH and me all the way down to our local playground tonight. It's quite a hike--probably 1/6-1/4 of a mile!--and he just chattered the whole way. We had to carry him back, though.

[j_p_i]

Hi everyone, just a quick post before I make breakfast! I've been thinking about all the biting issues, and while we've had them here they were relatively short lived. Olivia also started to bite when she wasn't nursing, she would bite me while we were playing too. I would tell her no biting, and walk away from the play time (which actually didn't seem to bother her, she'd just continue to play). So I started telling her "kisses only" when she would bite, and demonstrate kissing. She now kisses EVERYTHING and the biting has completely stopped, including any biting during nursing. Just a thought, maybe it would help to redirect the biting elsewhere?

[Auraji]

Originally Posted by trauerweidchen

Auraji, I'm so sorry to hear about the biting--that sounds really tough. Jules will bite sometimes, but only when his teeth really hurt (he seems to be getting his molars in now, so he's pretty ouchy, poor bub), and it helps to stop and give him some pain relief (usually ice chips) before continuing to nurse, but it doesn't sound like that's much of a solution to your problem. Honestly, it sounds like you're doing everything right, and she just doesn't get it. Do you have a local support group like LLL that might be able to help as a last ditch effort before weaning her? I know I'd have a tough time letting go of the nursing relationship when Jules was still interested, but if he were biting like you describe, I don't think I could keep it up indefinitely either.

At the very least, you might check out what "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" or another book might have to say about biting, if you haven't already. I just looked at my copy and they mention that nursing position can cause biting, if your growing baby has to tuck her chin to stay latched on--you can try shifting so she is tilting her head back more. Other suggestions the book has depend on when in the nursing session she is biting (if early on, try to get milk flowing before starting to nurse, with compressions; if late in the session, stop preemptively), and if you are using a pacifier or bottle, that can be confusing because those don't mind being chewed on. They also mention illnesses (which seems unlikely since she's been doing this so long), such as earache, teething, allergies, etc. At the very least, if her tongue is in the way (ie, she's latched properly), she shouldn't be able to bite so if you feel her moving her tongue, maybe you can get a finger in there or remove her before you get bitten? This all sounds easier in prospect than in practice, I know. Whatever you decide, I'll be thinking of you in this difficult time, and I hope it resolves itself soon.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm gonna try maybe giving her some teething tablets before each nursing session. I wouldn't feel comfortable giving her tylenol because it happens so many times throughout the day and I try to only use it when really necessary. That book sounds interesting, I'll try reading it. We don't use bottles or pacifiers, but she does drink water from straw cups. I really don't want to wean her, because I think nursing is so special, but at the same time, I don't enjoy doing it anymore. Before I could relax and cuddle and close my eyes with her or just keep doing whatever I was doing if she was in her carrier or read a book while nursing. Now I just have to watch her the whole time, sometimes I catch her right before she's gonna bite and I end things right there, but I need her to stop or at least do it rarely. I might try figuring out if there's an LLL around here or something. I do think she's definitely teething, she bites on the table, books, everything, but I don't think that's the only reason why she does it. She really thinks is some sort of game, I can tell from the look she gets right after biting and that's what I want her to stop thinking. She's just very very stubborn.

Oh and JPI I'll try the kisses only, that might turn the game into a nicer one

[j_p_i]

I have had some success with the teething tablets before nursing too, I hope that works for you! Kisses only has turned out to be super cute, although in the last few days she has been giving raspberries too... which is cute until you're at Macy's and you babe is in a front carrier, and motorboats your boobs in front of the guy selling suits and three other men!

It was funny, I'm sure I turned 8 shades of red as I laughed awkwardly and said, "oh you're tickling me!" because I still want to encourage that over biting!

[Peppermint Poppies]

Originally Posted by j_p_i

... which is cute until you're at Macy's and you babe is in a front carrier, and motorboats your boobs in front of the guy selling suits and three other men!

That's hilarious!

Both Darcy & Jambin are asleep (can you believe it!!!!!!!) so I'm enjoying a little MDC time. I haven't had any time to myself lately, so this is an unexpected little pleasure. Jambin hasn't had a consistent day sleep for about a year now, and is probably only having one today because he's sick and was up with the birds this morning. Darcy is sick too, and this is her first sleep for the day. She still usually has 2 sleep, of about 45 mins each.

I can commiserate somewhat with all the people getting bitten in this thread. Darcy doesn't bite deliberately, but when she falls asleep on the boob, her tongue slips backwards and her mouth shuts with her teeth over my nipple. Unlatching doesn't make her open her teeth, so they just slide backwards over my nipple as I take her off. Ouch!!

We put a swing up in our backyard last weekend, and Darcy has been requesting swings all day long, even though it's freezing outside and has been raining for most of the week. I discovered that it's possible to sit down, read a newspaper, drink a cup of coffee, and push a baby in a swing all at the same time If I'm being really clever, I can even kick the soccer ball to Jambin every now and then.

Darcy still isn't walking *sigh* She's getting heavy, so I hope she's not too far off! Is anyone else's LO not walking yet? Darcy will be 15 months old in a week, so although I'm not overly concerned, I am feeling a little bit of anxiety about it.

Oh, welcome RomanGoddess! Feel free to join in

[~Katie~]

at the motor-boating!

I haven't updated in a while it seems. Laine is starting to learn lots of words and asks what everything is, really just since last week. Balls seem to be her favorite toy and she loves to show me when she has a "bah". She's also starting to run and gets ahead of herself, resulting in lots of scrapes and bruises. She just healed up from an ugly scrape on her forehead and cheek that forced us to postpone family pictures. She has canines and molars coming in all at once and has been crying a lot during the day unless I'm holding her.

DH and I have been switching off shifts because I'm working at night again. Pretty much when he gets home we eat and he takes over for the rest of the night. Thankfully Laine goes to sleep easily for him and I'm not busy like this every night. I end up feeling pretty drained but it's nice to get back into things again.

We've decided to postpone TTC until early 2013, I can't remember if I said that already. I think I decided more so than he but the reality of everything going on in the next year and a half or so hit me and adding another baby to the mix is going to be way too much. The deciding factor ended up being that he'll most likely miss Thanksgiving and Christmas next year because his training got pushed up. In the end I'm okay with it, I know this is the way it has to work out so we can enjoy having a new baby together as a family and not have to worry about anymore Army crap getting in the way.

[trauerweidchen]

Originally Posted by j_p_i

I have had some success with the teething tablets before nursing too, I hope that works for you! Kisses only has turned out to be super cute, although in the last few days she has been giving raspberries too... which is cute until you're at Macy's and you babe is in a front carrier, and motorboats your boobs in front of the guy selling suits and three other men!

It was funny, I'm sure I turned 8 shades of red as I laughed awkwardly and said, "oh you're tickling me!" because I still want to encourage that over biting!

This made me laugh out loud! : That's the kind of thing that would happen to me... but I still like the kisses idea. I'll have to work on that with Jules.

Auraji, I wouldn't use Tylenol either; I'd try the teething tablets and see if they help, or ice chips to numb her gums first. And if there is a La Leche League group near you, you might want to check it out or at least call one of the leaders--I'm not a group person by nature, and I was resistant about going to meetings at first, but LLL has been absolutely fantastic for me as an outlet and for support.

By the way, welcome back to the group, Goddess! We're not as active as we used to be (or at least, I'm not), but the more the merrier. My 14 month old doesn't stick one foot out really, but it sounds like a technique for balancing to me. Do you think it's impacting his muscle development negatively?

Poppies, I don't have any experience with "late" walkers, but it seems to me that if she's obviously progressing and learning other things, that I wouldn't worry yet; she really isn't outside the normal range for starting to walk anyway, according to Google. There's a lot going on developmentally at the age our kids are at, and not everyone learns the same things at the same time. I know what you mean about heavy babes, though--I still wear Jules in a wrap on an almost daily basis, and he's quite the little chunk--almost all muscle, that kid.

Katie, good luck with everything--I know the TTC issue has been a tough one for you, but it sounds like you've made the best decision you can for your family right now, and I hope it all works out perfectly.

[Kelly1101]

Em just had her 15-month-checkup and she finally put on some weight-- she's 21 lb 1 oz. Yay! And 31 inches long.

We've been very busy, just finished moving to a new house, and I'm nearly 33 weeks. I had Em at 36 weeks, so I'm starting to go into panic-nesting mode.

Other than that, everything great here. Em's active and happy. Still not saying a lot of words, but really incredible comprehension of everything I say. She would eat blueberries 24/7 if I let her. My mom has blueberry bushes (she lives out in the country), when we were there last week, Em just plopped down in the grass beside a blueberry bush, and just picked them off the bush and chowed down the entire time we were picking, haha.

I've so far got six pounds of blueberries in the freezer, yay! Going to love making blueberry pancakes and muffins this winter. I have about 2 lbs of picked blue crab meat in there, too, for cream soups this fall and winter. Not to mention I've been stocking freezer meals for post-partum. I'm obsessed with my freezer right now.

But, so far 15 months is being a really good age for us, Em has some frustration tantrums from time to time but other than that she's really easy to get along with

Originally Posted by Peppermint Poppies

Darcy still isn't walking *sigh* She's getting heavy, so I hope she's not too far off! Is anyone else's LO not walking yet? Darcy will be 15 months old in a week, so although I'm not overly concerned, I am feeling a little bit of anxiety about it.

I wouldn't worry until closer to 18 months. Em only just started walking recently, after she'd turned 14 months. One thing I noticed with her walking late, is that she didn't do a lot of the staggering/falling-down that early walkers do. She just stood up and started walking really really well, very steady. I mentioned that to her doctor at her 15-month check up and he said that's usually the case with late walkers, because their co-ordination is so much better by the time they start walking. So, take comfort in that when Darcy starts walking, there will be less falling down and crying

Originally Posted by ~Katie~

We've decided to postpone TTC until early 2013, I can't remember if I said that already. I think I decided more so than he but the reality of everything going on in the next year and a half or so hit me and adding another baby to the mix is going to be way too much. The deciding factor ended up being that he'll most likely miss Thanksgiving and Christmas next year because his training got pushed up. In the end I'm okay with it, I know this is the way it has to work out so we can enjoy having a new baby together as a family and not have to worry about anymore Army crap getting in the way.

*hugs* Glad you were able to decide what would work for you.

[Peppermint Poppies]

Katie - sounds like you're at peace with your TTC decision. I'm not sure if you're planning on having more than 3, but I know a few people with four children, where they are spaced in groups of 2 (if that makes sense) and it seems to work quite well. Each child still has a playmate of the same age, but the older 2 don't need as much hands on help by the time the younger 2 come along, which makes things a bit easier for mama.

Darcy is doing a lot of crying too, unless she's being held. She already has all her canines and first 4 molars, so it should be her incisors next, but I can't see or feel them coming through. I remember DS's incisors were the only teeth that gave him any trouble at all, something to do with the pointiness maybe.

Trauerweidchen - thanks for calming me down! You're right - there is a lot going on developmentally. She's really starting to understand a lot of language, she has definite preferences of things she likes (swings) and doesn't like (nappy changes). It's an exciting age.

Kelly - wow, you must be exhausted!! I moved house (and states) when I was 23 weeks pregnant and that was pretty tiring. I love the mental image of Em picking blueberries straight from the bush. Do you have any photos?
It's comforting to hear that Em didn't walk until recently also. I'm surrounded by people IRL whose babes walked at 10 months, which I know is not the norm, but it kind of seeps into my subconscious

[Novus]

Hello! It's been forever since I've checked or posted on this thread, it seems. It's been a busy month for us and we've been enjoying summer, even with the recent spate of 100 degree days.

Katie--glad you've come to a decision about TTC. I, too, have known people who've had 4 kids in "sets" of two and their families seem really well-balanced and not as chaotic as families with 3+ kids who are really close in age, so hopefully it'll work out well for you guys.

Luke has been picking up lots of new words recently. The most amazing "word" is actually the sign for more, which we hadn't shown him since he was about 8 months old. All of a sudden, he started doing it perfectly a couple of weeks ago--I was so surprised that he remembered the sign, as well as what it meant! He now does it consistently, often pairing it with the verbal word "That" and pointing to what he wants more of. The only other sign we taught him is milk and he'll often sign the two together (more milk) and then point at the boob. He also says "All done" a lot. The other day, I was trying to put him to sleep and he said all done, so I said, "Well, what do you want to do then, play?" and he said "Yes!" and hopped off the bed. I guess that'll teach me to ask dumb questions! I, too, am amazed at how much they understand already.

[~Katie~]

"More" has always been the sign Liam remembered most, that and "eat". Even now he'll occasionally use it.

The biting discussion reminded me to bring up some other issues we've been having. Laine has a tendency to pinch and scratch while she's nursing, to the point of leaving bruises. She also does it while she's falling asleep. I've given her stuffies or lovies but she seems to actually prefer the way skin feels. I never dealt with this with Liam, the only thing he ever did was rub my chest and grasp my shirt when he fell asleep, so I'm not exactly sure how to go about discouraging it other than covering up any exposed skin so she can't pinch me.

[~Katie~]

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