Help!! I Need IMMEDIATE SUPPORT!!!!!! EB Toddler

Oh god, I have SOOOOOOO been there!

Some ideas:

TV
Water--put him in a nice bubble bath with lots of toys
Read or distract yourself while he nurses
Offer up something new and exciting (like emptying a box of rice in a big bowl or something)
Cover up and don't sit down!
Special food treat? Lollipop, ice cream?
www.boohbah.com

Hang in there and try not to lose your sanity! It WILL PASS! I promise!

plant monkey and monkey's mom - Thanks so much for your instant responses. I really needed some support this morning. He's not usually like this and so it has thrown me for a loop. His usually triggers are hunger and needing sleep. He had a lot for breakfast and it was early for a nap. I ended up ordering pizza and he ate 3 more peices of pizza & two pieces of cheezy bread. That's gargantuan compaired to what he normally eats. All morning long I kept offering him all the food we had in the house, fruits, crackers, quesidellas, vege's, milk, yogurt, water, juice. He wouldn't take any of it. He just kept melting down wanting to nurse. So we'd nurse.

I tried to distract him by going outside, playing in the tub, watching the animals outside from the couch, painting, reading, playing games, playing with toys, playing on the computer. He wouldn't hear of any of it. All he wanted to do was nurse, so we'd nurse.

I tried extra hugs, extra kisses, talking about it, talking about his feelings, holding him. All he wanted to do was nurse. So we'd nurse

I tried setting the timer on the stove (it beeped for another 10 minutes and then I shut it off with a screaming toddler at my waist, I tried counting down but he'd cover my mouth and scream at me to stop.

I know that I could have handled all of the extra nursing today (since that type of a request is so rare for him) except for two things 1) ds manipulating the other nipple while nursing (I can't even count how many times in the last month that I've told him no, told him why I'm saying no and redirected him - it's even a crazy amount of times during each nurse. and 2) me feeling assulted by his screaming that I was very stressed out and was afraid that one more nipple manipulation while he was nursing would send me over the edge.

So here's my question after such a long rant (thank you for allowing me that little bit of release):

How can I convince him to leave the other nipple alone while he's nursing?

He LOVES "pinching the nipple" he says he's making it cold or hot or whatever he's thinking of at the time. He loves his "nurses". I am ok with that and want him to understand that I'm ok with that. I want him to love his nurses, I think it's sweet and endearing and a great memory for him.

I just can't handle that extra stimulation. It's my own fault for allowing it in the first place (back at 6 months of age, what did I know??? - should have known better I suppose!!!) What can I do????

Suggestions, expertise, helpful hints, reasurances, anything!!

Thank you

Heidi

DD is also a nipple tweaker and I HATE it. NURSING necklace! Get one. Make one. I wear it only when nursing and she twiddles with that. Or give him something interesting to hold while nursing that he can squich and sqezze like one of those water stress balls. That works for DD too.

Is he getting sick? Growing? I assume he has all his teeth...

I thought about nursing necklaces when he was younger but decided not to because I didn't want to wear them all the time. Now that he's older it would be easier to put them on and off. I will also look into finding something squishy that he can manipulate while he's nursing. Thanks for the suggestions.

He doesn't seem to be getting sick, but time will tell on that one. I was wondering the same thing myself. He is going through a growth spurt right now. He'll be 3 at the end of next month. Lots of things are going on with him right now that I attribute to a growth spurt. I would guess that this is part of that too.

Thanks for your comraderie. I will do your suggestions and hope that he likes them.
Heidi

iamama - I agree, knowing that I can nurse him when he's sick helps me stay the course when nursing proves challenging.

Heavenly - If I would have always said no to the nipple tweaking I could probably say no today, at 35 months, without a large issue. But that isn't our reality. My dh and I are trying to be as positive and gentle as possible with our ds and so we don't think it's acceptable to let him cry it out over this issue. Although there are days when that would certainly be easier.

Heidi

Eclipse - thanks for your ideas. I might try talking to him about nursing as often and as long as he wants if he leaves the other nipple alone. I hadn't thought of that.

As far as his constant nursing, it was only that one day where he was nursing non-stop. He wasn't sick and the episode hasn't repeated itself. I'm not sure what the deal was, because everything was the same as it had been and dh and I were getting along great. Although, I was on the cusp of my period so he may have sensed something there. He is back to his normal nursing now.

As far as the nipple tweaking. I guess I don't see it on par with 'biting or hurting someone' catagory. For ds it's a comfort thing, like the nursing is, and so I prefer to be gentle and positive about getting him to stop tweaking the nipple. It is frustrating that ds is taking so much longer to stop this behavior than what I was hoping for, but he's only 3 and he's still learning, and trying to remember, to control his impulses. I agree that he's old enough to understand that mommy has feelings too, that's why I'm continuing to work with him on this issue.

bwylde - Thanks for your support. I wonder if your little one senses the pg? They're so intuitive aren't they.

Heidi