[quantumleap]

dd is 3.5 months old and trying out all sorts of new (irritating!) things with her hands while nursing. She is *not* a thumb sucker, but she's taken to stuffing her thumb into her mouth with my breast. It doesn't exactly feel great, but what's driving me around the bend is the PINCHING. She uses her top hand and grabs the very top layer of skin on my breast and then pinches/rolls it in her little fingers. She digs her nails in. She just goes to town. It turns my breast bright red, with little finger nail marks in it. I thought maybe she was trying to knead the breast to up the milk, but that's really not what she's doing, and I've supply is one thing we've never had trouble with.
Is there any way to discourage this? If I hold her hand, she'll flail it around and squeeze my finger instead of mauling my breast, but, really, sometimes it's nice to read or have a glass of water or something while she nurses. Having the use of one of my hands is kinda nice.
Or, just want to commiserate?

 

[Megan73]

I have a pincher, grabber, scratcher, too.

What I've done since he was about 3 months old (he's now eight months) is lay him on top of a receiving blanket then tuck the end over top of him, trapping his arms. He's gotten used to it (he's never struggled) and mama's boob is safe from his little hands.
IMO, the nursing relationship is a two-way street. We shouldn't have to put up with being battered at every feed!
Now if only there was an easy fix for biting. Sigh.

 

[vegancat]

OMG I can relate. I'm bruised all over from the pinching and scratching - no matter how short I cut her nails, she manages to dig them in. The best solution I've found is to wear a scarf or necklace and let her play with that instead. I bought a long necklace with big plastic beads and she seems to really like it. I wear v-necked tops and nurse just by popping a breast out the front so the necklace is the perfect distraction.

 

[Unconventional1]

Have you tried a nursing necklace? Go to a hobby or bead store, pick out some pretty looking, interesting feeling beads. It helps to keep their hands busy with something other than your breasts!

 

[Leisha]

Yeah my dd does this too... sticking her hand in her mouth together with my nipple; squeezing/pinching/clawing my breast (often as close to the nipple as possible - auch); digging her thumb (and super sharp thumb nail) into my skin etc. She actually makes little bleeding wounds!!
Once I got up in the morning and started pumping milk, still half asleep, and when I looked down to the pump, there was loads of blood there because all the little wounds; I was pumping blood, yargh!! (Probably seemed a lot worse than it actually was, but I was still half asleep and it freaked me out, lol)

I've kind of gotten used to it over the last months, but we've had really nice weather over the last couple of days and so I haven't been wearing a scarf anymore, and now my scabby cleavage is there for the world to see

it's not pretty. LOL

I used to be able to hold her hand, but she doesn't want that anymore.

I bought a necklace with interesting shaped and coloured beads, but I really never ever wear jewelery normally so I keep forgetting to put it on

 

[gagin37]

my ds is a total ruffian while he nurses, and its just gotten worse as he's gotten older. we tried a nursing necklace and he just tried to eat it instead of nursing. he does the 'thumb in mouth while nursing' thing too, even though he's not a thumb sucker at all. he pinches, grabs, pulls, scratches, and now his new favorite thing to do is put his fingers in my mouth and 'fishhook' my lips and cheek.

: i used to be able to hold his free hand, now that just makes him really.really.mad! i tried covering my exposed breast with my shirt, nope, he just shoves it back up.

 

[_betsy_]

I swaddle. I can usually tell when DD2 (13 weeks) is going to be all grabby and pinchy by how awake she is when she gets hungry. I just swaddle her then, and she really is fine with it most of the time. She's still swaddled for sleep, and I think someimes if I try to swaddle her to nurse she gets all mad like she's telling me "But I'm *hungry,* not *tired* yet!" But most of the time she happily accepts having her arms pinned down with the blanket while nursing.

 

[Logan's mommy]

Ds2 isn't too bad about pinching while he's nursing, but he does want to stick his hands in my face and mouth. Ugh, I have a lebret (bottom lip) piercing and it hurts my teeth and gums when he graps my lip and pulls it out and lets it snap back.

He pinches me when I'm carrying him around. I have a huge bruise on my arm from where he got me.

He won't allow me to swaddle him, or hold his hands or anything, so I make sure to lay in bed with him and cover up and for some reason he'll leave my face alone and grab at the blanket or his hair instead (he pulls his hair when he's trying to go to sleep, doesn't seem to bother him though)