Bad Habits
Colin has developed a few bad habits...
Biting
When Colin first got teeth he started biting me while nursing. I won't go into any details, but it was very unpleasant, and I eventually got him to stop by shouting loudly every time he did it... which was typically followed by the dog barking like a maniac because she would get startled. Plus I'd stop nursing him - when he realized he was interrupting his food it stopped being amusing.
Now that he has 5 teeth (with a sixth nearly in, and more on the way) he's resumed biting. Thankfully not while nursing, but he's biting me and it is a problem. The good/bad part is that he doesn't bite anyone else - at least not yet. His Nosferatu act seems to be reserved solely for his mother.
The first big bite happened one night when he was horribly overtired, and fighting sleep. He was crying, and nestling into me trying to find a way to get semi-comfortable. He put his face down, as if to relax, and the next thing I knew he bit me right between my collar bones. Not any little nip either - I had a mark for days! His punishment was that I handed him over to his father. That may not sound like a punishment, but when he's crazy his mama's-boy tendencies become pronounced. For me to be sitting 6 inches away and not hold him when he was sobbing and reaching for me got the point through.
Or so I thought.
I've received a few nips since then. Mostly he's bitten my clothing, which is a little weird, but at least not painful. But this past Saturday he caught me with my guard down. Colin woke up around 3AM, very upset. I assumed this was teething issues again, so I went to pick him up. I gave him a couple of teething tablets, and rocked him so he'd fall back asleep. I had him in my arms, with his head resting semi-limply on my shoulder. He was relaxed and (I thought) nearly asleep, and I was dopey-drowsy as well. Then... CHOMP! The little booger bit my lat and dug in... I had visions of a cartoon beaver taking a giant bite out of a log. And he didn't let up - the pressure kept increasing!!!
I'm still not sure if he was entirely aware of what he was doing, but I had to (literally) pull him off after which the sobbing began in earnest. (Surprisingly his, not mine.) The next morning I checked in the mirror, and I have two teeny red marks on my lat, which truly look like I was attacked by a very small vampire. (I guess this is what I get for reading so much Anne Rice!)
Hair Pulling
Colin seems to do this only to his mother, and mostly while nursing. He starts by gently petting my hair, running his fingers through it in a self-soothing manner. Then suddenly, without warning, he grabs a fistful and yanks it BACK-AND-FORTH-AND-BACK-AND-FORTH like he's ringing the bells of Notre Dame.
Initially I corrected him gently, since he was still a teeny little guy. I would take his arm (to prevent him from actually ripping out my hair), then after peeling back his fingers from my hair, I would take his hand and "pet" my hair saying "Gentle, Colin, gentle with mama" to teach him how to play nice. It got better for a while, but recently the yanking resumed. With gusto.
Since he's bigger now, and should able to understand that hair pulling is not acceptable I tried a firm "no". Which had "no" impact. I then moved to tugging his hair - again, no reaction. So then I grabbed the hair by his temple - a notoriously sensitive spot - and gave it a firm, sharp tug when he pulled my hair. I felt bad doing it, but figured it if hurt him he's get the picture that this was a bad idea, and it would stop. His reaction... Tears? No. Shock? No. Anger? Nope. He giggled. The little monster giggled and looked up at me, 110% imp without even a hint of contrition.
While I am not entirely happy about Colin's reaction to my hair-pull punishment, I couldn't help but be just a little amused at his reaction.
And here's where I have to admit my own history... as an infant I reportedly pulled my mother's hair. To end this nasty habit my father pulled my hair rather hard. As the story goes, I turned away from him into my mother, sobbing at the horror of having my hair pulled. Then I turned back to my dad, looked right at him, grabbed a chunk of my mother's hair, and gave a giant pull to go with the defiant glare on my face. (I was probably about 2 years old at the time.) Similarly it took a very hard bite from my father to cure me of my own biting habit.
I'm going to continue to try the hair-pull solution for now, but given my son's attitude and family history I have little faith that this will work. So after I make him laugh, I guess I'll just grab his arm and physically restrain him.
Man, am I ever in trouble!!!
Biting
When Colin first got teeth he started biting me while nursing. I won't go into any details, but it was very unpleasant, and I eventually got him to stop by shouting loudly every time he did it... which was typically followed by the dog barking like a maniac because she would get startled. Plus I'd stop nursing him - when he realized he was interrupting his food it stopped being amusing.
Now that he has 5 teeth (with a sixth nearly in, and more on the way) he's resumed biting. Thankfully not while nursing, but he's biting me and it is a problem. The good/bad part is that he doesn't bite anyone else - at least not yet. His Nosferatu act seems to be reserved solely for his mother.
The first big bite happened one night when he was horribly overtired, and fighting sleep. He was crying, and nestling into me trying to find a way to get semi-comfortable. He put his face down, as if to relax, and the next thing I knew he bit me right between my collar bones. Not any little nip either - I had a mark for days! His punishment was that I handed him over to his father. That may not sound like a punishment, but when he's crazy his mama's-boy tendencies become pronounced. For me to be sitting 6 inches away and not hold him when he was sobbing and reaching for me got the point through.
Or so I thought.
I've received a few nips since then. Mostly he's bitten my clothing, which is a little weird, but at least not painful. But this past Saturday he caught me with my guard down. Colin woke up around 3AM, very upset. I assumed this was teething issues again, so I went to pick him up. I gave him a couple of teething tablets, and rocked him so he'd fall back asleep. I had him in my arms, with his head resting semi-limply on my shoulder. He was relaxed and (I thought) nearly asleep, and I was dopey-drowsy as well. Then... CHOMP! The little booger bit my lat and dug in... I had visions of a cartoon beaver taking a giant bite out of a log. And he didn't let up - the pressure kept increasing!!!
I'm still not sure if he was entirely aware of what he was doing, but I had to (literally) pull him off after which the sobbing began in earnest. (Surprisingly his, not mine.) The next morning I checked in the mirror, and I have two teeny red marks on my lat, which truly look like I was attacked by a very small vampire. (I guess this is what I get for reading so much Anne Rice!)
Hair Pulling
Colin seems to do this only to his mother, and mostly while nursing. He starts by gently petting my hair, running his fingers through it in a self-soothing manner. Then suddenly, without warning, he grabs a fistful and yanks it BACK-AND-FORTH-AND-BACK-AND-FORTH like he's ringing the bells of Notre Dame.
Initially I corrected him gently, since he was still a teeny little guy. I would take his arm (to prevent him from actually ripping out my hair), then after peeling back his fingers from my hair, I would take his hand and "pet" my hair saying "Gentle, Colin, gentle with mama" to teach him how to play nice. It got better for a while, but recently the yanking resumed. With gusto.
Since he's bigger now, and should able to understand that hair pulling is not acceptable I tried a firm "no". Which had "no" impact. I then moved to tugging his hair - again, no reaction. So then I grabbed the hair by his temple - a notoriously sensitive spot - and gave it a firm, sharp tug when he pulled my hair. I felt bad doing it, but figured it if hurt him he's get the picture that this was a bad idea, and it would stop. His reaction... Tears? No. Shock? No. Anger? Nope. He giggled. The little monster giggled and looked up at me, 110% imp without even a hint of contrition.
While I am not entirely happy about Colin's reaction to my hair-pull punishment, I couldn't help but be just a little amused at his reaction.
And here's where I have to admit my own history... as an infant I reportedly pulled my mother's hair. To end this nasty habit my father pulled my hair rather hard. As the story goes, I turned away from him into my mother, sobbing at the horror of having my hair pulled. Then I turned back to my dad, looked right at him, grabbed a chunk of my mother's hair, and gave a giant pull to go with the defiant glare on my face. (I was probably about 2 years old at the time.) Similarly it took a very hard bite from my father to cure me of my own biting habit.
I'm going to continue to try the hair-pull solution for now, but given my son's attitude and family history I have little faith that this will work. So after I make him laugh, I guess I'll just grab his arm and physically restrain him.
Man, am I ever in trouble!!!
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