Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The trouble with teeth

Hamish is getting his top molars. The poor kid is drooling everywhere, his cheeks are bright red, his gums looks horribly inflamed, and where they're pushing through his gums they look almost ulcerated.

But you know what? Not a peep from him. Not one. He is amazing.

Lach on the other hand is going through a biting phase. My arms and shoulders are covered in bruises. One is so big I can't believe his little mouth was responsible. I look as though I've been grabbed and pulled in a boxing ring. This morning he bit Hamish on the face, and the little man screamed the house down. Considering I can count on one hand the number of times I've heard Hamish even cry, this is a big deal.

How do you stop the biting? I've read everything I can get my hands on. It makes sense to me that it's simply cause and effect. As interesting as watching a piece of food fall from his hand to the floor. He doesn't understand emotions and pain. He's not doing it maliciously. He can't verbalise, so maybe it's frustration?

I've tried giving him things to bite, I've tried deflecting the bites, I've looked him in the eye and said 'no' firmly. I've lavished attention on the bitee, hoping he will realise it's not the way to get my attention. I've pulled a sad face and said "you've hurt mama". I've tried an over-dramatic crying reaction (he laughed - I imagine it must have looked fairly ridiculous). I've tried ignoring it.

I will not bite him back.

He doesn't bite T. Why?

Perhaps a coat of armour until then!

1 comment:

  1. Oh Jen! I had a similar problem with Mikey. Thankfully, it only lasted about a week. After the worst bite (he bit my face), I raised my voice at him and said, 'No biting! Biting hurts'. Whenever he went to bite again, I repeated it and after about a week, he just gave up. Hoping it doesn't last too long. And I think you're right, it's a frustration thing.

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