Feisty baby

[MsSassyBaskets]

I need some tools for my toolbox. DD is a very happy, active, sociable baby and a total joy. She's also a total piece of work. She's 7 months on the dot, and extremely physical. She's not cuddly or gentle at all, though I'm not sure babies really are at this age. Diaper changes are a physical battle as she tries to roll over our kick me in the gut repeatedly. Breastfeeding is downright painful with all the kicking, scratching, pummeling, tugging, and squeezing. She's been like that from extremely early on, it's not like it just started. This morning she woke around 5 and I tried to feed her in bed and snuggle her back to sleep, and I got kicked in the belly repeatedly for my effort. If the cats get close enough she grabs them by the whiskers and ears and tries to eat their faces. If she's not pleased with what I'm doing she throws herself backwards and arches her back and pushes herself away from me. She gets frustrated easily and any unresolved frustration escalates.

She's not really responsive to verbal reprimands yet, but I continue to tell her "be gentle!" and hope that one of these days she'll start understanding... At this point she thinks my getting frustrated and saying "No! Ouch! Be gentle!" is funny. I know a lot of this is par for the course but I'm also feeling like she's a particularly physical baby and it's tiring me out. Last night I had to set her down in the crib diaperless because she was struggling so much and I was getting upset.

Any thoughts?

[MrsK]

Try giving her something to hold while you change her and nurse. You migh have to try a few different things to get the right texture she's seeking. With the cat, be patient and keep showing her how to touch gently. Sometimes it takes a while for kids to develop propreceptive senses (sensations that help them distinguish personal space and appropriate force).

[Thirteen]

If she gets rough with you during nursing, you can always break the latch, use a phrase of your choosing ("No bite", etc), put her down and walk away.
Same thing goes for "guerrilla nursing" (I have a pincher/biter).

Does your changing table have a belt buckle? You can buckle her down.
I always have a toy that they only get to play with while being changed, and that seems to help.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ladymoreta]

Even though it doesn't seem to be working now, I'd keep up the firm, sharp "No!" and putting her down. Think of it as a mini time out (since she's under a year, not quite a minute long). I know she's too young for actual punishments, but this is more of protecting yourself. You have the right to not be hit or bitten, and she's old enough to learn how to nurse without doing those things. (And she's old enough to wait hungry a little while if she's not going to follow the rules. )

For diaper changes, both of mine went through that. I would physically restrain them (holding their legs and feet) until they stopped thrashing (telling them "No kicking. Be still on the changing table.") It could take awhile, and they hated it, but it got what I wanted, a still baby. By putting her down in her crib, she's getting what she wants (off the changing table).

[MsSassyBaskets]

The thing about breastfeeding is that it's always been difficult, since just a few weeks old she has arched her back and struggled while feeding - and she doesn't have reflux. She has also gone on minor nursing strikes for a few days as a time, when it was only possible to nurse when she was very sleepy in the middle of the night, or after a lot of skin to skin time. Now she's distractible and rarely nurses for a full feeding. So I hate to end nursing sessions, ever, because I've been struggling to maintain breastfeeding for so long. I worry that if I ever refuse to nurse when she's willing, however overexcited she is, it is going to lead us down the path to weaning before we're ready.

[SoonerTexan]

Feisty baby

No great advice. You've basically described my son. As he has gotten older he understands more and listens, but he's always been a little on the wild side from the beginning


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Thirteen]

Has she been placed on reflux medicine, just to see?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MsSassyBaskets]

No, but she has no symptoms of reflux. When she fights while nursing, she almost always calms down once she's gotten a letdown. She's impatient and I have a somewhat low supply. She tends to be calmer when my supply is fuller, like earlier in the day. She just wants what she wants, and wants it now.

[MsSassyBaskets]

And ironically, when she was a newborn I had a forceful letdown and she would cough and fight because of that... Now it seems to be the opposite. Either way, struggling while feeding has become the norm.

[scarlett09]

The rolling around during diaper changes totally describes E. I give her a toy to play with, or occasionally a wipe. Which is hilarious because she tries to rip it and can't. Strapping down doesn't really help because she can still roll over under it. I do let her flip over if she is bare bottomed or if I am at the point of putting her pants back on. She's simply interested in exploring everything on the changing table and on the wall next to it. So I let her explore and satisfy her strong curiosity about everything and everyone.

No advice on the breastfeeding battle, but sending you lots of hugs and calm baby vibes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MsSassyBaskets]

The toy while changing is helping, and I also just started changing her on the floor for now because I was wondering if she was afraid of the changing table because she just had a really bad bout of diaper rash. Its helping for now. And for this week, she's working out her energy with grandma, so I'm getting a little break!

[metroguy]

i always change on the bed/crib. this way there's plenty of room for them to move around..
anyway, sounds like you got lucky on the draw. difficult babies don't out grow that phase until way pass 1.. i remember my kid didn't sleep through the night until 2 or 3 yr.. worse sleeper ever.