Baby with Busy Hands

All babies do these things while learning to hold-on. Keep those nails short and smooth and put little gloves on his hands during feeding (that's what I did).

My daughter who is now 18 months old started to get "busy hands" at about that age as well. She also started to bite my nipple around 6 or 7 months. It passed. I think your son is just exploring his world and your reactions more. You could try to give him a toy to play with to keep his hands busy while nursing. When my daughter would do something that hurt, I would gently tell her "no, that hurts mommy. be gentle" a few times and stop the feeding if she didn't stop. After being "cut off" she started to get the idea of what was not allowed. Now she just plays with my hair, gently, thankfully, while nursing.

My son does that too. I bought a nursing necklace that I wear all the time. It was hard to find one that I didn't feel was childish or not appropriate for everyday wear. I ended up finding a website called www.laughingstarfish.com. Lots of cute stuff and affordable. It didn't completely stop the hair pulling and scratching but it helped out a lot. They also carry these necklaces at Be By Baby in the city if you want to pick it out in person. It hasn't completely passed for me yet but from the sounds of it, it does!

I had this same problem right down to the thumb while nursing. I tried giving him a little stuffed animal to play with while he was nursing so he would pick at that and not me. It seemed to work sometimes... Other than that I just dealt with it and kept pulling his hands away and he eventually grew out of it. Good luck!

Oh yes, at first its cute when they grab your hair (nipples, a hand full of flesh, etc.), then they get stronger and start really yanking!

I just try to give my daughter something to hold onto while nursing. You don't need a fancy necklace, just try giving him a small toy or blankie. For my daughter it could be anything, a toy, a plastic cup, the cat (haha). She occasionally reaches into my bra and gets a hold of a nursing pad and likes to wave it around while nursing, which is always entertaining.

I did end up getting my hair cut, even though I swore I wouldn't!

my 8 month old son does that too. he's a very busy guy in general, which is awesome, but makes nursing unbearable sometimes. i have found that if i wear a shirt that has an accent button sort of on the shoulder he will play with that and not my face, hair, nipple, etc. sometimes i hold his hand, or put my hand in the way so he plays with my fingers instead. other than that, i have not figured anything else out! he's nursing less and less and his attention span is sooo short. frustrating and i feel your pain!!!

My daughter pinched,scratched,pull,twisted and rubbed everything she could reach from day one of nursing and now she is almost 15 months old and although we no longer nurse she HAS TO do the ritual as she falls asleep. Sometimes it hurts to be pinched so much and when it does I move her hands or try to put something (ie: my shirt or a stuffed animal) between us but if it's not hurting I just let her do it. She gets to sleep faster & she's learning to self soothe. Plus the faster she goes to sleep the sooner I get to enjoy some free time. Truthfully, I enjoy the intimacy of her little ritual. They grow so fast.

you could try a nursing necklace. at the Le Leche conf last year, I met a lady in Ohio who makes really cute ones made of ribbon that stretch (elastic) and release (velcro closure)if pulled too hard. Her company is Mara Monkey and the website is maramonkey.com. Her designs are really cute and it worked for my busy 10 month old!