I've got a biter . . .

Crequito

DD is 9 months old and has 8 teeth (front 4 on top and front 4 on bottom).  I totally understand she wants to use these teeth so we'ved started giving her small pieces of solid food to chew (Cheerios and apple slices are her favorite followed by chicken).  Her next favorite thing to do is bite me.  I have bruises on my shoulders and upper arms and I think the only reason she hasn't broken through the skin is my clothes are in the way.  She usually does it when she's tired and I'm cuddling her/rocking her to drowsiness before naptime or bedtime.

The past few times she's bitten me so hard that I have yelled/screamed and pulled her off of me.  My first instinct is to throw her across the room but I set her down on the floor of her room or in her crib gently and get up and walk away for a few minutes.  DD usually starts screaming and hysterically crying, probably because my screaming scared her.  Does anyone have any tips?  The pedi said to speak in a lower, slower voice and tell her no biting and said the putting her down and walking away is ok because it'll teach her that behavior is not ok.  Any thoughts?

lars1226

My LO does this occasionally too, it really hurts! I try not to shout and just say "No biting", set him down and walk away. I also try to have teething rings or other toys he likes to chew on nearby at all times. Does she have a lovey or blanket that she likes? At bedtime, I give him a lovey with a stuffed animal head and he chews on the ears while falling asleep. It's so hard to stay calm and not have a huge reaction but you're right that shouting probably scares her more than anything. 

Cindelightful

I shouldn't shout, but it comes so unexpectedly! I usually shout, "Ow!" then tell him no biting, mommy ow, mommy doesn't like that, etc. Then I give him something to put in his mouth and tell him, "ok bite". I tell him he can bite gently when I'm brushing his teeth. Who knows what he understands! I've had marks for days!