It IS natural to want a life, a slice of time, the chance to pee alone, for yourself, isn't it?
As you might have been able to infer from my recent posts, life is sucking here more often than it's not. In addition to moving stress and job stress, Isabella has seemingly overnight changed from benevolent dictator into despotic tyrant. Allow me to go on record: I am not liking 3. 2 was challenging, but not awful. 3 is making me turn grey well before my time. But again, this is a post for another day.
Today's rant concerns Nicholas and his metamorphosis from this charming, smiley, although definitely more higher-needs-than-his-twin-sister little boy:
Into this clingy, weepy, whiny puddle of despair:
I believe I have identified the impetus for his misery. It is white, tiny, multiplying, and causing both of us a great deal of pain.
Nicholas has his first tooth, which you can see just popping out along his bottom gumline.
This tooth was not scheduled. Isabella had a mouth full of gums until she was 15.5 months old. There were no teeth visible at the twins' 9 month checkup, and I figured I had months to go before having to deal with teeth.
And now I have to deal with teeth. Tiny, seemingly harmless, but f-ing sharp as all hell teeth. On my nipples.
Yes, I am still exclusively nursing the twins. And my son, this adorable little boy with the killer grin and big doe eyes is biting me while I'm nursing, drawing blood, and then laughing in my face as I scream in pain. I have tried everything I can think of to get him to stop, but this sadist will not be thwarted.
Teeth suck and are completely unnecessary for a 10-month-old. Their emergence in Nicholas' mouth is making him miserable around the clock. If I have the audacity to say, put him down in order to change his sister's diaper, make breakfast, or you, know, comb my hair, he screams and whines until I relent and pick him up. This begins from the moment he wakes up in the morning, with few exceptions, until the time he goes to bed at night. He's always been a mama's boy, but now it's getting ridiculous.
And the biting business is making me mad. Listen up, buddy. I have sacrificed a lot to nurse you for 10 months. I have given up caffeine, booze, countless hours of sleep, and loads of free time to give you the boob. And this is how you repay me?
Seriously?
Mama loves you, baby boy, but lay off the biting. Vampires are overrated anyway.
Okay NO mother would enjoy that part of parenting! Good luck and God bless. I wish I had a magic cure. I do not. What worked for me was the anticipating when they were going to do it and then pushing their face into my breast. It worked, but we had never gotten to the point you're at.
BTW--with Jason, three was much, much worse than 2. Really awful. I don't know if it's because I expected trouble at 2 then didn't at 3 or what, but I remember that as a difficult time. It passed. I promise one day Isabella will be back to benevolent dictator. :-)
Good luck with Nicholas. Does Tylenol or Advil help? Maybe you can hire a sitter a few hours a week to get away from it?
I'm so sorry you're experiencing this. My kids never bit me while nursing. I can't imagine, but know I got away lucky.
I found with my oldest that 3 was way worse than 2. I'm dreading my 2 year old hitting the 3's. But, oh, 4 can be such a joy. Just wait until she's 4! It's like a flip of a switch.
OUCH! I have lucked out and hardly ever been bitten in the 18 months I've been nursing my son. (He got his first tooth around 7 months I think.) I am terrified that one of twins will be a biter, since I lucked out this time. I'm not really sure I can handle that!!
There is something about age 3 that is just ... sheer ... well, there are no words. No. Words. I remember that as a very, very difficult time, and you have a lot going on that's adding to things.
I'm sorry this is so hard right now. I don't know what else to say except ... I understand.
I am so with you on this one! A & E have 8 teeth each and have been biting the hell out of me lately (E more than A). Teeth really are overrated!!!
I thought I should also add that I agree that age 3 is pretty difficult. Whoever came up with the term "terrible 2s" obviously hadn't had a three year old yet!
No question. Threes SUCK was worse than any age I know; bearing in mind I am only up to 8! I imagine when our girls hit the teens we will be begging for the tyrannical midget threes!
xx
Oooh. Ow.
My kiddos started teething at 9 and 8 months respectively. The first one, got SICK everytime a new tooth came in, and the process lasted until he was 2. The second one, got all his teeth by the time he was 15 months, and has barely been sick at all (aside from the occasional seasonal sniffles, and one bout of tonsilitis)
Thankfully I nursed neither of them - ha ha. So I didn't have to deal with all that...I kind of selfishly thought that sleeplessness and ear drum piercing was enough input from me. Eh hem.
I hope it goes better - that or you can get some kind of nipple shield to ease up on the whole dracula scenario.
I forgot to add, 3 is MUCH worse than 2.
However, there is a reason that people around these parts say,
"Terrible Twos, Tiresome Threes, F*CKING Fours..."
Okay, my sister went through the same thing you're going through now. She would remove him from the breast until he understood that biting was not allowed. And yes, this meant that the sessions weren't fast or pleasant. And if he continue, he didn't get any more milk (by then, he was already eating other food and would get that instead).
She finally stopped breast feeding him not because he kept biting -- he learned that if he bit, he wouldn't get milk -- but because he developed this little habit of pinching her.
My sister tried the same method as the biting to get him to stop pinching her, but he really wouldn't stop -- so she just weaned him. He's had milk long enough anyway -- it was now a "treat" like dessert.
Ow! Little Elvis wasn't too much of a biter, but at the end of our nursing, he started biting a whole lot more (he began teething at 6 months, so by 13 months there were several sharp little buggers in that sweet mouth.) We realized that my gradual weaning was unintentionally going more quickly than planned. He was hungry and I wasn't enough anymore.
Hopefully Nicholas will get over the biting soon!
I never got a chance to leave a comment, Kristi, but that was about the essence of my thoughts on your last post. Selfless doesn't equate to good or natural mom. Kids need independence and so do moms. Firm believer. :)
Anyhow, as for the new post ... YAY for you for still breastfeeding. I am in awe. We're already done and it is not without quite a bit of guilt on my part. You are such a trooper. So sorry about his teeth. You should have a damned breastfeeding gold medal. I would arrange for one if I had any power. ;)
I just wanted to say that age 2 is NOTHING compared to 3. Terrible 2's, how about the terrifying three's? I completely agree with you on this. Three is a hard age, but then throw in two adorable twins and it is that much worse. I have felt the same way on many days and I am not even dealing with the breastfeeding issues.