Mr. Clingwrap aka Fang

I've mentioned before that Holden has been exceptionally clingy lately, but have I mentioned that he's a biter?

Yes, Little H is that kid. The one who garners sidelong glances and spurs backstabbing gossip. Yes, I'm that mom, now.

Holden is at the age of easy frustration. If we put the wrong morsel on his high chair, he'll fling it back at us. (And man, a sippy cup to the head really hurts!) If we don't immediately understand him, he lashes out and flings anything within reaching distance. If he's in his high chair, he sweeps both arms across his tray, flinging everything onto the ground. He'll even toss his beloved blankie and pacifier away if that's all that's available.

Toddler frustration is fine. That I can deal with. But the biting. Oy.

The usual scenario goes something like this:

Big H has a toy. Little H decides he wants it. Little H comes within a 1 foot perimeter of Big H with an acquisitive gleam in his eye. Big H immediately begins screaming "No, brother, NO! I had it first! Mommmmmmyyyyyyyy!"

Little H closes the distance to about 6 inches and grabs for the Toy. Big H pushes him away.

Little H screams in frustration.

Lookout! Here come the teeth!

Over the last few months, Fang has branched out a bit. Now, any frustration can result in a biting incident. If I tell him no, he bites anything in close range. If he can't get to his brother, he'll lean over and bite the coffee table. If no furniture is in close range, he'll fling himself on the ground, fold up in the pike position, and bite his toes.

Seriously, people. He bites his own toes.

Friday, was the worst biting day ever. He bit 3 people at daycare. 1 older boy got a chomp on the knee, another got a chomp on the stomach (ouch!), and finally, Holden bit his own arm hard enough to draw blood. Even if no one had seen it, we'd know it was him. The unfinished dental impression, with all 4 eye teeth missing, was a dead give away.

I'm at a loss here, friends. Time outs don't work. I'm not going to spank my biting baby and I'm certainly not going to bite him back. Let's face it, even if I weren't opposed to that particular method of Bite Aversion Therapy, I'm not sure that it would work. Little H bites himself on a regular basis. He's bitten himself hard enough to leave marks several times and now he's drawing blood.

Assuming he has a functioning nervous system, Holden knows that biting hurts.

My latest attempt at Bite Aversion Therapy, involves a teething ring. When we see a bite coming, we shove it in his mouth hand him the teething ring and remove him from the vicinity of all chompable objects as swiftly as possible. We're hoping that we can teach him to at least bite something appropriate if he's going to bite. We're only 1 day into the new method, but we did have a relatively bite free day. That's not to say there weren't any attempts, but at least no one needed a tetanus shot.

If anyone else has any tricks that work, for the love of all that is holy and unmarred by Holden's teeth, please share! I'm starting to feel like Lois in the "Stewie Loves Lois" episode:



Well, you know, without the creepy sexual advances from a dog.