Bite Me!

So you have the usual teething side effects: runny nose, fever, excessive drooling, diarrhea, fussy kiddo, etc. But how come no one mentions the challenge that is the teeth themselves? Cuz at the end of the day the other ailments fall by the wayside and you have a kiddo with a mouthful of fairly sharp objects - more specifically, a kiddo who is still learning self-restraint.

Kendry has six teeth now, and I have at least that many tiny bite marks on my body. I know what you are thinking: “just discipline him when he bites” or “bite him right back”. Both valid suggestions. Thank you. But here is the thing, Kendry doesn’t simply outright bite out of anger or to get your attention; he appears to bite out of affection. And this is most evident by the fact that I have by far the most bite marks out of any of his victims. Oh I can really hear your judgmental thoughts now. "Biting out of affection?! Puh-lease, Jody! Just buck up and discipline your kid already before he becomes the neighborhood biter, or better yet, before he bites my kid."

But just hear me out. Kendry's vampire-like attacks happen when he playfully lays his head into my neck and shoulder and does a little spastic snuggle, usually putting his open mouth onto the curve of my shoulder and then -OUCH!- there it is. Although this hurts, it doesn’t come close to the thigh bite, where he runs up to me excitedly and buries his head into my legs, once again doing his sneaky little "snuggle and bite" move. And his latest this week: he moved in all precious-like, as if he was going to give me a big kiss, and then the little toot bit my lower lip! My lip was numb for the next half hour.

Yes, we do discipline him when he does this. He obviously needs to know that what he is doing hurts someone. And when he starts to do his "spastic snuggle" move, we sternly remind him "Don't bite". But I can't say that these tactics have proved all that successful just yet. And in the meantime, the kiddo keeps getting more teeth! It breaks my heart to think about using the tactic of biting him back to show him how it feels because I don't want to discourage the snuggling.

What is a parent to do? Suggestions? Advice? Anyone?