Monday, March 5, 2012

Day 781: No Bites!

Today was actually a good day.

Surprise.

A HUGE part of the problem has been Baby B.  He's become a compulsive biter.  I mean, seriously compulsive.  As in, biting frequently with absolutely no known cause.

Which is why I missed yoga (and exercise in general) all last week.  He's bitten so many children, he's not really tolerated in the child care center at the gym any more.

But my mom helped me come up with a solution Saturday night.  I tried implementing it yesterday during nursery at church and it went really well.

But I tried to curb my optimism for this morning, lest I be disappointed and crash yet again.

We went early.  I stayed with him for 25 minutes, giving him a "treat" (freeze dried raspberries) every 5-10 minutes while telling him, "Treat for not biting.  Good job!"  All while watching him like a hawk.  And then I instructed the girl in charge of the toddler area to do the same and to definitely not let him out of the toddler area.

I watched the clock all through yoga, waiting for them to come get me and kick me and my pirana out.  But they never came.

I even got to shower because I'd brought a yogurt for him to snack on at the end.  Happily isolated in a high chair.

He never bit once!!!!  Joyful Moment for sure.

He got rewarded with a stop at the park.  And some quality time with his favorite mama.

I know not every day will be this success story as we try to cure him of his biting problem.  But I'm really glad today was a success.  We both need that.

And the rest of the day was pretty great as well.

Well, most of the rest of it.  Tonight we hit some major bumps in the road.  But it was nothing that a good chat and some snuggling with HH couldn't fix.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that don't bite!

5 comments:

Becky said...

WOW the 5th's cousin safely arrived on earth last night. Definitely our joyful moment for the day. (Although feeling the excitement of Uncle J when he called on his way to visit was a close second.) We're looking forward to our opportunity to visit in person next month!

Belkycita said...

Ok I know this sounds mean but our friends gave us a tip on biting.
When the child bites, immediately have him bite a bar soap.
We tried with Victoria, we did it twice and never had a problem again.

then she had a licking problem... the soap didn't fix it.... we still have that problem, and a lot of colds.

Cheryl said...

Becky--Congratulations! So exciting!

Belky--Thanks for the tip! Unfortunately, he mostly bites at the gym daycare and they are limited in their options to intervene.

Little M went through a licking phase. Yucky, but at least you know she will outgrow it!

Linda said...

Can't say how happy I was to hear of your success. You know.

My JM was having a day of 60 degree weather and being able to enjoy it, spending some time outside. Spring isn't here yet, but today reminded me that it's around the corner. This was a day filled with pain, and the thoughts of good weather ahead reminded me that there are many good days ahead.

Cheryl said...

We've been having some warm weather lately, too. Loving it as well!