Advice on How to Deal with a Nine-month-old with Eight Teeth.

It could be a coulpe of things.
First, it could be his teeth hurt from teething and he needs relief.
Second, it might be he is learning to kiss and give affection.
It might be a bit of both.
C. B

While you may think 9 months is too early to start saying no, I disagree. My daughter is 6 months and we have had to start saying no to her for some things, and she totally understands. you don't have to yell at him, but if you you just say in a firm and serious voice, "no", they will understand. It worked for us. Hopefully it will work for you.
Good luck!

Henry did this same thing! He's up to twelve teeth now at 17 months. We got the book "Teeth Are Not For Biting" by Elizabeth Verdick. He loves the pictures and there is a great tip section for parents at the back of the book.

Around the nine month mark (and still now sometimes), when ever he bit us, we would say "Ouch! Biting hurts!" which is a phrase repeated throughout the book. Then we'd stop whatever we were doing... so if I was holding him or playing, I'd put him down, etc. Sometimes we'd overract to bites with tears, to show him how much it hurt. But the big thing is don't bite back, and be patient, because it really is a phase. They are just trying to figure this teeth thing out.

I also noticed that he was more prone to biting when he was tired, frustrated, or not getitng his way. It was a big clue to me to either pay a little more attention to him, or put him down for a nap!

I often wondered if all kids bit at that age, but only us parents that got the babies with teeth noticed. :)

I also agree with the kissing thing. After my mom bought him the book "Where do Kisses Come From?" Henry's started a crazy kissing phase in our house... I hope it lasts a long time!!

Hang in there! He'll grow out of the biting. Just yesterday, in the car, my husband said the word "bite" totally out of context, and from the carseat we hear, "Ouch!" So he does get it - biting hurts! LOL!

Dear M., while I agree that 9 months old isn't old enough to really understand what "no" means, (And explaining and logic are not appropriate yes,) this is a great time to introduce the basic "no." My daughter went through a biting phase at about the same age, and her biting (and hair-pulling) were the triggers for our introducing the first bits of discipline. Whenever she bit, or yanked my hair, I'd remover her from me, look her in the eye, and tell her firmly, but lovingly "No. No biting."(or hair-pulling) always exactly the same way, then wait about two seconds, and then re-start our cuddling or whatever activity she'd interrupted. If she did it again, we'd repeat...

It never became a big deal, just enough of an interruption of her fun time that she was able to process that, gee, whenever she behaved in these ways, the fun stopped. Nine-month-olds are plenty able to make that simple connection. It took about two weeks for the lesson to sink in, but with consistency, it did, and we're all happier for it, and now when we REALLY need to say "no", we'll have a little foundation created for that learning experience.

We flicked our son's cheek just like when he bit while nursing. He finally learned not to bite. It is a problem when they get teeth so young! It hurts, too! The flick doesn't have to hurt. A little sting, and sometimes even less works just fine. You just want them to not like it. For our son that didn't always mean he cried, so it was kind of hard to know, but being consistent it was a short lived stage with just a few bad bruises. GL

M. - My daughter does the same exact thing you describe. It was like once she got her teeth she was exploring everything with them. What happened with us is Zoe learned to kiss - now when she looks like she may just try to bite, I tell her to kiss me instead. For us she only seemed to do when she was really excited. Is that the same for you?

I am a 37 yr old mom of 1, if it makes you feel any better! :)