My 18 month old Son loves twiddling with my free nipple when breastfeeding. When I try to stop him by gently removing his hand he starts crying. Is that a cause of concern? Will he grow out of it? When he wakes MOTN to nurse he will twiddle on the free nipple as well. It's getting quite annoying. Any tips from mummies?

My son also does that. You can try different methods to distract him to see which works for you and your son. You can keep the other nipple covered. If you’re wearing a nursing bra, don’t lower the flap. If you’re wearing a sports bra, don’t lift it up. Older babies can be very insistent and tug at the bra, or even learn to release the flap, tell him firmly you can remove his hand gently while saying “No. You can’t (pinch, or pull nipple because that hurts mommy.”) Try the cross-cradle hold. If your baby is nursing on the right side, use your left forearm to tightly cover the left nipple. He may try to pull it away, but again, firmly tell him to stop twiddling. Try offering him a nursing necklace (especially made with big beads and long enough for him to reach while nursing). Nursing necklaces work well for some babies, especially if you introduce them early on before the twiddling behavior becomes disruptive. Try different toys and textures. Sometimes babies will accept a blanket or fuzzy toy to hold better than they will something hard like necklace beads. Babies who like to twirl hair or gently stroke your face may accept a blanket or soft stuffed animal, and babies who pinch the nipple or fiddle with buttons are more likely to accept nursing beads or plastic toys. Twiddling is a very common and very normal behavior, and all babies outgrow it.

Twiddling is a very common behavior in nursing toddlers. It is similar to the way kittens and many other mammals encourage the let-down reflex in order to obtain more milk. While it's annoying there is an advantage to twiddling: it keeps the baby’s other hand occupied and moving while they have to keep the rest of their body still. This is often difficult for busy toddlers, so twiddling may help them settle down and focus more on nursing so feedings go more smoothly and last longer. If it's starting to get to you and you want your toddler to stop, I suggest you try to start teaching nursing manners. Teach your toddler pinching your nipple when nursing, is a behavior that is not acceptable. You can teach your baby nursing manners in several ways. You can remove his hand gently while saying “No. You can’t pinch because that hurts mommy.” After giving him a verbal suggestion, you can say “We’re going to stop nursing if you keep pinching" If he persists with the behavior after a verbal reminder, you can stop the feeding. This may result in a temper tantrum of epic proportions. With all eyes upon you, you may feel that giving in ‘just this once’ and nursing him is less embarrassing than telling him no. However, this will just reinforce the behavior you are trying to eliminate. Good luck mummy!

Twiddling actually helps your baby calm down and focus more on nursing thus helping the feedings run smoothly and baby gets to drink more. It also serves as a self-soothing mechanism so baby might twiddle more when they are tired or fussy. If it bothers you so much, you should stay calm, look baby in the eye and gently say no. Pull baby away your chest each time this happens. In the long run, he will associate twiddling with negative behaviour and stop. Alternatively, keep the free nipple covered. If he can't see it, perhaps he will not be inclined to twiddle.

Try to redirect his attention. Reading books, singing songs, or playing finger games may distract him from twiddling. Teach him alternate behaviors to substitute for twiddling. For example show him how to rub your arms softly instead or twirl his own hair instead.

Thank you everyone for your replies! I'll see how it goes, if I really can't stand it I'll try the weaning methods :)

I have large breasts, so I can tuck one breast under my armpit while baby is nursing on the other. :)