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?

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!