hey everyone whats up? I have a question for all of you breasfeeding mamas current and former - Did your kids ever bite when you nursed? my 8 month old just got 4 teeth in about a week and a half and all of the sudden he is biting me when he nurses. Luckily he has only been biting when he is basically all done, so when I take the boob away, he isn't really still hungry, but I can't deal with it anymore! His little teeth HURT!!! any suggestions? I've been saying "no biting" very firmly and not letting him nurse for a few minutes after biting, but like i said, he usually bites when he's getting close to being finished so he doesn't care if i take the boob away. I've also tried to figure out when he's close to done to take the boob away BEFORE he bites, but i haven't been successful HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!
Hi Ms. Fiddler My son did this same sort of biting at this same age too and my daughter has a tendency to clamp her mouth as she finishes nursing, she's not really biting just closing her jaw and I've learned to anticipate that and pull her off before it hurts. With my boy a teether did it. He didn't have any pain while teething but he got that urge to bite and when he'd be done nursing he'd chew on that a bit. or feed him new foods for his new teeth. He'll stop, really!
they cant bite unless they're not latched on properly, so really pay attention when he stops nursing as vigorously. the instant that his latch changes, either pop your finger in his mouth so that he cant bite you, or pull him in close so that he cant change his latch! or rely on your psychic mama powers. oh, and have a teether ready in your hand to give to him. and tell him to let you know when his teeth are hurting so that you can give him the teether. they can tell us a lot even before they can speak. maybe a little baby sign would help? i always liked frozen dampened washcloths for my little nursling when he was teething...i know they say not to use anything that's actually frozen bc it can cause frostbite, but i found that anything that was just refridgerated had the cold wear off way too fast.
Good advice, mamas! Rubbing his gums before nursing can help, too. Babies feel tingling on thier gums when they are teething and they sometimes bite to stop the feeling. Some kids laugh after they bite (my Moon did this) and I would just gently say "Ow" and put her on the floor for a minute. I didn't do this, however, with babies who just fell asleep and bit when the breast started to slip out of their mouths, or babies who bit due to teething or earaches. Also, if he is getting bottles or a paci for any reason do NOT let him bite the nipple of these. He may not understand that one is connected to a person and the others are not. I have had mamas cure babies from biting by crying out in pain or having their dh or bf or day care person do so when the baby bit the bottle or paci nipple. Just don't yell too loudly, as some babies are sensitive. www.lalecheleague.org has a lot of info on this
My little one did the same thing, as Maggie's Moon, he would giggle after biting. I would firmly saying "No biting, biting hurts," and then "If you bite Mommy- no nursing." and make a sad face and then put him down and walk away for a bit. If you are consistent he will learn that biting ends your nursing session and he will stop biting. Cold washcloths were great teethers. H This too shall pass.
