How do I keep my 4 mth old baby from biting while I am nursing her?

Answer 1

There are a number of things. First of all, tell her "No!!" The trick is to say it strongly enough that she understands you mean it, but not so harshly as to scare her. If she laughs, it wasn't strong enough. Then put her down on the floor and *don't* nurse her again right away. (At her age, "not right away" may mean 30 seconds.)

Another thing you can do is pull her *in* towards you when she starts biting. This will force her to open her mouth wider and probably to let go entirely.

If she bites more than occasionally, you need to watch her very carefully. A baby *cannot* bite while actually nursing. When you see her change her mouth's position on the breast, get her off *fast* before she has a chance to bite.

Some babies bite when their gums hurt. If this is the problem, try offering her a frozen washcloth before you nurse her. She can chew on it and it will numb her gums somewhat. It will often stop the biting.

Sometimes, a baby bites because she is done nursing, and you didn't notice quickly enough. In this case, the watching and ending the feeding will usually work.

Babies learn quickly not to bite--probably because it is something that mothers react to so consistently!! If you have any other questions, or if it continues, I would suggest you contact La Leche League (see sources section below).

Good luck, and enjoy your baby!!

Answer 2

I am not ure we can give you REALLY good advice without knowing how old the baby is, so I will attempt some general advice. If your baby is six months or so, then you are probably wasting your time. However, I found that my child would tend to bite more so when they were falling asleep while nursing and basically bit to keep the nipple in their mouth. Well, in order to keep that fom happening, when I saw the drowsiness, I would switch breasts and burp them, which the movement of the repositioning, would temporarily wake them from their lull and get them to nurse for say another ten to fifteen minutes, thereby ensuring a full feeding, a good nap, and no bitten breasts. If your child is older and fully awake while biting, then you may want to unlatch them and like you said, express discomfort, and then try again. Unlatching is extremely effective, even if you don't say anything, because babies are VERY smart and will learn that biting and nursing don't mix. Oh, you might also want to make sure that your child is not bored in nursing, as this can also cause biting; its your baby telling you that they are done nursing. Blessings to you and your little one.......

Answer 3

This is what a La Leche League leader told me to do - when your baby bites, gently push her face into your breast, covering her nose...she will HAVE to release the breast because she will need to breathe through her mouth. When she does this, look her in the eye and say "no bite" you can then continue your nursing session, if she does it again, repeat the process, if she does it a third time, discontinue nursing, she may cry a bit about this, but she will get the point after a few episodes. You can resume it later. Good luck! And hang in there - dont quit! You're doing great mommy!

Answer 4

First of all, ignore the immature morons above. If you react when she does it (like scream) she may be doing it to get another reaction. Try not to react and use your finger to break suction and say "no" pretty firmly. Every time she bites, take it away.

She may also be cutting teeth and using you for counter pressure. You could try giving her ambesol before nursing and see if that helps.

Hang in there, you're a rock star for doing the best thing for your baby by nursing.

Answer 5

Been there. The natural reaction is to stop nursing instantly. . .so they lose what they want. It's a natural punishment. I think I actually yelled once or twice and got away from the baby. The baby cried, and it was as if I had spanked the baby! It worked. It didn't happen any more. Don't be afraid to react, just don't drop the baby! Good luck.

Answer 6

The solution lies with ensuring that there is more lactation.With growth the baby's hunder also grows and wants more to such in. It mild does not come out even with normal sucking the child would automaticslly try to bite and get more.In case the period of lactation is drawing to a close(There is no fixed duration cases are known where a fond child used to such her mom even after she was as old as seven years.Much depends on health and sufficient time lapse between two pregnancies). You can also try bottle but be careful about hygeine.If the child is old enogh you may try fruit juices also.

Answer 7

it is hard and mom knows that. once night when my mom was nursing my sister (know 15 years old) she bit her so hard that out of know where she just slapped her back. and seriously mom said that the baby didn't know if to cry or not just lay there really astanished. and she didn't cry she just went back to sucking and never bit her again. and know she has a her 9th baby and she is only 7 months and mom is breast feeding her she just slaps her pamper to get her attention and tell her no. but this baby she just loves to play with mom she bites down slowly and looks at mom as if what are you gonna do about it. she is a funny baby.

but i agree just take your breast away from your baby and tell her no and if she does it again tell her no again. and don't worry about hurting your babies feeling and telling her no she still won't remember it when she grows to be a big girl.

Answer 8

i dnt think i wanna do tht to my baby. i had her dad biting all the way he wants why nt let her too! nah, just kidding. it's part of nature that i actually enjoy, i know it's annoying but it's a sign that my baby is doing just fine and she's enjoying her time. it's hard for a 4 month old to enjoy anything. i wouldnt wanna make her cry.. because that's what a typical 4 month old does, why make it worse! you're her mum and she's enjoying herself. cheer up! .... and good luck

Answer 9

Not sure where you are from but you can get a nipple shield for about $10.00 Can. London Drugs or shopper's drugmart or maybe try your local walmart. Worked wonder for me good luck! It's a type of rubbery plastic that goes around your nipple and is flexiable, soft and safe for the baby to suck on. plus it's a real heaven sent if your nipples are cracking too.Hope it works for you.

Answer 10

Hmm... the burning question that nursing mothers have been asking since the dawn of time.

I'm sure if there was a sure-fire way to stop it, it'd be really darn popular by now.