How do I keep my son from biting me when I nurse?

Question

For medical reasons, my son needs to be breastfed exclusively for the first six months. He'll be six months old in a few weeks, when we'll start to wean him. However, he recently cut his first tooth, and he bites. Hard. The last few times I've nursed him, he has chomped down and brought me to tears. He's too young to empathize at this point, and explaining "That hurts Mummy" does nothing. He does get upset when he sees me in pain, but he doesn't connect yet.

Does anyone have any advice, either to get him to stop biting, or something I can do so that it won't be as painful when he does?

Answer 1

Take the breast away for a few minutes when he does this. He may be young but he will understand that if he bites he doesn't get any more milk. I actually taught my baby that before she had any teeth. She was chomping down with her gums which really didn't hurt, but I knew it would with teeth! There's no reason to wean a baby because they have teeth. My 11 month old has 5 teeth and nurses beautifully now!

It also helps to pay attention to when he bites. You may notice his jaw clenching or something, get ready to break the suction before he is able to bite. It's impossible to bite while actively nursing because the tongue rests on the lower teeth so he may be biting when he's all done.

Remember that each time a child gets a new tooth they have to learn how to nurse with that new thing in their mouth. My daughter scrapes a little with her teeth when she first gets them. This usually passes within a few days.

You may find that you want to continue nursing and not wean him so young. At this age he would have to go on formula which is a far cry from breastmilk. He may also not be ready. My baby would never take a bottle and wouldn't eat solids until she was about 9 months old---when SHE was ready.

Congrats on breastfeeding and doing such a wonderful job with your baby!

Answer 2

Congratulations to you! You are off to a great start in providing your child with the best possible nutrition and tons of other benefits for his first year! (The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends nursing exclusively for the first 6 months and then slowly adding in solid foods, continuing to nurse for *at least* the entire first year.)

There is no reason to wean and no reason to switch to pumping because of biting. You can work through this with you son. For many nursing mothers, biting is the first chance to work on discipline and manners with their babies.

If he is latched on properly and actively nursing, he can't bite you. When is he biting? Pay attention and see if you can notice a pattern. Many times it will be at either the beginning or the end of the nursing session.

If it is at the start of a nursing session, it is usually a sign that he is having some teething discomfort. You can try giving him some pain reliever or some Hyland's Teething Tablets or a cold teething ring prior to nursing and see if that helps to stop the biting.

If it is at the end of a feeding and he is awake, it may just be a way that he is signaling that he is done right now. Watch him so that you will have an idea when he is finishing the feeding and can unlatch before he gets the chance to bite. Keep your hand nearby so you can slide a finger in and unlatch him.

If it is at the end of a feeding and he is asleep or falling asleep, it may be that you aren't supporting his head well enough. If their heads aren't well supported while falling asleep at the breast, sometimes they can get a feeling like they are falling. Then they might chomp down to "catch" themselves. If this is the case, pay closer attention to your positioning and see that his head stays well supported.

If he *DOES* bite again.....

Try not to have a big reaction if possible. Sometimes they begin to think it's funny and a game if you do that. Also, sometimes if you react too much they will get scared and go on a nursing strike!

Very firmly say "NO BITING" and then put him down somewhere safe for a few minutes. He might fuss if you are ending the session before he was done nursing. That's OK...like I said this is one of his first lessons in manners and one of your first opportunities to provide discipline. Give it a few minutes and then if he's still hungry, you can try again. Be consistent. Any time he bites you say "NO BITING" in a firm voice and put him down.

Good luck!

Answer 3

First thing if he bites, say "No!!" and remove him from the breast immediately. You have to say it strong enough for him to understand it's not a game (if he laughs, you didn't), but not enough to scare him. Put him down on the floor and don't nurse again right away (this may be 3-5 minutes).

*Watch* him closely while you are nursing. A baby can't nurse and bite at the same time. When you see his mouth move from nursing position to biting position, remove him from the breast *immediately* before he has a chance to clamp down. This doesn't work for every baby--some bite really fast--but it often does.

Figure out why he is biting. The two most common reasons are that he's done nursing or that his teeth hurt. If he always bites at the end of a feeding, then this is probably his method of telling you he's done. You may have to end feedings a bit early for a while until he develops a different method of communicating this (like letting go by himself!!). If he gums hurt, then let him bite on a frozen wet washcloth before he nurses.

Answer 4

Mine last one cut 3 teeth by 3 months. I found that if he was not distracted then he didn't do it. If they hear or see something they tend to do the chomping.
And i know this sounds really mean but when he does it next time scream even if it doesn't hurt that much. It may hurt his feeling but after a few times he will quit. It's kind of the same premise as puppies playing they scream when it is enough and that how they learn how hard they may bite.

Answer 5

My daughter has done this a few times recently. She is almost 10 months old. I simply say "No" in a very serious voice and put my pinky between her gums and remove the nipple. I then look her in the face and tell her "that hurts, etc" then put her back to the breast. If she does it a second time, I take her off and feeding time is over.

I noticed she usually does it when I am distracted and not giving her my full attention or when she is really not hungry... just kinda playing.

Also, if he just cut his first tooth, there may be another one close behind and he's just biting down because that's what they do when their gums hurt!! Hope this helps.

Answer 6

I've nursed two children - currently nursing my 9 month old. What has worked for me is as soon as he bites, take the nipple away and say no. After three times, my son has not bitten me again. He got his first teeth at 7 months and now has 6 teeth. I think the key is consistency. You have to tell them no right away, any time he bites and show him that he won't get milk if he does bite. I think saying anything beyond no, they won't understand at this age.

Answer 7

My 5 month old has no teeth and just started "gumming" me and that hurts real bad.
I had to start pumping and giving it to him in the bottle. At night he seems fine when I nurse I think he bites down on me when there is a sudden amount of loud noise or something that distracts him.

Answer 8

OUCH!!!! im having the same problem with biting but not because im breastfeeding. I cant imagine..mine both have 6 teeth and they constantly bite me.

but if you're only a few weeks away i would start weening, no actually going cold turkey with the breastfeeding. I dont think a few weeks is going to make a HUGE difference.

Answer 9

Do you have a breast pump? If so you could start using a breast pump instead. Just use the pump at night and put your milk in the fridge and warm it up whenever you need to feed him. That is my best advice.

And if you keep breast feeding by breast, actually say "That hurts Mummy." It'll help his developement. Don't say it in a baby tone of voice for that will not be good for his developement, say it like you would say it calmly to a child. It will also help his vocabulary. I read it on MSN.

Answer 10

If he's biting stop feeding him by breast and pump or ween because it relatively is a demonstration i might take to stop.. in any different case they get very attatched to the breast basically like a bottle.. convey and feed him in the direction of the sippy cup? you could try fenugreek to bump up your grant or pump greater frequently to envision a greater advantageous grant.. yet you won't have the ability to circulate on getting bit!!