My 5 mo. son got his first 2 teeth about a month ago. Now his top teeth are coming through and he has started biting HARD. I have breastfed before but his brother was almost 10 mo before he had any teeth and he understood "no" or I would just give him a sippie. My baby right now is too young for that. I want to continue breastfeeding - does any one have any tips to get through this?
2006-08-22 04:11:14 · 17 answers · asked by pebble 6 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
I did two things:
-Every time she started to nibble, I pulled her really close in, smushing her face into my boob (I did NOT hold her there! Be careful and gentle when you do this!). This forced her to release my nipple and either let go or continue nursing normally.
-I had to watch her like a hawk. I found she bit most when she was done nursing (because babies can't nurse and bite at the same time) or if she was tired. So, for a while, if she was showing signs of being done, I would pop her right off so she didn't have a chance to bite. If she started rooting for the breast again, I'd latch her on again of course, but I tried to not let her have a chance to just play around there. :)
Good luck! There's also some great advice on the link.
2006-08-22 08:37:55 · answer #1 · answered by kalirush 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I just went through this with my son. He's almost 6 months now - his first teeth started coming in about 3 weeks ago. When he bit down I would take the breast away. That's it the feeding ended. (Or, at least for a good 30 seconds) Sounds mean but it worked!
I know this sounds crazy - but don't yell. It will make baby not want to breastfeed - because they are scared. I accidently shouted and my son refused to eat for a week :((( If it happens, to you...all I did was wake him from a nap (about 15 minutes early) and put him on the breast. After about 4 days of that he is now nursing back to normal.
Good Luck.
You can get through it!!
2006-08-22 05:26:35 · answer #2 · answered by Baby #3 due 10/13/09 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I nursed both my kids and I continue to nurse my sixteen month old son. Both my kids have bit me. I can remember having a battle wound from it too. My daughter was about four months when she got her bottom teeth but the biting problem didn't last long. With my son it lasted a little longer than I expected and he bit a little more than my daughter did. I would just say, "NO!" and that would startle them. I would slip my finger in the way when I said no and that would usually get my nipple to safety quickly. But, when a baby nurses their tongue is covering their bottom teeth and they really can't bite hard. What I did was just learn to get used to how it felt when they moved their tongue in attempts to bite and I would remove the nipple before they bit. That is the only thing that actually worked for me. You'll learn to anticipate it. It's a subtle change but you'll appreciate knowing when it takes place. Until you get better at anticipating his actions I would be careful about paying attention to other things while nursing. What always got me was when I would be talking to someone and not paying attention then my son would bite! Good luck :)
2006-08-22 16:43:59 · answer #3 · answered by 1hAppyMoM 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Here's my advice, from a behavioral point of view. For each instance of biting, take away the reinforcement (in this case, the milk/breast). You can say "no" along with this, but don't have to. Then, regive your breast, and continue feeding unless he bites again. Then, take away the breast again. He'll soon figure out that biting = I get no milk. And believe me, he really wants milk! I don't know how long you may have to do this, but make sure you're consistent and do it every time! It really should work.
2006-08-22 16:18:17 · answer #4 · answered by SAHMommy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would try and pump or before you feed him you can give him ice in a lil teething thing and let him bite on that before you breastfeed him. My son is only 7 weeks so I can't say if this will work or not. G-L I know that's has to hurt.
2006-08-22 05:13:10 · answer #5 · answered by Tiffany 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
What worked for a friend of mine(who BF 6 kids) was to firmly tell the child NO Biting. If they do it again, simply 'close up shop". Take them off the breast, & set him down on the floor. He's plenty old enough that he'll realize real fast that biting equals no food. Goodl uck!
2006-08-22 06:35:34 · answer #6 · answered by mamabens 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
One option is to pump and give him the breastmilk in a bottle. It's more work, but at least he is still getting milk. My first son got his first tooth at 4 months and did the same thing, he would bite me so hard. But at 4 months they don't understand "no" so I had to stop nursing. I wasn't able to pump at work so my milk level wasn't that great to where I could pump at night for the next day. We were supplementing with formula anyway because of the low milk level issue so he was already used to a bottle.
Best of luck!
2006-08-22 05:46:43 · answer #7 · answered by aliza1999 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
my first kid (girl) also got teeth early. she would bite hard also so i would put my finger in her mouth so she would let go tell her nicely thats no no and make her wait 5-10 min. then start feeding again took a week of that and she never bit me again and i breast fed her for a little over a year good luck
2006-08-22 04:25:30 · answer #8 · answered by _mommyof2_ 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Your baby can't bite you if your nipple is properly placed in his mouth and he's suckling. So, when he's biting you, that means he's not nursing. As such, don't feel bad at all saying "NO BITING," and removing him from the breast. Do this consistently each time, and he'll figure it out, even at 5 months.
In the meantime, hang in there!
2006-08-22 04:35:57 · answer #9 · answered by lizanneh 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You might try one of the Medela nipple shields. It wouldn't protect you completely, but it might protect you just enough while he is learning not to bite to keep you from giving up on breastfeeding. The only danger is that he might get used to the shield and you would need to keep using it. I use them and they work great. They run about $5 at Babies R Us
2006-08-22 06:50:53 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋