Daughter biting while breastfeeding!!!?

Question

My daughter is 4 months 1 week and she's been biting while breastfeeding. My 1st daughter did the same thing and I had to stop breastfeeding her at six months cause I was bleeding and in lots of pain. I would like to make it to six months AT LEAST w/ my second daughter but don't know if I can handle the pain. I would pump if I could ... but I'll pump for 20mins or longer and only get 2oz if I'm lucky. (any suggestions on how to help me get more milk while pumping would be great).... so anyway I've tried everything I can think of to get her to stop biting me now... I've called my local lactation consultant, docs, and vistied several sites... just wondering if anyone has any suggestions or secrets to help me continue breastfeeding????

Answer 1

What I have read is to firmly say, "no" when she bites and stop feeding her for 5 to 10 minutes. This way, she will (hopefully) get the picture that if she keeps biting, she's not going to eat. Good luck!

Answer 2

When she does this you break her off and look her in the eyes, say very firmly "No Biting" and put her down. Wait a few minutes before resuming the nursing session. I know they are young but after a few times they will realize that the biting makes the milk stop. Also with the pumping try switching brands of the pump. I switched from a playtex to a medela and it was a world of difference. I went through this too, just be firm and hang in there :o)

Answer 3

Biting while breastfeeding is normal. Just remove her from the breast and tell her no firmly, you can put her back on after a few minutes. Do this every time she bites and she should eventually stop. I only had to do this twice with my son.

I also think that you should check to see if the baby is latched on properly. I don't think you should give up breatfeeding it's the best thing for the baby.

Pumping gives you less milk than the baby gets from feeding but it is possible to build up your milk supply.
Before you begin expressing you can take a warm towel of wash cloth and lay it on your breasts to promote the flow of your milk. I can tell you that this actually works for me or I take a warm shower/bath beforehand
When you're pumping you should sit in a quiet room, relax and think happy thoughts about your baby. You can also pump from one breast whilst feeding your baby with the other.

Oatmeal and Kale are said to increase your milk supply. You can also try expressing milk every two hours.

Babyfit.com and Breastfeeding.com are great websites to check out.

Hope this helped.

Answer 4

When she bites you feel free to yell, then press her face into the breast, this will cause her to break the latch. Then you end the nursing session. Let her try again in ten minutes. Repeat this process, she will learn to stop. You can also use a nipple shield to protect yourself from the bite (made by Medela, silicone shield fits over your nipple and has holes in it for the milk to escape through). Pump first thing in the morning to get more milk. To increase your milk supply nurse more often, drink plenty of water, drink tea that promotes healthy lactation (like mother's milk tea), and you can also take fenugreek (under the guidance of a La Leche League leader or a lactation consultation).

To the guy who said to put honey on the breast....never feed an infant honey...it can give them botchulism...it is on the honey bottle!!!!

Answer 5

Babies bite for different reasons. My first daughter accidentally clenched her jaws while she drifted off sometimes. I kept my finger near her mouth. When I thought that she was going for flesh, I inserted my finger to break the latch and stop the bite. My second was just curious about what would happen when she bit me. Every time she bit me, I ended the feeding and put her down. In a few minutes she asked to nurse again and I let her. She was never upset about it, she was just performing a cause and effect experiment. Once you know why your baby bites, you can come up with a way to solve the problem. My nephew used to bite because he wanted his mom's attention. Sadly, she weaned him instead, which made an even bigger behavior problem because he received less attention after being weaned.

Answer 6

You need to figure out when/why she bites, and remember a baby that is actively drinking can not bite:

When baby bites, say no -firmly, and put the baby down and look away (not walk away) but look away for a few minutes. Then if she still wants to nurse try again, if she bites repeat. This will work eventually.

Is she biting at the begining of feeds because the milk is coming too fast?
Then express past the first letdown and/or lean back when nursing

Is she biting at the begining of feeds because the milk is not coming fast enough?
Express a little before you latch on so the milk is "right there"

Is she biting because she is in pain and grumpy?
*Try various things to make her more comfortable, but it isn't recommended to use a numbing agent (like orajel) before breastfeeding as this can make biting and latching worse.
*For the worst days: nurse ONLY when she is starving, nurse only as long as she is very actively suckling. She will cry, you will cry but hopefully get through.
*LAST RESORT: try a nipple shield, this is a silicone nipple that fits over your nipple that provides some protection. However it may lower supply, increase the risk of plugged ducts or mastitis, be hard to wean off of, be a pain in the butt to use, etc

Is she biting at the end of feeds because she is playing around? Then cut feeds short.

The other question is: is she really biting, or is she just latched on incorrectly causing the teeth to push or scrape the nipples. Which don't get me wrong is very, very painful and can cause bleeding. But it is a different problem, that needs to be worked through by getting a better latch, using different positions etc.

As for pumping, some women just can't really do so. There are lots of tricks to it for getting let down, etc. You can also use herbs and medications to increase your supply so there is more there too pump. And of course a different pump may be the answer.

When Baby Bites
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html

Why are my nipples sore after months of pain-free nursing?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/sorenipples-older.html

Not really biting, but scraping teeth or indentations
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html#scraping

Teething
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/teething.html

I'm not pumping enough milk. What can I do?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html

You CAN find a solution you CAN work through this. My son started really biting me at 6 months, and we worked through it. It was tough. Then at 8 months he was MISERABLE with teething. He was biting all the time, latching badly, nothing was working. He even bit me so hard it drew blood. I nursed almost exclusively on one side while that healed, which took awhile because the cut was infected and I didn't realise it. (BTW you can use a small amount of polysporin on your nipples) We worked through it again.

He is 13 months old, and still breastfeeding like crazy. Sometimes he bites when he teeth are bugging him, and teething makes him latch on poorly and the enzymes can make your nipples sore anyway. And sometimes he tries to climb up on the couch by using his teeth on my nipple. But we work through it.

YOU CAN DO IT!

Answer 7

I breastfed two sons. When the biting happened, I removed my breast from our baby's mouth and said "ow" or "no" or somesuch. I put the breast back in and never got bit again. It took one removal only for each of them to get it.

What have you tried?

Pumping doesn't increase the milk supply the way actual nursing does. If you haven't tried just removing your breast and saying "no" in a meaningful way, it should work. Every mom I know has gone through the biting and has been able to stop the biting easily.

Answer 8

DO NOT stop breastfeeding! That is not your only choice!

I went through this with all 3 of my boys. The best thing I found was to unlatch them, tap them on the chin, tell them sternly NO, and then try to continue feeding. If they did it again that was the end of the nursing session.

It will take some time and some patience but it will work out if you try. Discontinuing breastfeeding is not a good option in my opinion. Your baby does not know what she is doing. She doesn't understand that she is hurting you. And to stop nursing her altogether is the ultimate punishment for a helpless baby.

Try to hang in there. It will pass eventually!

Answer 9

When your daughter bites, pull her into your breast. She will have to open her mouth to breathe. Most babies learn not to bite really fast!

As far as pumping, massage your breast firmly towards the nipple before and during pumping. I have been using a pump for occasions when I'm not feeling up to breastfeeding, but the pump's harder suction left my nipples bleeding (ouch!!).

Answer 10

She will continue to bite. My son's Dr told me to flick his cheek every time he bit, but I didn't like it. As for a way to get more milk, try a better pump. I have a Medela and I love it. Also, hold your daughter while you are pumping. I know it sounds weird, but if you use a single breast, you can give her a bottle on one side and pump the other. Somehow it give a more natural flow.