how can i get my son to stop biting when he's breastfeeding?

Question

he's been teething but has now cut a top tooth so its more painfull. i dont want to stop as i love nursing him, and he has never had a bottle. but when i take him of and say no he just laughs or smiles. but my nipple are sp sore its hurts when he latches on

i dont want to bottle feed, there is no point hes 8 and half months

again i dont want to stop breast feeding, and he wont get the came from a bottle at any age, im not against bottle feeding, but the child will get health benefitd from feeding up till they are 2

Answer 1

I HATE when people tell you to stop nursing when you encounter a little problem, it's just ridiculous...bunch of quitters! ;)


OK, so, your baby can't nurse and bite at the same time, it's impossible. Is he biting at the end or at the beginning of the feed? If he's biting at the end, he's done. You take him off, you say no biting, and then the nursing is over. Don't allow him to nurse for at least a few minutes. If he's biting at the beginning, he's just trying to get used to his new teeth, be patient.

However, since you said he's laughing, he's loving the reaction he gets out of you. You need to be hyper-vigilant in the next week, but as soon as he's getting close to the end of a session, and he starts to bite, break his latch with your pinky and say "NO Biting." End the session. I've also done where you push them into your breast, they can't breath and they hate it.
Another thing, when they get stuffed up or a little sick, they tend to bite a little more since they can't breath. Make sure you're being patient and vigilant when he's sick to prevent biting.

One method to use with caution: when he bites, break his latch, say "NO Biting", put him on the floor, and walk away. I did this the first time my son bit me, and it actually scared him so bad he went into a nursing strike--another ball of wax entirely!

Just be patient and work through it.

Answer 2

Ouch! Not fun at all for you, but this certainly doesn't mean you need to wean. Many mothers have to help their babies learn not to bite while nursing. It will pass.

First, if your son is actively nursing and latched on properly, it shouldn't be painful for you at all. You might notice that his top teeth leave a groove in your areola where they rest while he nurses, which is normal. Sometimes breastfeeding is painful because we get lazy with latch as baby gets older - letting him latch on with a mouth that's only partially open, letting him slide off the nipple. You'll want to pay close attention to how he's going onto and off of your breast - wide open mouth so his teeth don't scrape your nipple, and actually letting go when he's done, not just sliding off.

Some babies do bite when they're teething. If he's actively nursing, he can't bite. He has to slide down onto your nipple to bite. This often happens at the end of a nursing session, when he's gotten his fill but hasn't let go yet. Pay close attention to your son's nursing for the next few days. You'll probaby notice some cues that he's finished and may bite. When you notice that he's done nursing, you might need to gently remove him from the breast (use your pinkie inserted into the side of his mouth to break the suction first) and distract him with another activity.

If he does bite, often the first impulse is to pull him off, which actually causes more trauma to your nipple. Instead, pull him in close to you while you say "no bite!". Then use your pinkie to break his latch, and put him down. It sounds like he's not overly sensitive (for some babies, mommy saying "No!" is enough to be upsetting). You'll probably want to end the nursing session then and there; if he's biting you, he's not actively nursing anyway. Give him a teething toy to chew on instead. If he does act hungry, try again a few minutes later.

Answer 3

it really is extremely difficulty-free for toddlers to flow by ability of a biting section at the same time as breastfeeding, yet the different poster is nice - in the experience that they are perfect latched on they could't bite using position of their teeth. he's exploring those unusual new difficult issues in his mouth. at the same time as he bites, take him off, tell him "no!" loudly and firmly and positioned him on the floor. He might want to cry, yet then you extremely can clarify that if he bites you he received't get any extra milk. persist with doing it each and every time and he will learn extremely, extremely quickly! At different circumstances, supply him something like a moist, chilly flannel or a teething toy to suck and bite, and clarify that he's permitted to bite that. you do not ought to offer up breastfeeding - some women individuals proceed feeding a lot longer than a twelve months and that all of them ought to flow by ability of the biting section.

Answer 4

I have breast fed two children and am currently breast-feeding my third. He is 3 months old and has recently started to, as I would best describe it to clamp down on my nipple. Im sure he is teething (has all the other symptoms) but I also remember from my first two whom I breat-fed until 15 months old that they bit me whilst feeding. It really can be quite painful. Anyway after consulting my health visitor about this she advised me to pop my little finger into the corner of his mouth whenever he did this to me whilst feeding...and at the same time to slighlty raise my voice and say a firm NO. I thought it a little harsh at first but soon after coming close to nearly loosing my nipple down the back of his throat a few times I was ready to give anything a try. Needless to say it actually did work after say a day or two of trying. It just seemed to send out a clear message and after doing it he slowly got the hint that everytime he clamped down the feeding stopped and he heard me saying NO. Its up to you if you want to give it a go but its worth having as many suggestions as you can thrown at you to try. Goodluck x x

Answer 5

When my daughter bit down I'd remove my breast each time and firmly say "no-no"....from my expression and because she wanted to continue nursing she soon stopped biting me.

She nursed for a full 2 years...she never took a bottle or a pacifier.

Answer 6

My wife had this same problem and the health visitor told us every time she bites you should push her face into your breast, hence she has to release to take a breath as her nose is covered by the breast. She soon realised everytime she bit my wife her snack got interupted and it didnt take long for her to realise no biting is best.

Answer 7

well done. keep it up for as long as you can, i found that removing my son and saying no several times and interupting his feed soon stopped him, i managed to continue feeding him til he was just over two, the biting stage didnt last long. try nipple cream for the soreness, its good for nappy rash too. good luck.

Answer 8

Apply orajel on his gums before feeding. Then he wont have the urge to chomp on you.... Good Luck :)

Answer 9

my son kept doing that the key is perserverance everytime he does it take him away and say no my son laughed like yours did but hardly ever does it now unless hes feeling mischevious! they do soon learn xxx

Answer 10

You can buy nipple protectors especially made for this purpose. I breast fed two of my children until they were eighteen months old so nipple protectors were a must.

Heres to the end of sore nipples for you!