How can I get my baby to stop biting me when I nurse her?

Question

Katelyn is 6 months and has gotten two teeth on the bottom. Now, when I nurse her she is constantly nibbling and it *HURTS*!! I don't want to stop nursing, but this can't go on if she naws my nipple off!

Answer 1

There are two ways to handle it:

1. Don't pull the baby off, push her face INTO the breast. They can't breath, they hate that, so they will let go. Make sure you say "No biting"

2. Stick a pinky in to break her latch and say "No biting." Wait for a few minutes before letting her nurse again. She will get the idea that if she bites, no more milk.

Basically, when a baby is actively nursing, they can't bite you, their tongue would be in the way. If baby is biting at the beginning of a feed, she's trying to get used to nursing around her new teeth. If she's biting at the end of the feed she's either falling asleep (so her latch slips and she gradually clamps down) or she's done nursing and has started to play.

You need to be gentle, but firm. I heard that the best thing to do is to remove them, lay them down on the floor, and leave the room quickly. Well, that scared my first half to death and sent him into a nursing strike that lasted days, so just be careful with that method.

After a couple times of not being able to nurse when she bites, she'll get the idea. It might take a week or so, but she'll get it.

ETA: I freaking HATE when people tell you to wean when you come across a hiccup in the road--bunch of quitters!!!

Answer 2

She can't bite if she is ACTIVELY drinking, her tongue would be over the bottom teeth. So basically what you need to do is figure out when/why she is biting. Usually you only have to take corrective measures for a few days to a couple of weeks, so don't think you will have to do what I am describing from now until you wean.

The first thing is when the baby bites unlatch (pulling baby into the breast will force them to unlatch), say no firmly but do not yell. Yelling can scare the baby, or worse amuse the baby -then baby will bite you just to get you to yell. Sometimes you also have to put the baby down and not give them any attention or eye contact for 30-60 seconds. This lets the baby know biting = no milk and nothing good.

Biting at the beginning of feed (at this age) generally means the baby is impatient for the milk to start flowing. Pumping or hand expressing until let-down starts can help.

Biting in the middle of feeds is often due to distractions. Try to nurse in a darkened room with no distractions.

Biting at the end of a feed either means the baby is upset with the slow flow -in which case try breast compressions. Or the baby is comfort sucking -and while there is nothing wrong with comfort sucking; there is when it turns to biting or pain from a bad latch. There is nothing wrong with ending nursing sessions when baby is no longer actively nursing. Just add extra cuddles and attention to make up for it.

If the baby is teething, and in pain and nothing is else is working for one or two day delay feedings until the baby is starving and only let them nurse as long as they are gulping. This will let you heal, prevent biting and get over that worst bit of teething. This is a last resort but one or two days shouldn't effect your nursing relationship or supply.

One final note: do NOT use numbing agents on the baby's gums before nursing. That can prevent them from latching properly and nursing properly which will cause more biting.


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

Answer 3

You don't have to wean her! It absolutely hurts when a baby bites down on you while feeding, but you can teach her not to!

When DD got her first tooth, she started biting and for 2-3 days I almost thought I couldn't do it. It HURT & I dreaded nursing.

Then I thought about something--maybe I was actually being too tolerant. When she bit me the first 2-3 times in a session, if it wasn't too hard I wouldn't do anything. I would only stop when I couldn't take it anymore.

I started being more reactive. When she bit, I said "Ow" and stopped the feeding session for 3-5 minutes. Then I started again and stopped the second she bit again. The first few times she cried like her heart was breaking and I felt so bad I almost couldn't do it, but in less than 24 hours, she broke this bad habit.

Its been 4 months and I can count the number of times she's bitten me on one hand, and every time was an accident (new tooth, cracker in her mouth when she began) and was not very hard. She is very careful with me now because she doesn't want me to stop, to the point that if she is still chewing something else, she won't start feeding until she's swallowed. I don't think she's bitten me once in the last 8-10 weeks.

I really thought I was going to have to wean, but now we've gotten past the 12 month mark and are still going strong. She recently got new top teeth & not a single problem. Best of luck to you!

Answer 4

I'm sorry I'm not very experienced, but I've heard of some moms who have just taken the baby off the breast for a couple minutes as soon as the baby bites, and then putting them back on. I don't know how quickly an 8 month old would learn to associate biting with no milk, but I guess if you don't get any better advice it's worth a try?

Answer 5

I went through the same thing with my two babies when they got their teeth, but we got through this phase pretty painlessly and I continued nursing them (for many more months) without problems, so don't distress!!

What worked for me (and what I understand has worked for other mothers I've talked to who also successfully overcame this and were able to continue nursing) was this -- As soon as the baby starts practicing using her new choppers, use your finger to gently break her latch-on and pretty quickly the baby will make the connection that biting doesn't let her nurse. Since she'll probably want to nurse, she'll stop biting and return to just sucking.

Also, if you haven't introduced solid foods yet, this is a sure sign that you should try. Having other foods that she can "sink her teeth into" will take some of the novelty out of biting you.

Hang in there. I'm feeling pretty confident that you'll get over this hump and continue a positive, nurturing experience nursing your baby!!

Best wishes.

Answer 6

There are things you can do. I would not just stop nursing her without trying them if it is something you feel strongly about. Take the breast away when she bites and eventually she will connect the two biting = no breast. You might want to try rubbing orajel on her gums before nursing her to see if this helps. Feed her as soon as she starts to show signs of hunger, if you wait until the baby is upset to feed then they will be in a hurry to eat and that might cause biting. Also make sure she is not just "comfort" nursing and is really hungry. I hope some of these helps. I think it is great that you are nursing your baby and I hope you get to continue to do so with out pain!

Answer 7

When my middle child did this I really startled her with a very firm no. I felt bad that is scarred her so, but it was just automatic when I felt the pain. She didnt do it anymore after that, though, this is a tricky problem.

another idea might be to firmly say no and then offer her a teether (the new ones that vibrate on their gums when they bite down are kind of neat) and encourage her to use that each time that she bites.

Hopefully this will be a short phase. Good luck!

Answer 8

There are such things called nipple guards they slide right over top of your nipple, they are silicone and will provide an extra layer. If he/she is biting hard you may need to cradle your hand cupping the chin/jaw and apply gentle pressure on the jaw (joint) if you sense him trying to bite down. I hope this helps. If he seems to be enjoying your ouchy reaction then try and illiminate it. It could be a behavioural thing, but if you are silent you may want to try and startle him just a little by indicating that what he is doing is causing you pain. Teaching cause and effect, depending on what you are allready doing and if it is effective or not. You may also try to break the latch and get her to relatch so she understands you dont like what she is doing, and wont allow it. 6 months is a decent amount of time, if you cant break her of it you can still pump your milk if its an issue for you, but you need to be the judge of that, also talk to yoru doctor.
Good luck.

Answer 9

Ouch, that does hurt! My daughter bit a few times (gotta try out those new teeth!), then settled down and learned some nursing manners.

Here's some good info:

http://llli.org/FAQ/bite.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html

Answer 10

gently take her head away from ur breast every time she bites- shes not too young to learn the idea of consequences...shell think"when i bite the food gets taken away" so try it and if it doesnt work then stop nursing.