Biting While Nursing????ouch!

E.-

I haven't logged in to read any of the other responses, but with my daughter, I would say "ouch" loudly and then tell her "No. You don't bite Mama." sternly. The ouch usually had a good startle factor to it. I would also couple this verbal response with a detachment (you know, where you slide a pinky in and break the seal). After a few moments, I would allow her to attempt to relatch. We would repeat as necessary and if she caused one side to be sore, we would switch and try again. She was a fierce eater and /hated/ this tremendously. She got the point very quickly.

One side note - I have yet to cross this bridge with my nearly 7 month old son. His teeth seem to be coming in much more slowly, but I imagine since it worked so well, I'll try the same thing with him too.

Good luck.
~C.

I know this sounds harsh, but it is not done in anger - if she bites, simply and immediately flick her cheek and say in a quiet low stern tone, "No." She doesn't need to understand the meaning of the word - the flick will make intuitive sense. She'll stop soon.

The first time my daughter bit me I screamed. It scared her, she cried and that was it, she never did it again. But I agree with the other moms, just pull her off, tell her no very firmly, say ouch, tell it hurts and put the milk away. She needs to know she's hurting you. Eventually she will stop biting.
Keep working through it. Good luck!

It sounds like she is having teething pain. Orajel works great - just a little on her gums and then nurse her (yes, your boobs may get a bit numb as well :) )

I would also give her tylenol so that when the orajel wears off, the tylenol will have kicked in. She is probably biting because it gives counter-pressure which relieves her pain. Get her pain relief and you will get boob relief!

If she was older and looking at you then biting, I would say she is testing you for a response (many do this once they start using sippy cups - especially the soft tip ones). IN those instances, the second she bites, say "NO!" firmly and put her down and walk away. Usually it is enough to startle her into not biting again.

Peace-Love-Boobies!
:)

I have breast fed all five of my children and all five have bit and some point, some more pesistant than others. The doctor we had with our first gave me great advice. My son had bit me and in my shock I jerked him off the breast with left me with a very sore nipple for several days. The doctor told me the next time he bit to pull his face into the breast unitl he opens his mouth and then firmly tell him "no biting" and end the nursing session. By pulling him into me it blocks his nose and he immeadiatly opened his mouth. This was an unpleasant sensation for him and it avioded any trauma to the nipple of pulling him off. This worked well and quickly with 4 of my 5 kids. Number 4 was a little more persistant.

With my son - I would pull him off, tell him no bit, and put it away. The nursing sesion was over. Yes, when he was hungry in about an hour, we tried again. He only bit me about 3 times... I also asked my sister the same question - she told me to do the samething.

They quickly learn that if they want the milk - they can't bit.

Good luck!

My opinion is that it is normal, but that you should continue to train her not to bite you. My daughter did the same thing at that age. I just pulled her off when she bit and said no biting, and let her cry for the milk for about a minute then put her back on. I kept repeating it and she got it pretty quickly. You'll be training her to do lots of things, so this is the same basic pattern. Every baby is different, but I think it works. Good luck, and don't worry! You're baby will learn that if she wants milk, she'll stop biting. Oh and yes to the other lady who said to poke your finger inside the side of her mouth to release her. Works very well.

When my son started biting me, I pulled him off and looked him in the eye and said, very firmly, "No". I let him latch back on and, if he did it again, I did it again. If he bit me more than three times, he was done nursing.

I think it only took one (maybe two) times nursing for him to get the idea.

I agree with the posts. Tell her firmly "no" and take her off the breast for a few minutes. Try again and if she bites again, then nursing is over for the time being. She won't starve.

And the sippy cup thing that someone else posted -- I tried to get my son to start on a sippy cup around 8 or 9 months, so by 12 months he could switch to whole milk. With those really soft rubbery tips, he'd bite them, so I got rid of them. I did not want him used to biting to get the liquid. I got him hard-mouth sippy cups (Take & Toss brand) and he stopped biting me. I also learned to get into a better routine, so that I didn't try feeding him when he was crying. I got bit a few times thinking my breastmilk would calm him down. NOPE! Ouch!

Good luck!

Kellymom.com has a huge page of info.

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

Please ignore the "stop breastfeeding, she can have formula" advice. Formula is not equivilent to breastfeeding and breastmilk is always recommended. This isn't a reason to take a step down in terms of giving her the best possible nutrition.
If you have a good, solid latch, baby can't bite you. Really. If she is actively feeding, that latch is like a vacuum seal. Babies tend to bite after they are finished "eating" - during that time after where they are lazing at the breast, taking a comfort suck, then looking up and giving you the cutie patootie milky smile, then back for a suck. Darn cute as they are then, that's when they can bite you. She is done eating at that point. When she has stopped actively sucking, take her off the breast, whether she has bitten or not. End the feeding before she gets a chance to bite you when you realize she is done eating.

I did the same "N"o process and read if they continue to do it to tap their lip with your finger (not a pluck). When she was persistent at biting, I did this and it stopped.

Definitely stopping right away or a small poke in the cheek loosens their jaw/clench. Both of mine did it, one more often than the other but no more than a week from the first time I put the milk away, they learned pretty quickly!

After a few times of my daughter biting me during breastfeeding, a friend of mine gave me a great tip. Immediately hold her nose until she releases, then follow it up with a firm no. It worked with my daughter after only 2-3 times and I was able to continue breastfeeding until she was 18 months old. Definately don't give up on the nursing. The biting is only a short phase, she'll catch on quick. Good luck!

Hi E.,

I had the same problem with my daughter at the same age. The pain was unbearable. I was ready to give up nursing completely because I was nervous she would bite every feeding.

Fortunately, my reaction was to pull her off and immediately end the feeding. I fed her by the bottle, or gave her baby cereal instead. The next feeding time, I nursed as normal, and she did not bite for quite a while. A few weeks later, she did again, and I reacted the same way. She never bit after that. She made the connection that biting led to an end of the feeding and bonding time.

I don't think that deprives her of food, as long as you supplement with something else.

Good luck, and try to nurse as normal. She can probably sense if you are nervous, or upset - Don't give up. For me, it was worth working through it.

L.

I didn't read all the answers. In addition to the few I read that said to say Ow, that hurts mommy, and break the latch, I would add to make sure she has as much of the areola in her mouth as possible, don't let her latch on to just the nipple, where even if she doesn't truly bite you, those two little teeth will rub and irritate it.

Once we have developed a good nursing routine with our babies, we don't pay attention to how well latched-on they actually are - who cares when they are nursing successfully? It only becomes an issue again when there is pain involved for you. Good luck!

Quit breastfeeding. There are other sources of nutrition out there for your daughter at this age...like formula..or pump into a bottle to get her used to the idea.