Teeth and Nursing

I also am a first time mom. My son does not have teeth yet, so I do not know from experience, but I've heard that when they bite, you're supposed to refrain from any kind of reaction - like saying "ouch" & take them off the breast & set them away from you for a couple minutes or whatever.. They're supposed to learn pretty quickly that biting you means seperation from you..

I've been there! I nursed my son until he was 23 months and I still nurse my daughter who is 19 months.

First, don't underestimate their ability to understand what you tell them. At teething time, before we started nursing I would touch their teeth with my finger and say "You teeth can't touch mama's breast because it hurts mama."

Second, if you feel him start to clamp down, PULL HIM CLOSER. Your instinct is to pull away, but if you press his face and nose into your breast for a brief moment it will force him to open his mouth to breathe. He may fuss for a moment but they usually get the idea and stop biting. I learned this from my lactation consultant

With my son, I was usually a little sore for about a week with each new tooth, but it was worth a small amout of discomfort to be able to continue nursing. Be persistent and get more help if it's not working.

Try www.breastbabyproducts.com

Best Wishes!

I had the same problem. I have a 9 month old daughter and the best way to handle it is NOT to respond. Remove the latch and start over, but when you react, it becomes a game to the baby. I know how hard it is, but if you bite the inside of your cheek or something and just gently remove the latch the baby will get the idea. He is not doing anything wrong, or malicious, most likely he is just done nursing. Good Luck!

My daughter was the same way. I nursed until she was 14 months. The best advise that I got sounds somewhat mean, but it was the only thing that worked for her.
When your son bites, bring him closer to you. It will plug his nose and he will have to let go to breath. I did this with my daughter only a few times and she stopped biting all together.
Good luck!

I agree with Mae P. My baby got teeth around 4 months, and she started to bite me. I read in a LLL book that the best course of action is to pull the baby into your breast so that the nose and mouth are covered. Then, the baby has no choice but to open up his/her mouth and let go. If you do that each time the baby bites down, he will associate the gasping for air with biting. You can also say, "Don't bite," when he comes off the breast to reinforce things, but I doubt that really will do anything.

My baby only bit down a couple of times, and she stopped after only doing this twice.

It may sound violent (cutting off air supply), but it isn't. It's very quick. Your baby will not suffocate. He probably won't even cry. It's also the least painful way to get a baby off your breast if he is biting down.

My baby is now 14 months old, and she just weaned at 13 months with practically a full set of teeth. It can be done!

I nursed both my sons, my oldest til he was one and I just stopped nursing my 18 month old. They both started getting their teeth before they were 6 months old, so I nursed them both with full sets of teeth. The best advice I received was to pull the kids head forward so they can't breath and will let go. I would do that a couple times and it worked. They associated biting with not being able to breath and never did it again. I tried the firm no and taking them off too but that never worked for my boys; they would keep doing it. I wished I received that tip earlier with my first son because I would have experienced a lot less pain as was trying everything with him with no luck. Good luck.

My son had a lot of teeth also. He only bit me twice. The first time I said "no" rather loudly, told him "no biting!" and set him down on the bed next to me for a few minutes. Then we resumed nursing. A few more weeks later it happened again and I did the same thing. I didn't yell, but I was very firm and used a low voice. He got the message. I agree with not giving the bottle, it will reinforce that if he bites, he gets a bottle instead. My son actually preferred the bottle because it came out faster than when he nursed, so I didn't want to give him more of the bottle. We made it to one year, and I'm sure you will too. Good luck!

I nursed my oldest until he was three and my youngest till he was two. We went through the biting phase too. To stop it, I would scream No to startle him. As he got older, it did become a game and I would stop nursing and tell him no biting. When the child bites, they are not sucking, they are playing. Let him know that you are not a toy and when he is done playing, he can go back to nursing. Don't worry about him not getting enough, he suck when he's hungry and your body will continue to produce milk as long as he is hungry.

It's normal for him to do that while teething. It gets better as they become accustomed to having teeth. Hang in there!

my daughter went through a similar phase for a short period while teething. She too would only get a kick out of my reaction. I would not react when she would bite. IF it was a quick one I would ignore it. If it continued I would just stop the session and put her down for a few moments not saying a thing to her. Saying anything just resulted in her cracking up and doing it more. It is a short phase and as soon as those teeth are out he will stop.

On the occasions when my daughter bites I pull her away and say NO, like you do. If he does it a second time end the nursing session, put him down, and try again later (dont bother pumping and bottle feeding - you can try nursing in 5 or 10 minutes if he is really hungry. if you pump/bottle feedinstead all you are teaching him is that if he bites he gets a bottle -- not what you want him to learn). If you are consistent he will learn very quickly that biting gets him nowhere. Congrats on nursing this long! A year will go by before you know it and you may find you're not ready to be done yet. I know I wasn't... (by this I meant to imply that I chose to nurse many months beyond a year - not the opposite :) )

I have a friend with the same problem. She was told by her Dr. that when her son bites she should take him off and tell him no. Supposedly if he's taken off everytime he bites he'll learn to associate biting with losing his food. Sounds good in theory, but you know how that goes. GOOD LUCK!

I hope this is not repetitive as I have not read the other posts...
I have heard (and seen firsthand) that you can see when biting may occur. The baby's mouth and tongue need to be held differently to bite and to suck. So, it is physically impossible to bite AND nurse simultaneously...I used to keep an eye on my daughter and when she moved her tongue out of "nursing position," I'd have my finger ready to break the seal in case she bit. I was able to prevent a lot of biting I think and it never became an issue...I nursed until she was a year without much problem at all. Good luck and hang in there!!

This may sound mean, but it worked for all three of my kids. I just gave them a little flick on the cheek, and never had a problem after that. It's sad to see them cry, but they learn quickly!
Good luck!

I agree with the other poster, a frim no and set him down. He has to understand that if he bites he doesn't get to nurse. Usually kids just try this once or twice and then stop. If the previous poster reads this, remember that breastfeeding for a year is the MINIMUM recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics- it is not only okay but healthy to continue after that if you want to:)

For me the key when my daughter did it was to tap her, say "No" (and try to be very "matter of fact") and take her off the breast (this was the key). Wait about 10-30 seconds while looking elsewhere (so she didn't think it was a game), then put her back on. This only took about 5 times for her to realize - if I bite, I lose my food!

Good luck!

Switch him to the bottle from pump. He'll still get the vitamens minus your pain. The pain takes the pleasure out of nursing, for sure.

When he bites you, break the seal, remove him from your breast and say no biting. If you stop feeding him each time he bites you, he'll get the message. It worked with my son. He has 16 teeth now and never bites me, though he's almost completely weaned (2 years old.)
Good Luck

I use to flick her check, just enough to hurt a little. I would try the other methods first, but figured the benefits of breastfeeding outweighed a little flick.

remove him from the breast when he bites and tell him "no". Do not with hold the nursing. In a little bit he can try again. It worked for my daughter. A few times and she stopped. I told her it hurt and she could not hurt me. She would sometimes cry a bit. But I would let her nurse again and she wouldn't bite. Not being mean, but not hurting her to teach her not to hurt.