Teething and Breastfeeding - Diametrically Opposed?

My daughter cut her first teeth around nine months. I had a few weeks of extreme soreness, but finally got her to settle down. I would press her against me a bit to get her to open her mouth so I could get her off (if I pulled her away she bit harder), then say no. After three times of that I started brushing her cheek with my finger and saying "let mommy go" when I wanted her to release. That has been very effective. She's over a year now, and I nurse her only at night (I'm letting her wean herself off). She doesn't bite me at all now and has lots of teeth to do it! Congratulations on your decision to nurse! Keep it up, she'll settle down soon. : )

Hi R.! My little one did teh same thing!! Luckly my Sister had the same issue and could offer some advice..... My little one was getting so bad that I thought about quitting breast-feeding although I REALLY didn't want to.

When he bit me, I would take the breast away and firmly, but not meanly, tell him- NO, THAT HURTS MOMMY!- and after several times of going through this process, he FINALLy stopped doing it because he realized it was hurting me and his food was going away when he did it.

Now, he's 13 months and we're still happily breast-feeding..... good luck to you!!

:-)
Brandy

When my girls have tried to bite, I try not to react too much or else they may soon do it to get the reaction. I simply put the baby down and say, "That hurts mommy!" The baby is not nursing if biting because it's impossible to do both at the same time. Sometimes the biting might just be because of boredom or to see what happens. Just interrupt the nursing, so she gets the clear message that she gets no milk when she does that. It may take a few tries, but she will get the message.

Hey R. -

I've nursed all four of my kids - still nursing my 15 month old who is currently cutting molars. She still periodically gives me a chomp, but it's usually just a "hey, are you payinig attention to me?"

At any rate, I have always found a firm "no" or "ouch", may be something more to surprise them, usually works. If it gets to be continuous, just remove her from the breast and try again in a bit. I'll bet she'll figure it out real quick.

Sometimes it becomes a game and when I found that when my baby was in the biting stage, I kept my finger on her cheek and the second she started to chomp down, I'd push on her cheek and she'd open up. If she goes back for more and bites again, I'd put the breast away and try again later.

Hang in there - it'll pass.

Hello my son got his first teeth at 5 months and boy was it uncomfortable but he is now 13 months and still nursing!!!!! when he would bite I would pop him off and say ouch kinda loud and firm so he knew it was bad to bite. Also just like in the begining you get a little tougher. Hoorah for being so commited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck and know you'll get through it!!

Congrats, R., on your new daughter - welcome to the wonderful, exhausting, fabulous world of motherhood! And what a loving, healthy gift you are giving yourself and your daughter with breastfeeding. You can certainly get through this phase of teething and continue to breastfeed. My first got her teeth at 6 months, my 2nd got his first teeth on his 3 month birthday. It's far easier to help a 6 month old understand that teeth hurt mommy than it is a 3 month old! But with both of my babies, we made it through. :)

Here's what helped us - take what sounds useful, discard the rest!:
* see if you can figure out when biting is occuring
Is it at the end, when she's mostly done nursing but just hanging out? If so, watch for her nursing session to slow and take her off before she has a chance to nip. :) If she's chomping on you in a teething manner, give her something else to use - like a cool, damp washcloth or a teether. If she's uncomfortable (needs to burp, pee, or poop), it's possible that she's letting you know that she's done nursing for the moment.
* definitely let her know that it hurts you - tell her so, like "ouch, teeth hurt mama!", and give her a physical signal as well like others' suggestions of brushing her cheek or removing her from the nipple
* if the teething is really causing her a lot of pain (like a lot of chomping on the breast, not able to sleep, really obviously physically suffering from the teething), we did cave on occasion and use infant Motrin or Tylenol for the super-bad teething times (but we did this very, very sparingly - we really prefer in general to NOT medicate and to instead use natural methods like cool teethers, frequent nursing which does act as a pain reducer, etc.)

Again, congratulations! Also, if you want to connect with other breastfeeding mothers, there is a fabulous group up your way which meets each month:

Mason/Montgomery LLL
2nd Thursday of every month @ 10am
Leaders: Chellie ###-###-####, Mary ###-###-####, Ruthanne ###-###-####

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My daughter had her first tooth at 3 months and 8 teeth at 8 months... I tried EVERYTHING to get her to stop biting, removing her from the breast, flicking her cheeks, telling her firmly no, etc... BUt at 8 months I decided to stop. I could't handle it anylonger. 2 teeth were ok, 4 teeth painful... 8 teeth SO not worth it... I was not going to lose a nipple! I am not trying to convince you to quit or discourage or anything.... Just wanted to let share my story and let you know that sometimes these things don't work. I hope that you find a way to stop the biting... Good luck!!!

I breastfed both of my daughters and had the same problem with both of them, (I think everyone does) But I would would just gently pinch her cheek and say ouch, and she'd let go. Also I offered a broad variety of things that she could chew on to get her "trying out the new tooth" thing in. I think that helped too. Frozen mini waffles were a godsend. Good luck and keep up the good work.

R.,
If you want to stop it quickly, flick her cheek and firmly and loudly say "NO!" Do not be surprised if she starts to cry. Comfort her and in a very short time, you will not have any more problems.

God Bless
J. F.