Teething Baby Torturing Me. :(

Don't screech - say NO in a firm voice - but not a loud one - she thinks the screeching is funny - the no she will understand is not funny - don't yell at her though - I know it's really hard, but she will understand.

V.

Unfortunately, there is no way to "teach" an infant not to bite - and as she continues to teethe, the biting will increase in frequency and strength! You can tell her not to bite when she does, but at 5 months, there is no way she can understand that your reaction to her bite is because of pain, or why she should stop, or that she is even doing it. The more you discourage her from biting, the less she will want to nurse if you are becomming frustrated. Either way, the breastfeeding days at the breast may be coming to an end - its hard, but some infants bite and some do not.
A great many mothers have to stop breastfeeding when their children start to bite - its just one of those transitions. I am currently working as a professional nanny to a mother with 5 children - she breastfed them all, and continued to pump and feed them breastmilk until the children were 18-24 months old, but as each of the children grew, teethed, and then started to bite, she had to stop. 3 of her 5 children were biters, two others she was able to actually nurse at the breast until 18 months. Its just one of those things.

I had the same problem. It's important that you not respond positively (by, say, laughing) when your daughter bites you, since in her mind that constitutes a reward for her bad behavior. When she bites, firmly say "No biting" and pull her away from the breast. Let her squirm for a bit and THEN give her some cuddles and love. She will make the connection that she can't nurse anymore if she keeps up the behavior. I've also had good luck using a trick I got out of a book: since babies crave face-to-face attention from their mothers, if they bite you, you can pull them away, look them in the eye, say firmly "No biting!" and then turn the baby around in your lap so they're facing away. Keep them faced away from you for one minute (or a little less), and then again give them a cuddle and some love. They'll soon make the connection that if they bite, they will lose their mother's attention. This will cause them to avoid biting you (since they really want our attention!).

Most of these responses make a lot of sense. However, I would never tell someone to stop nursing a 5 month old. You're doing the right thing by continuing. Just unlatch, say "no" very firmly and try again. The tone of voice and the look of disapproval will be enough after a few times. This is a special time that ends so quickly, never rush the weaning.

When my son does this I immediately pull him off and yell, "No! No, biting." Then I end the nursing session. The next several times he nurses, I use my pinkie as a barrier. This was what my doctor advised me to do and it works great for us. My son is now 7 months with four teeth and still nursing! He still bites sometomes, but he won't do it twice in one day. Good luck.

As a Lactation Consultant who has not only dealt with this issue with her own kids but also deals with it regularly with my clients I have to say the first few answers are great! The last one by Kristin leaves me sad to hear that there are people for whom biting seems to be the end of nursing when it really doesn't have to be. I wish she had had some good support (and the mother she nanny's for) to not let that happen. It is possible that they got some advice that really didn't work for them...sadly, it happens.

Listen to the first few ideas - face into the breast, take her off and tell her "No" firmly, stern face and go a head and put her on the floor. She will have a fit - too bad for her! :) Let her holler for a minute then pick her up. Give her some love and go on with your day. Teething also gives babies a good reason to bite - they want to chew on things. However, mommy's breast is not a chew toy! Try Hylands Teething tablets or some baby ibuprofen (ask Dr for amount) to ease the teething pain before nursing - this should also help ease that urge to bite.

Another good tactic is to watch how the feeding progresses. When you see her signs of the feed being almost done, YOU take her off BEFORE she thinks about biting. :) Here you are stopping a yucky situation before it happens.

Good luck! Biting does not usually serve as the first sign of early weaning. At least it sure doesn't have to! Be consistent, be firm - she WILL learn!

Good luck!

Warmly,

J. Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM
www.breastfeedingnetwork.net

She is 5 mo old--wean her to a bottle.
S. T.

Children repeat what they are rewarded for. Since your daughter is biting you repeatedly, I assume she finds something about it rewarding. Maybe she likes seeing Mommy's funny face and hearing that silly noise Mommy makes? Or maybe it just feels good to her tooth and gums?

You need to remove the reward from biting and substitute a negative experience for the baby instead. When she bites you, try not to react. Remove her from the breast and say "No!" very firmly. Then put her away from you and withdraw interaction from here (turn away from her, don't meet her eyes, etc). Let her sit alone for only a few seconds, just long enough for her to register distress (5-10 seconds?). Then pick her up, cuddle her and offer to nurse again.

Repeat as necessary. Don't be afraid if the biting increases for a short period of time. Remember, she is trying to get something that she enjoys (kind of like when I get the stool so I can reach the chocolate on the top shelf in the kitchen cabinet). The behavior should subside rather quickly.

My son did the same thing. He was born preemie & skinny & I sstruggled to produce milk - lazy boobs I guess. so, I felt like I had to just put up with it. My mom saw him do it, and she told me to put him on the floor and say "No Bite!".
After about 3 more bites, he got the message. If he bit me, I would immediately take away my breast and put him away from me (floor, daddy's lap, whatever)& say "NO BITE!". I'd wait 5-10 minutes before feeding again. He was a greedy little feeder & didn't like to have his meal interruped so he stopped. He would sometimes bite my cheek or shoulder when I was playing with him as affection, but never bit me when he was nursing. At 10 months he chipped his front tooth trying to climb a baby gate so then I had to wean him because it would cut me - but he was already on solids and I wa going back to work anyway.
I could tell my son thought it was funny to hear me say Ouch!
He didn't understand that it hurt me, so I tried to not get mad.
Gerber makes a big fat chapstick looking thing that you can use on your nipples after nursing to sooth your skin, so does Lansinoh - but I'm allergic to the lanolin in that one.
My mom - the original hippy home remedy queen used a bag of frozen corn or peas wrapped in a cotton cloth to cool off sore nipples.
Good Luck!

My son also got his first tooth at 5 months. When he bit, I would immediately unlatch him and tell him "no biting" in a stern voice. At that moment, the nursing session is over. Babies cannot bite and nurse at the same time and usually only do it after they are pretty full and are just playing. It didn't take long for him to get the message. he now has 10 teeth and doesn't bite.

Dear T.,

See, I tooooold you, babies are very smart. She really learned that fast. Just quietly take your breast out of her mouth and quietly and firmly say Noooooo, then hesitate and see her facial reply and put it back in, if she bites again, do the same thing and soon she will get the message and quit bitting the breast that feeds her. Isn't that smart? so now you know that you baby is smart and has a good sense of humor, even if it hurt you, she didn't know in the beginning.

Watch for more baby jokes. They do make them, just watch. So cute.

C. N.

When it happens, firmly say NO! with a firm face and hold her to your breast. She will let go so she can breathe. At that point, end the nursing session and move onto something else. It won't be funny for her anymore. Moreover, it's amazing how quickly they associate not breathing with biting and no more nursing and how quickly that will end . It sounds mean but this sure worked after a few times with my little ones. Best of luck!

C.

I am working through this issue as well with my 7 month old son who has had 2 teeth since 5 months as well, and another 2 on top about to pop...ohh joy. They like to take those little chompers for a test drive sometimes. I follow La Leche's advice on this one which advises to be alert to the cues that she is about to bite down. Keep your finger close to her cheek, and when you see the cues that she is ready to bite down, disengage her by inserting your finger between your breast and her mouth to break her seal, and also tell her firmly "no biting." This plus offering something she CAN bite down on (teether, etc..) can help. If she continues, you may try disengaging her, plus putting her down off your lap and repeating "no biting." She will probably cry, so then it's fine to pick her up again and comfort her. I have to keep working at this myself, so hang in there. Another method I've heard (also La Leche) feels not right, but it does work, and that is when she bites to push her into your breast firmly, which blocks her breathing for a second and she will disengage, and possibly cry...mine looks at me with astonishment, and repeat "no biting." It isn't soo much "fun" for them then. Overall, pay attention to your reaction, which I have found with my son, shapes his reaction. Hope this helps!

My first child, now 6, bit me ONCE! I made it perfectly clear (with facial expression and pulling him off immediately that I did not like it)- he never did it again. Perhaps she is misinterpreting your screams for laughter. I would look at her with an "angry face" and put her down in a crib- that way it is clear to her that she should not do this. You should not endure the pain because actually she might damage your nipples to the point of rendering them incapable of allowing milk to flow. (my left one was damaged to this extent do to a bad latch in the first few weeks, and the milk flows 1/3 of what the other one does.) Remember that as a rule, moms should not endure PAIN- pain is an indicator that something is wrong and needs to be fixed.

T.:
My son did the same thing. When he bit, I unlatched him and said NO BITING in a very firm, not angry voice, then put him down on the floor next to my nursing chair, to separate him from me. He of course did not like to be separated from me. I would say again NO BITING. It took consistent work for a couple weeks, but he got the message that if he bit, he would not be allowed to nurse.
I know it hurts like crazy. I used an ointment to help the healing. I do not remember the name. Hopefully someone else can recommend a product.
Hang in there!! Once you get through this tough time, nursing will get easier. I nursed my son for 2 years! It was worth the work to get to a point where it worked well for both of us!
My best to you!

Take her off the breast when you think she has had enough. Do this before she gets a chance to play her new fun game. She may forget about bitting you over time. I nursed all three of my children and think that most Mommies experience this with at least one of their children. Knowing this doesn't help with the pain when she does it. I hope this helps and she grows out of this soon.
Take care-G. K

Try taking her off your breast before she is done. When she starts to slow down, just break the suction, and she can't finish- and can't bite you.

Hello T., I had made a semi-joking comment to my midwife about that very thing... I have yet to reach that stage as my little one is only 11 weeks.

Anyway, she told me to say "ouch" firm and clear and then imeadiately set her down for a few seconds. That is the only adivice I have heard.

As for the pain if it is really bad and she is persistant I would recoment getting a nipple shield, they are very easy to use.

Keep on nursing!!!! It's the way to go!!!!

Good luck
Have a great day!
Meghan

I also had this. I said a firm NO and it never happened again. I nursed until age 2 for both of my daughters and it is one of my most fondest memories of the early years with my daughters.

Oh gosh, I feel your pain...literally. I have a 14 month old who is still nursing...and we went through the SAME issue. When he bit me, if I scrame, he thought it was funny because it was an interesting reaction. So, every time he would bite me, I would say "NO" firmly, but without creating a reaction and not let him nurse for a few minutes. He would get upset because he wanted to continue nursing. Finally, he learned that when he bit me...he no longer got to nurse and he stopped doing it. It took a while...probably a few weeks of pain (I found pumping on the breast with the injured nipple did not hurt as bad and did it for a few days while it healed and nursed off the other breast). But he finally got it...and now he knows not to do it and we are doing great!

It's tough but there is light at the end of the tunnel. They're a lot smarter than we think and begin to understand a lot sooner than we think. I am SO thankful I stuck it out...because as you know, nursing is such a great bonding experience not to mention you are providing the best you possibly can for your little one.

Good luck!!!

End the feeding before she does. Right when you feel enough time has gone by, unlatch her. Also, make sure you don't play any "biting" games with her, like putting her hands or feet in your mouth as play. She may think she is just "playing."

Oh boy. I'm having a similar problem with my seven month old. It's so horrible. The advice that I have been given is to, after you yell in pain, say in a firm voice, "No! That hurts Mommy!" and stop the nursing session. Other advice said to take the baby and put her firmly AWAY from you after you do this. Another piece of advice was to pinch her nose when she bit so that she'd have to let go (this works well). Another piece of advice is to push her face into your breast so that she has to let go (this works too). And this was another piece of advice: Before you start the nursing session, have a serious talk with your baby that biting hurts mommy, and it is not OK. If you see her start to get the face that she's going to bite, say in a warning tone, "Don't bite mommy." First and second bites, set her on the floor away from you for a minute or so. Third time, end the nursing session. My baby had gone 24+ hours without biting me, but then bit me during a nighttime nursing session last night - after I had fallen asleep! What a lovely thing to wake up to...

My daughter bit me a few times after she got her first tooth at 4 1/2 months. I dealt with it a few times but then one day it hurt so bad and I actually screamed and put her on the floor. I made my husband come and get her and I didn't let her nurse any more (for that feeding). She was very upset and cried a lot. I held her and rocked her. The next time she nursed and bit it wasn't as hard but I still made her stop nursing. She didn't bite like that again and I continued nursing her to 14 months.