Breastfeeding and Teething/Biting

I quite literally feel your pain! lol. I just went through this with my daughter last month. She bit me so hard I couldn't nurse her for 3 days and I had to walk around with an ice back in my bra! She still bites down a little every great once in a while when she's sleepy but never like she used to. Here are a few tips I picked up from La Leche League and some experienced moms...

-if he bites you, immediately take him off your breast and walk (or turn) away for a few minutes. He'll start to recognise that biting cuts off the milk supply.

-if he bites down and doesn't immediately let go, pinch his nose. He'll let go to catch a breathe and because he'll probably find it irritating. He'll figure out that biting you equals discomfort, and will stop.

In the meantime, for your pain I suggest Lansinoah for your nipples and ice packs. Also try expressing some milk on the area to help you heal, and if possible pump only on the injured side until healed.

Good luck!!!

when he bites you yell "owie!" and either pull him in tighter covering his nose to make him release or stick your finger in his mouth to make him unlatch. I know how badly it hurts, been there, you're lucky he doesn't have top and bottom teeth:ouch.
It is just a stage and the above is suggestions I recieved from la leche league.

Hello D.,
I went through the same thing with my son. When he got his first teeth in, he would bite me all the time. He actually made me bleed once! He thought it was a little game because I would jump and say ouch every time. I would tell him "no bitting" and he would just smile. I tried just not reacting at all to see if he would get bored and stop, but that was pretty difficult, especially when he bites hard enough to draw blood. What eventually worked for us was to just stop the feeding if he bit. He would bite me and I would take him off the breast and say "no biting mommy". He would get upset, of course, because he still wanted to eat. So, I would wait a few minutes and then let him latch on again. I just had to do this every time he bit me and eventually (after a week or so), he learned that if he bites mommy, he doesn't get milk. It took persistence and consistency, but it worked. He even tried to test me a couple of times, but I stuck with it. My advice is to try what I did. He will learn not to bite you if you do it every time. I can't say how long it will take because every baby is different, of course, but try it for as long as you can. I really think it will work for you.
Good luck,
J.

Most breast fed babies bite arounf this time. Simply stop feeding him tell him no biting and rsume. They say he will relate the biting to no breast feeding. I know it hurts my daughter di it around this gae and she was weaned at 20 mos so it was just a stage.

This was about the time I stopped breast feeding my son. The biting unfortunately at that age is hard to stop. The side effect is that they end up getting blood in thier belly from the bites and they get upset tummies. I know ideally children should breast feed until age 1 but this may be a factor that you will need to stop and you could pump for him he still gets the breast milk without the possibility of blood.

I'm going through the same exact thing right now... my 7 month old got his first tooth last week, and I've just been dealing with it, thank you for asking that question :D

When you are nursing and you start to feel him bite, push him into your breast by pushing on the back of his head... this will naturally cause him to open his mouth wider (you won't smother him!) and you can pull him off without too much pain. Then say No Bite!! And stop nursing for a little while (few minutes). I used to even pull my bra up/shirt down so he would think we were done for a little while. He'll cry and fuss and want to nurse and then you can again - but say again No Bite!! And keep trying. Eventually he'll stop. around this age they also get distracted or want to "play" - you could also wear a nursing necklace for him to play with. It's something simple you make yourself with ribbon/cord/etc. and big colored beads - the more variation the better. Then he plays with it instead of with your nipple.

hope that helps!
C.