Is She Trying to Wean?

I stopped breastfeeding before all that happened, I had always heard they no longer get any nutritional value from it anyway, so I guess if she's teething, maybe you can just start weaning her. ouch!

Dear D.,
Both of my kids started biting at the around 8 month also. It was a physical struggle to try to get my daughter to feed at that age. My son bit me so hard that I was dripping blood and had two teeth marks for days. It seemed that once they started crawling that they got too busy to breast feed and lost interest. My son and I had been fighting thrush also so it was almost a relief to stop breastfeeding. They both switched easily to a bottle. You might try only breastfeeding her when she is tired so she is less likely to bite. Hope this helps.

T. W.

Is she teething? That's the only time I've been bit. His doc says remove him from breast and sternly say No. Important to teach that you are not her teether. He learned if he wanted to eat, then no biting.

D., take heart, she's not trying to wean, she's trying to play.

Just tap her nose and tell her NO with a long stare. It's ok if she's upset a litte bit. Be careful not to be too animated because while you're trying to convey sadness and pain they tend to read it as playful and funny.

Sometimes babies bite when they are done and you're not pulling them off, too. Also when teething they put pressure on their gums.

I also want to emphasize that babies DO, they DO, THEY DO get nutrition each and every time they nurse whether they are 3 hours or 3 years or any day in between...or after.

It is important to remember that at 8 months old your baby has no clue that you experience pain when she bites you. In fact she has no idea that ANYONE is capable of experiencing pain but her! Babies are very self-centered, which is not a charactor flaw, they are just not yet capable of empathy. When you yell or cry out your baby is startled because you made a loud noise, but she does not realize WHY you are making a loud noise. I found a very effective way to deal with biting when I was nursing my babies, when the baby clamps down just pull her in closer to you so that she will have to open her mouth to breathe, don't smother her or anything, just pull her in close enough so that her nose is temporarily blocked by your breast. She will open her mouth and stop biting, if she bites again you go through the same routine unitl she figures out that as soon as she bites she becomes uncomforatble and unable to nurse. You can also try ending the nursing session and saying in a firm but not angry voice "no biting," that is all you should say, explaining things in great detail is not going to be effective at this age, simple phrases repeated often are easiest for your baby to understand right now. As for self-weaning, it is very unlikely that your baby is trying to wean herself at such a young age, most babies who self-wean do so at one year or older, when younger babies refuse to nurse it can be because they are ill or teething or are emotionally upset. Sometimes if a baby bites the breast and the mother yells or screams it can scare the baby so much that she will refuse to nurse in order to avoid hearing mommy make the scary noises again, but with patience and gentle persuasion the baby will begin to nurse again. Good luck and don't get too discouraged! Breastfeeding is worth the effort! (Edited to include): DO NOT GIVE THE BABY BRANDY OR ANY OTHER ALCOHOL! Even a small ammount of alcohol can cause alcohol poisoning in a baby, I am shocked that anyone still recomends that technique for teething! The success that some parents report from using alcohol on their baby's gums is probably due to a baby who becomes too drunk to cry! I am also wary of using corporal punishment in the form of slapping hands or flicking the baby's cheek or nose. Your goal is not to scare your baby into submission but to teach her gentleness, I fail to see how hurting a child could teach them to not hurt others. Just my own opinion.

Try pulling her closer and create a little discomfort rather than pulling away. I have read that it is confusing and sad with a yell and pull, where if they begin to relate discomfort (and needing a better airway) the biting will stop. She may be experimenting with the new action of chewing, or may be teething on mommy. Give momentary smothering a try if your pain will allow.

Both of my children went through a biting phase- part of it is that they get a reaction out of you. What worked for me (my La Leche League leader recommended this) was to smush their face into my breast when they would bite- it made it uncomfortable for them and hard to breathe so they would have to come off the breast on their own. They then associated biting with being uncomfortable and stopped biting. That way it was not associated with my reaction/attention. My son continued to nurse until 16 months and my daughter is still nursing.

Good luck!

J.

I had a biter. Ouch!! If he bit, I flicked his cheek. It didn't work at first and so we just ended meal time the second time he bit. He soon got the message and then a soft flick was enough of a reminder when he started. Hang in there. You'll make it, if you're consistent.

Bite her back. You can explain all you want, but she won't understand until she FEELS that it hurts. My nieces both used to bite. My sisters finally bit them back, not hard but firm, and they haven't had any problems since.

My daughter did this exact thing, and it was because she was teething. Shortly after all of this, she popped her first tooth, and since that has come in, she has stopped the biting. I did what you did and pulled her off telling her that it hurt mommy. It took quite a few tries, but she finally got it.

Chrissy

All three of my children do this to me. I nursed them a little past a year. It sounds like she just got to that playful age. With my kids, I have done a few things: ignore them (in hopes a no-reaction will make them not do it again); take them off and don't feed them again for a while (when they are not so playful and more hungry and so they realize their action made their meal stop); or hit their hands and yell "no, no" with a mean face (something to convey that this in not tolerated). Good luck. I know the pain. This has to stop.

She's teething. Biting makes her teeth/gums feel better. She doesn't know she's hurting you. When she bites you, say, "NO!" and take her away from the breast. Don't let her nurse until the next feeding. It will take several times to figure it out, but she'll make the connection between the biting and consequences of not nursing. She'll learn to not bite if she wants to nurse. There are several things you can do to relieve the pain of teething for her. There are safety feeders out there that you can put an ice cube (or frozen fruit) in. She can safely suck on that and the cold will numb the pain. Also, Pedialite popsicles numb the pain. There are teething rings and chewie toys. And of course, there is ibuprofin and acetometaphin. It doesn't sound like weaning to me. It is very painful for you, so be firm with her. If this strategy doesn't work --- then I would wean her so you don't have to be in pain.

Around that same age mine was biting too. She never bit hard enough to draw blood, though. She understood after I shouted in surprise the first couple times that she wasn't supposed to do it. If I watched her, she would get a sly little look in her eye and start to pull to the end of the nipple to bite. I would stop the nursing session anytime she did that twice.

It helped to nurse her only in a quiet room, and to rock her and/or sing to her softly while she nursed. That would keep her from being in an excited and playful mood, and instead relax and focus on the comfort of nursing. It also helped if I was really focusing on her the whole time. The biting might have been an attempt to get my attention back on her.

We were doing a combination of solids, nursing and bottle-feeding at that time, and I wasn't worried that she wasn't getting enough food overall. After a few weeks she stopped biting and we continued nursing at least a couple times a day until 15 months.

I also breastfed my little girl until she was about 8 months old. She started biting me too. I quite nursing after she broke blood vessels. It hurt and upset me more then it did her. If your little one is taking a bottle I would just pump or put her on formula. Which is what I had to do. I would try for a day or two and if she is getting too upset maybe try nursing again. Mine didn't really seem to mind. Good luck

D.,

You have some really good viewpoints here. There really isn't any way to tell why your daughter is biting. She could be teething. She could be playing. She could enjoy your reaction (though it doesn't sound like that considering her upsetedness). She could be curious about why you are reacting so strongly. She could be experimenting on cause and effect - I bite Mommy, she jumps. If I bite her again, will she jump again? It's hard to tell, but you can still try some things to change her behavior.

The one thing that I can probably guarantee is that she is NOT trying to wean. Babies don't "try" to wean. They wean. When a baby is not interested in nursing, there is nothing his/her mother can do about it. Self-led weaning rarely happens before a year old, and it usually happens gradually as baby loses interest in nursing and gradually replaces it with other food/comfort. A sudden stop in nursing is called a nursing strike, and it is a response to some stress in baby's life. Mother's often wean babies when they start biting for one very simple reason - they are afraid. They believe that if baby is biting now, they will continue to bite. Like any other stage, this too will pass! There are ways you can encourage your daughter not to bite you, and if you hang on until she learns, you will be doing so much good for both her and yourself. It is not true that the nutritional value of breastmilk disappears - not after three months, not after six months, not after a year. In fact, as your daughter gets older and nurses less often, the nutrients in your breastmilk actually concentrate to provide immune and nutritional benefits for her at every feeding. Also, you reduce your chances of reproductive cancers, and this protection increases the longer you nurse! It's pretty amazing. Just because she is eating cereal does NOT mean that she is getting any significant nutrients from food, and it certainly does not mean she is ready to stop breastfeeding.

So, some ideas to get your baby to stop biting...
If it is teething, you need to address the teething pain. Tylenol can help, but I really love Hylands homeopathing teething pills. You can also keep a chew toy handy while nursing and offer it to your daughter if she bites you. Just say "We bite toys, not Mommy." You can wet a washcloth and put it in the freezer for her to chew on. You can also make breastmilk ice cubes, wrap them in a washcloth and offer those to teethe on. Some mom offer their baby a breastmilk slush to help numb teething pain. These ways all help the pain as well as providing nutrients from breastmilk.

If it is behavioral, there are a lot of ideas you can try. I had good success with firmly saying "No Bite" and putting my daughter on the floor. I gave my daughter a minute on the floor, and then if she bit again I took a fifteen minute break before offering to nurse again. I would NOT recommend refusing to nurse until the next feeding. First, babies need to eat when they are hungry, not on a schedule. If they skip a feeding, they will be hungry and cranky, their blood sugar will dip, and they will be less likely to nurse well later simply because they are frantic from hunger. Second, she doesn't have the brain mechanisms in place to remember why she isn't being fed. She can make an immediate connection - I bite, Mommy takes the breast away - but she cannot connect an activity with a consequence several hours later. All she knows is that she is hungry and upset and you are refusing to nurse her. Many moms flick or slap their babies when they bite. You have to make your own decision about that, but I agree with the last poster who said that you don't teach a child to be gentle by hitting him. My opinion is that the means do not justify then ends. You have to make your own choice about what works best for your family. Distraction can help, keeping your baby's focus on you rather than on anything else that is happening. You have some other ideas posted about keeping baby's focus on you, but one thing that helped me was a nursing necklace. Any long necklace that is in baby's line of sight, easy to grab and has brightly colored, good-sized beads on it will work, though they do sell nursing necklaces tha are strung on heavy-duty strands to withstand tugging from baby. A bright scarf can also work, as can giving baby a favorite toy or blanket to handle while nursing. Smushing baby into my breast was also helpful with my second, who was a determined biter.

She could also be done eating and bored. Does she typically bite at the end of a feeding? Does she do something before she bites, like look up into your face and/or smile? If so, keep your finger at the ready and slide it between her mouth and your breast to break the latch and just pull her off when she is about to bite. You don't have to submit to being your daughter's teething ring, but you certainly don't have to wean her. If these suggestions do not help, I would recommend contacting a local La Leche League leader. There could be some positioning issues that might need to be addressed.

Best of luck,
S.

Will she take a bottle? Because you can try pumping and then giving it to her in a bottle. I quit breast feeding around 9 months because I couldn't keep up with my twins demand but usually women who breast feed strictly breast feed. I always made a point of breast feeing along with bottle feeding because I always heard horror stories of not being able to get the child to take a bottle. So, if your wanting her to still have breast milk then you should start pumping. The other thing is if your daughter gets hungry enough, she'll drink anything. I just went through both of my girls having a virus and they would never take pedialyte and once I cut out their milk all of a sudden they would drink anything. Good luck.

S.

No, she is teething. My daughter did the same thing and broke the skin. Ouch! I would suggest giving her frozen yogurt. I would freeze yogurt in ice cube trays or buy yogurt tubes and freeze them. I would try soothing her gums with cold... then breast feeding her right after. You can even freeze a small wet wash cloth, so she can bite on it to ease the discomfort.

Good luck.

Sounds to me like she might be teething and it hurts to feed so she's trying to teeth on your nipple. My daughter did the same. It's very possible she's just frustrated because it's really hurting her to breastfeed, but she really wants/needs the milk. My daughter did the same thing for a week here & there. It sounds like it's been going on a little longer. I would contact your local la leche league. They have advisers you can call anytime and they might have some recommendations for you. Good luck!

My baby seems to do this every time he is cuting a new tooth. Man it hurts! He cut blood a few times. All I do is say no, at first he just kept doing it, but then eventually he would go to bite me and instead kiss me, it was so much better. I laughed the first time he did it.

I don't think your daughter is weaning. She could be doing it because she's teething or just out of playfulness (just to see what would happen) as my 1st daughter did. What I did in response (sounds awful, but is very effective) is I pulled her off & flicked her cheek when she did bite me. I can't guarantee she won't cry, mine didn't, she was just stunned. It only happened another time & did the same thing, then she never did it again. Hope it helps.

She's discovered other things to do with her mouth! She's probably not weaning, but experimenting. The best option is to stay calm (has she laughed when you scream?). When she bites, the feeding is over immediately. Wait a while (I'd say at least 30 min) before trying again. Since she is eatig solids, it really won't hurt her. She should learn soon enough to not bite when she wants to eat.

Generally babies don't self-wean until after 1. I would say your issue is related to the biting. Here's a good article from the La Leche League on biting:
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/bite.html

I would also suggest you talk to a La Leche League leader. They could meet with you & check out your latch & see if they can see something you're not seeing. They are really wonderful people! Go to www.llli.org & you can search for your local group's contact info.

How long do you want to breast feed? Are you ready to quit? These are the first questions that I had to ask myself when my daughter started doing this. I talked to my husband and together we decided that at that time our 8 mo. old was trying to tell us she was ready to slow down on breast feeding. I know that it might not be the same thing but sometimes it helps to talk it out. I know that when my daughter bite me she made me bleed. so watch out

D., she is not trying to wean, sounds like she's teething. when she does this, say "ouch! that hurts mommy!" and take her off your nipple. ask, "do you need something to chew on?" and offer her something appropriate. options that worked for my kids - a nice hard cold carrot or piece of celery, just watch the stringy things with the celery, although most breastfed babies won't choke - their tongues are really dexterous - you can try an icecube in one of those food net things, teething biscuits, frozen blueberries. tell her mommy is for nursing, not biting, and x is for biting (whatever works for her). the sucking feels really good for them while they're teething but you are her source of everything, so she doesn't even realize she's hurting you, she's just using your body for comfort like she always has. just help her realize when she needs to suck and when she needs to chew or teeth and give her appropriate ways to do both. homeopathic teething tablets helped my kids. They teeth for 2 years or more, some babies have runny poops, diaper rash, fever, runny noses, can't lay flat, etc. it's a pretty big deal for them (and for you!) my son would get a fever with teething and have a growth spurt at the same time. Just remember, babies are doing what comes naturally, and it is so innocent. it is true that they experiment with cause and effect, and this is a good thing, it teaches them how things work and what is happening around them. gentle and loving guidance is the best way to go, not making babies feel wrong for doing what comes naturally (i.e., trying to soothe aching gums). also, it doesn't make sense to teach a baby not to hurt you by hurting her... (re flicking her cheek, biting her back, etc.) good luck to you!

probably just teething. OR she might just be experimenting to see whet reaction she gets.

I really doubt that she is trying to wean. Babies about her age start becoming very interested in the world around them and even start playing with cause and effect relationships. I think that she is just figuring out the different properties of the mechanism she gets her food from. Its not to early to give her limits. Its good that you let her know biting you is not acceptable. My babies didn't do the biting thing for very long though and we got through it.

Good luck!

babies start learning how to test thier boundaries. I used to do what you have been trying and one day my MIL said she would just hold the babies nose for a sec, they have to open thier mouth to breath. I tried it, it worked. Amazing. lol. anyway it got to where my dd would start to bite and I would start for her nose and she would stop. we were learning baby sign too so she would sign sorry and we would commence. saved me--I was able to get to the year mark.

My little squirt (now 18 months) who I breastfed until 12 months did the same thing when he was about 10 months old. He wasn't trying to wean, just teething. I started to plug his little nose (for just a second) every time I could tell he was about to bite me, and that worked really well. The poor little guy couldn't breathe through his mouth, so he quickly learned that a plugged nose was not what he wanted. Classical conditioning I suppose. If I couldn't see the bite coming and my little guy bit me, I made a concerted effort to react in a firm but quiet voice, saying "no biting!" Any time I would yell in pain after being bit, he got so scared, and didn't want to nurse anymore (for a few hours anyway). Good luck! :)

My daughter got her first two teeth at 5 months and she would bite now and again but i still nursed her for the full year. So I know you can make it! My book said that has soon as you feel them start to bite you pull them into your breast so their nose is covered by your breast. This will make it hard to breath and they will let go. It's kinda hard at first to pull them closer to you when they bite because your reaction is to pull them off but after a few times they learn fast. And by the baby letting go instead of you pulling them off there is a better chance that they won't break the skin. Which is so painful.