My Baby Is Biting Me While Nursing

Hi C.....I,too,had a biter and no one to help, So.... I took a bottle nipple and put it over my nipple and it worked GOOD. She weaned herself at 7 months. Hope it helps you.

Good Luck
C. M. Hamlin

When mine started to bite, I would say OUCH kind of loud(loud enough to get her attention) and would unlatch her. I would wait a few seconds, and then ler her finish. It took a few days but she got the point.

Ouch! The only thing that worked with my baby girl was to sharply say "NO" and take her off the breast immediately and put her down. I didn't hold her anymore when she did it and I didn't try nursing again until 15 or 20 minutes later. If she did it again, we were done again. This took about a week, but she hasn't bitten me since. She was older than 3 months, but it's worth a shot! Good luck!

I'm with the "pull him closer" crowd. I nursed each of my three of my kids for 20 - 24 months. (No formula!) First one had teeth at 3 months. "Smooshing" works! If they kept biting, I figured that side was done so I switched sides. If still biting -- or I had already switched sides -- they were done eating.
Other helpful things: quiet/few or no distractions; "Ouch!" is entirely appropriate; it can be frustrating, but it is so worth it!!! :)
Congratulations! Keep up the good work!

No, the baby doesn't understand why you're hurting him, don't do that. Just end the nursing session immediately, every time he does it. Sooner or later, he will figure out what's upsetting you and he will be hungry and not bite. We went through this, and we were able to continue a long nursing relationship after that.

One quick thing to add - multiple people have said, "don't pull your baby away, bring it in closer so it releases the bite." That's important - I got a TERRIBLE infection the first time my son bit me hard, because I jerked him away (instinctively) and he tore my skin apart. I bled, I got infected, and both of us ended up pretty miserable.

So try not to pull the baby away, if you can!

immediately break the seal and take the baby from the breast, say no, then end the nursing session. try again in half an hour or so. cause and effect will eventually kick in, and it will connect for baby that biting = no boob. i wouldn't flick, since he isn't meaning to hurt you. that kind of negative reinforcement is the wrong kind of negative reinforcement.
this is a really good source of advice for you: http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/html/teething_biting.s.... i hope you're able to find a solution soon.

The idea behind flicking is that it will startle and upset him, and then he will associate that with biting and will chose not to do it again. Didn't work for me.

The "expert" advice is to draw your baby in closer (basically smashing his face into your breast), and since he can no longer breathe through his nose, he lets go to take a deep breath. Also, a baby has to pull back from the correct latch to bite your nipple, so pulling him in puts too much in his mouth to pull back. I don't know about you, but when my baby bit me, I didn't feel like I had the time to wait for him to realize he can't breathe to let go... Pain made me want his release to be instantaneous.

The only thing that ever worked for me was going with my gut reaction. When he bit, I popped his butt which only startled him and instantly made him let go. Another really important part of this cause and effect training is to end the nursing session immediately. Get him off, stop nursing and put him down alone. Let him get upset for a few minutes before you begin to nurse again.

Remember that biting usually comes from either boredom or pain. When teething (I can remember from my wisdom teeth), biting things is instinct. The pressure and swelling feels better when compressed like that. So, give him Motrin to reduce the swelling, pain, and pressure. If his biting is coming from boredom, then quit nursing when you sense that he is not seriously nursing anymore and is just lingering and staying latched on. It also comes when you try to nurse a baby that isn't hungry. Instead of turning away when my son didn't want to nurse, he'd latch on and bite hard.

A baby that is latched on properly cannot bite because his tongue sticks out past his bottom teeth. I learned that hard way, that if your son can manage to suck and bit at the same time, then immediately seek professional advice on correcting his latch.

Unlatch him, tell him "NO, you're hurting mommy." I did this with my daughter and after a few times she never bit me again. I even breastfed until she was two, which meant a LOT of teeth.

Good luck.
Barb

The flicking won't work. Your baby won't associate the biting with the flicking or thinks you're trying to get attention.

My favorite techniques are:
1. Pull the baby in so they can't breathe for a second. They will automatically let go to catch a breath and you can get them off pain free.

2. Sternly say, "No Bite!" And refuse to nurse for a few minutes.

Between these two methods, I was able to stop my daughter very fast and avoided any injury to myself.

Another thing I did was give her things to chew on as much as possible before and after nursing so she could associate when she could bite and when she couldn't. Frozen damp washcloths, teethers, large carrots, etc. Also, try not to let him bite or chew on your fingers now too. This will help him learn to not chew on you for comfort, but just be near you instead. Hold him when he's teething bad and offer things to help him, but avoid allowing him to bite flesh so he understands "No Biting!"

C.,

Both of my kids would bite me when nursing as well. I got the flick the cheek idea from my SIL, who's kids also bit. What worked for me when either of mine bit was 1) take them off the breast, 2) flick the cheek just hard enough to get their attention but not leave a mark, and 3) say "No Bite" in a strong, firm voice. My son bit me 5-10 times and got the message; my daughter around 5 times.

Your little one needs to learn that biting hurts, and she will with some consistency from you. I think my kids' tears were more of surprise than pain.

Be strong Momma! You CAN get through this.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

On thing is for certain... do NOT nurse him when he bites. My son bit so hard he broke the skin (even though he didn't have teeth yet) until I started yelping (wasn't hard, believe me). I'd YELP, and that would shock him, and then I'd set him down and ignore him for a minute or two. I did that EVERY time, rather the same way I'd tell a pet I didn't want it doing something. The yelp got him to let go, and then he wouldn't get to nurse.

I know how hard it is to keep going when it hurts. I'm sorry you are going through this, but he has to learn--fast--that what he's doing isn't going to get him anything he wants. The best thing is not to talk to him after... just ignore him and set him down, so that he sees that biting puts you farther away from him than he would like.

Good luck with this! I hope you resolve it soon!

Tell him "no" really firmly and detach him from the breast immediately. Wait a bit and put him back on. If he bites again, tell him "no" and end the breastfeeding session. You don't have to wait for hours until feeding him again, but you need to let him know that biting isn't good. He may think it is funny at first, but he will soon associate the no food with biting and get it right. Good luck and God bless!

What Ava and Corie said--the natural consequence of "I bite" is "breast goes away."

With a couple of my babies, it just needed to go away a few inches and 10 seconds or so, a few times, and they got it--one or maybe two days. One never bit much anyhow. The fourth I had to remove, put down on the floor, and get up and walk away, for them to register that Something Important had happened.

With #1 I tried flicking, but I also didn't like it and it wasn't as effective as removal-of-breast.

Hi there! This happened to me as well. My first boy did not do that at all and my second one bit me a lot. I tried to do the flick thing as well and he would cry, and then I started sternly saying "no biting" and taking him off the breast. You might try that. It worked for a little while. It seemed he would not bite early in the morning or at his night feedings. But then that changed as well. I will tell you that I put up with it until he was 9 months old! I was in Hawaii on vacation when he bit me for the first time at the morning feeding and that was it for me! I was done! I wish I could tell you something else to try but I just stuck it out through the pain. I would try maybe doing the flick thing and saying NO and pulling him off. If he cries tell him "you are hurting mommy" and keep him off for a minute. Dont put him right back on to feed. I hope I gave you some help!

C.,
Probably every baby does this. It's not meant to be something bad, the new teeth make it feel strange for him too. Plus he might have some pain still going on with the new teeth. You can absolutely keep going - my daughter is 20 months, has 15 teeth and is still nursing. We got through our biting phases as well.

Here is a great webpage with some ideas, many of them already mentioned by other people, for good ways to deal with the biting:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html

It will get better!

I have three children of varing ages 5-20, that I breast fed exclusively for 2 years on average and each of them bit me around 9-12 mo old. When they first get there teeth everything feels different in there mouth and they experiment. Have you tried talking to him? When he does it pull him off sit him in front of you and in a very serious, but not scary voice let him know that it hurt you and that you do not want him to do it again and that if he continues he will loose (nanas, boob, nursing) what name you use for nursing. Then ask him to give you loves and hug him and put him on the breast again. I think it is just like any lesson you try to teach your children, you have to respond in a consistent and loving manner repeatedly. The one thing I have learned about responding with any physical reaction(flicking his cheek), is that the child will copy that behavior.

My son also got teeth very early. I would poke my finger into his mouth and break the nursing seal (he hated that). I would also jump and yell at the same time. It took him about a month or so (because he was so young), but he did stop biting eventually. It will pass and it will be worth every bite you incurred to keep breast-feeding. Good luck!

Brace yourself for toddler-hood! He's going to be a mischievous one. Meanwhile, I agree with the "No! You're hurting mommy" and then waiting a few minutes before letting him re-latch. Keep nursing.

of course your intitial reaction is to pull away but i heard what works is if you press his face into your breast (including his nose) and then he should let up. but you have to fight that instinct of not pulling away...its counter intuitive.

That is one of the worst things about nursing. My oldest bit my nipple one time so hard I thought that I was going to see blood. I had read in a book to put their face in your breast and then stop nursing. Don't nurse again until the next feeding if it is 3 hours later. This worked for my boy. Hope it helps for you.
S.

I agree with most of the others - I think that since he is so young (most babies start biting when they are older), pulling him in closer might be the better option, I'd see if that works first. If it doesn't, then I'd try gently removing him in a way that doesn't hurt or startle either of you, saying that hurts mommy, and then bringing him to breast again, making sure he is well latched and close in. Don't make it about him doing something wrong, it's just something he needs to learn, and it usually doesn't take long for them to learn. You can also give him other things to chew on when he isn't hungry, and he'll learn the difference quickly.

So sorry to hear about the biting! I think all babies bite their mothers at some point during nursing. When mine started to do this, I called the Le Leche Legue for help. They said that the natural reaction is to pull the baby away from your breast when they bite. But infact to do the opposite. Next time my son bit me, I quickly squished him into me. It sounds mean, but worked!!! What happens is that you're momentarily making it so they can't breathe and then they open their mouth, releasing their bite to get air. They dislike this so much, it stops them from biting. I only had to do it 2 or 3 times and he stopped completely. Good luck!

When my daughter bit me, I would take her off, wait a few minutes and then let her finish her meal. Lots of people have different tactics and it will be trial and error for you to find what works best for you and your son. Even flicking his cheek is a reaction and if he's smiling about it, then it's not discouraging him from biting you.

I did two things together... I would pull my nipple out of his mouth and tell him "Please don't bite Mommy. It really hurts." Then, I would let him latch again. I found that doing them both together for a few days gave him the verbal why and a consequence that didn't actually hurt him or his tender feelings. When he gets the vocal pattern connected to the physical consequence, you can start saying "Please don't bite Mommy. It really hurts" and if he doesn't stop, then pull out again and repeat the phrase. For us it took about a week before he understood the phrase completely. Your little guy will get it eventaully. They understand a lot more verbal communication than we give them credit for. Good luck and keep it up! You're doing a great job.

I have been there. I would just end the nursing session, tell her "no" (be firm) and wait about 10 min (less if she were crying hard) and try again (if she was still interested in eating). She did eventually stop. I tried really hard not to react other than to end the session. Good Luck. I also agree with Michelle S.

Mine did the same, but at an older age...I think it was 6months....anyhow, you may want to try what I tried, which is saying "No" quite sternly, then setting him/her down and walk away leaving her. It happened several times before she got the idea and I didn't give up nursing because of it...remember it is only a stage. You will get through it...nice work nursing! The best for your baby!

My son is just over 20 months old and we're still nursing and, yes, he had his biting phase. From what I've read and heard from other moms, this is pretty normal behavior. Your son probably doesn't even realize he's doing it. His teeth are new to him and it can make nursing feel different. He explores that difference by biting, not because he wants or even knows it hurts you but because he can now bite. Think of it as progress! As for how to react, try to reign in your reaction a bit. If babies learn they can make you scream, they might try to do it again and again. And that's not what you want. I'm a fan of the method that has you either push the baby's face into the boob to get him to release or removing him from the breast, giving him a stern 'no,' and waiting a few seconds before returning him to the boob. If he continues to bite during the same session, it might be because he's not all that hungry. Keep up the great work. You're doing a wonderful thing for your child.

He's at what I called the zappo stage. My kids would get satisfied early on and become distracted by sight or sound, turn their head and forget they had my nipple in their mouth. Zappo! And ouch. Try finding a quiet and dim room to nurse in.