What to Do About My Breastfeeding Piranha?

my kids did the same thing and the only thing that worked was to pull them into your breast so their nose is right up against your breast and they can't breathe (when he bites you) - they don't like the feeling of not being able to breathe and open up their mouth and then you can take your breast out of their mouth and tell him - no more. after a few of those episodes, he should get the hint. good luck - i breast fed my son to 3 and my daughter is 2 1/2 and going strong!! :)

Dear S.,

I really do not know what is the right thing to tell you, except that, I personally, think that you need to wean him asap. He has had a good 10 months and now is the time to wean, as they say.

I am sure that the other mommies will have lots of very good experienced based advice for you.

Sincerely, C. N.

I had this same issue when my son was about the same age. It always occured when he was pulling off the breast. At a very calm time and with the support of our cranial sacral therapist, I had a conversation with him. I let him know that when he pulled off the breast he needed to do so without dragging his teeth and biting me. THat his teeth are very sharp and at any time they need to stay out of the way of nursing. THat he needs to open his whole mouth when releasing my breast and let go without the teeth touching. Again we were both in a very calm state and then I let him nurse to practice. I think the first time he started to drag and bite and I said that that was when he needed to open his whole mouth. SO we tried againa nd he got it right and never bit me again. I was amazed at how well he understood me and how actually easy it was. I cannot emphasize enough the calm state we were boht in when this was communicated. So maybe that will be of help and I hope you can find a way to continue!! You may ahve to explore for yourself what it is he isn;t understanding, for us it was releasing maybe it is different for your son. Anyways good luck!!
Sara M

Hi S.,
Through my lactation support group I have heard that when your son bites on your nipple, instead of immediately pulling him off, first press his face into your breast so he cannot breathe through his nose and is forced to open his mouth. Then firmly tell him 'no, that hurts mommy' and then ignore him for one minute. After one minute, offer the breast again.

Hope this helps! My 4 month old son is not teething yet, but I plan on trying this approach when the time comes.

What was recomended by my doctor, and what worked for me, was to push my baby's face INTO my breast every time they would bite. this creates a situation where they have to release in order to breathe. It is not dangerous because they have control over their ability to breathe. I think the reason this works is that it creates a physical response that the child associates negatively with thier bite. It never took long for that technique to work for me with all four of my kids. I breastfed up to or beyond a year with all but my first.

It sounds like he's teething with a vengeance, poor baby. Mama's breasts are the ultimate source of comfort so it's no surprise that he is looking to you for relief of his pain. I wouldn't wean if you can help it because his teething won't last but the benefits of breastfeeding at least 2 years (minimum) will last him a lifetime.

Scolding him might just confuse him, though the natural reaction of yelping and a firm but loving reminder couldn't hurt. Making him wait 20 minutes is cruel and physically and emotionally harmful because babies have no concept of time and, if he's going through pain, you are his #1 source for the intense need for immediate comfort. Try keeping a teether nearby, or variety of teethers (including a wet knotted washcloth, or a wet soft cloth prefold, wooden teether, etc.) fresh out of the fridge so it has cooling relief. Maybe try letting him bite on it before and during nursing. If he starts to bite, naturally react then firmly remind him no biting, then immediately give him teething relief with a teether.

Hang in there. This too shall pass in the blink of an eye.

=)
M.

I nursed both of my kids. I nursed my daughter for 1 year and then my son for 6 months. I had to cut my daughter off at 1 because I knew how much she enjoyed it but also knew it would be difficult to wean her if I continued on past the 1 year mark because she would probably end up walking up to me and lifting up my shirt asking to nurse and I WAS NOT going to be THAT mom! I'm glad I did because she did whine for a few days knowing something was different. She did bite me a few times and instead of pulling her off by breast I actually pushed her face into my breast-a technique I learned along the way. It startled her and a few times after that she learned. I say you were blessed enough to nurse for 10 months-so my advice is to close up shop and move on to the next fun stage in your childs life!
Kim
Huntington Beach

I had the same thing with my little girl who is now 3. It came in waves and I would ride it out each time. By the time she turned 1 I had had enough and she was on the cow's milk. Now i have a boy 8 months and i've been going through the same thing. I think it's good you put him down as i've been doing that and it seems to work but then he forgets himself. Buy plenty of teething toys and try putting some fruit in the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder pouch. That way he can relieve himself somewhere. hope this helps.
L. (mother of 2)

If a child is sucking, they can not bite. Their tongue crosses between his teeth and your nipple with every suck, so pay attention to his sucking. When it slows down, take him off. Also, when he bites take him off. He will get the idea.
I have nursed my 3 kids for a total of 7 years and now I am nursing my 2 month old.

hey S., congrats on your beautiful baby boy! I did not have this problem....but sympathize with how much it hurt! I also wanted to breastfeed for as long as I could but had a bad burn on my hand (from pasta water!) at about nine months old and due to the medication they lathered on my burn, I had to discontinue breastfeeding. I then had to deal with the dread of dealing with bottles and random lost bottles that would roll under the bed only to be discovered weeks later.....ew.

I had only one thing to add to your dilemma....if breastfeeding no longer becomes enjoyable for you or it becomes a anxious event, then this too is the engergy that you pass on when you come into contact. I too do not think he intends to hurt you but perhaps his hunger is becomming too ravenous and which is why he gets over excited when latching on and bites. At 10 months, he should be able to eat simple cereals....I would add some baby cereal diluted in your pumped breast milk and feed that too him. If he's really hungry, it's not that you don't have enough milk, it would be because there may not be enough fat in your milk to sustain him. Formula is traditionally more filling than breastmilk which is why more babies tend to put on weight faster off formula than breast milk. If he's got teeth, he's ready for some more solid food.

hope this helps. best of luck.

Hi there,
My son did the exact same thing around that age. The only time he didn't bite was at night when he was very sleepy (or a late night feeding - he didn't sleep through the night until almost 2 years old and at 4 he still doesn't care much for sleep!). I too wanted to nurse for at least a year (like I did with my daughter). Ultimately he and I finally "agreed" that for the last 2-3 months, he would nurse only at night when he was sleepy and didn't bite me. I pumped for day-time feedings and supplemented with formula as needed (that was a hard one for me to get past since I never planned to do that!). It was the only way we could continue something we both loved to do for a bit longer. I decided that I didn't want to end up thinking of my wonderful years of nursing as painful (which is how I was starting to think) so instead we tapered off quietly at night with warm and fuzzy feelings. :)
Good luck.
-K.

Hi S.,

I nursed my almost 5 year old until 18 months and nursed my 2 1/2 y/o twins until 18 months and I'd forgotten about those biting incidents until I read your message. One thing I remember reading to do is when they bite, do what you're doing (stern no) and you can also pinch/hold their nose to make them release. Another tip, might be to call someone at La Leche League. I know I called them once for some advice and they are very responsive. The other thing is to just tough it out. They stop eventually, even with a full mouth of teeth. Good Luck! Enjoy it while it lasts. :)

My oldest daughter only did that a few times and I just detached her and said NO and she stopped. My youngest has not got to that point yet thank goodness. I have read by another BFing mom that if you just pull them into your breast where it temperarily smothers them they will release and be so stunned my the feeling of not being able to breath it will teach them not to do it.
Good luck to you I hope you are able to fix the problem and not have to stop Bfing.

First congrats on wanting to continue breastfeeding. I am still at 2 years and with a full mouth of teeth. In order to actually latch on, a baby has to hold their mouth a certain way in order to suck. Teeth prevent them from sucking, so there is some reason why he is using his teeth. Very likely the pain in his teeth is relieved when he bites. I found putting on some kind of teething medicine on his gums really helped. I especially liked the swabs because I could get farther into his mouth, but whatever works to numb the pain. Also, I have read on other requests about moms pushing the baby into the breast to make them unlatching. Sounds very disturbing to me and probably so unpleasant for the baby then a solution. A simple use of the pinkie in the corners of the mouth and gums works just as effectively. And quite frankly very few pediatricians are that experienced in more then just basic breastfeeding. Make sure you contact a Le Leche League support person, to really get to the root of what's going on. And also very important is consistence in your response when the baby bites. Good luck. You can do this!!!!

I am in the same situation! I also have a 10-month old boy who has 8 teeth and occasionally bites me while breastfeeding. He is a little more mischievious about it that your son, I think. He gives me a rascal look like he knows biting me will get a certain reaction. But when I take him off and say "no biting" he cries and I have never denied him of nursing for 20 minutes... more like 20 seconds. He doesn't bite with his full strength so I haven't considered weaning him yet. I hope to be able to breastfeed for 2 years. I wish I had some advice for you, but thought you might find comfort in knowing others are in a similar predicament as yours. It must be a phase (a short-lived one, lets hope). Good luck!

Hi S.....I know what you'er going thru...if there were to be a #3 child, I would have a very hard time BF him/her...My son did the same thing at about the same age. Eventually he stopped biting..I think they try to see what they can get away with...he was also biting my shoulder at times too...This might sound mean, but I did have to flick the end of his nose with my finger a couple of times...not to hard, but he sure didn't like it. I did finally wean him at 14 months..he was starting to unbutton my shirt, so I figured he was big enough. I wish you luck...and my son is now 2 and doesn't bite anymore...

I went through a similar situation with my son...honestly it happened off and on for a few months and then it just stopped. I definitely went through times that I feared feeding him, but they would pass. The one year mark made a HUGE difference for us since he could have cows milk and nursing just became a bonding and supplemenatry time. I did the same things your dr. recommended, and with pretty much the same effect. For me it was worth getting through (my son nursed until about 20 months) but you have to decide what it right for you.
Good luck!