6 month old biting, nursing strike?

[seafox]

So DS has two bottom teeth, and for some reason this week has started biting (never happened before) right when he latches on. I had done a search here and kellymom and today tried the squoosh into my boob technique (they open their mouth to breathe, and learn they can't nurse and bite, supposedly)

instead DS seems to have taken this really badly. I couldn't go back and nurse him - he'd shut is mouth w/ a pout and then even suck both his lips in and made it *really* apparent he was refusing. We have a yoga ball that I bounce him on to go to sleep, so I used that since he was screaming/crying to get him calm, and it took a few iterations but finally when he was sleepy enough he took the breast (no biting) and nursed.

should I keep doing this to 'teach' him? or will he just get confused and think that nursing=suffocation instead of biting=suffocation? I'm afraid to ruin what is such a nice nursing relationship.

[3girls1boy]

I'm glad that he will nurse when sleepy. If it were me, I wouldn't let him keep on biting you though. You could try breaking the latch and saying, gently, "That hurts Mommy." Sounds like it is teething pain though. Possibly some teething medication before nursing. Or give him something cold and hard to bite on when he does this. It's also possible that he is frustrated if the milk doesn't let down fast enough. In that case, it might be helpful to hand express a little so milk is already flowing when he latches on.

Hopefully, this is a stage that will pass soon.