How has breastfeeding changed since your baby got teeth and eats solids?

[Snapdragon]

I am posting this here and not in breastfeeding because I want to hear other people with babies' recent experiences. Please move if needed.

How many people are dealing with biting issues?

What about the issue of having full of milk breasts and a not hungry baby because they ate solids?

Are these things many of you experience?

How else is breastfeeding changing for you?

for me it was wonderufl and balanced up until recently- ds has been biting a lot in that last week or 10 days

Now it is a scary time to nurse him and I stress over it!

Also sometimes he wans solids over breastfeeding and will bite if the breast is offered but want to eat food.

So then my breasts get full and sore.

anyone else dealing with these types or other things? I don't know how this works- nursing easily once the baby has teeth. I am scared that nursing from here on out will be a chore and stressful and bitten.

 I hope not! I hope this will pass-

talk to me aobut these issues in your own experiences, please--

[Knitting Mama]

The only time Cecilia bites is when she's really not interested in nursing and I am trying to get her to have some milk. See, it's really hard for a baby to bite when they're properly latched because the nipple is so far back in their mouth. Therefore, biting to me means not in the mood to nurse. So I am just pushing myself to pick up on her signs more and to put away the breast when she's clearly not into it, hopefully before I get bitten!

Can't comment on the supply/solids thing because a) I have a low supply and b) she hardly eats any solids at all and nursing hasn't changed at all.

[1blueheron]

We had some biting issues.  DD had eight teeth by eight months.  They are very sharp.  

I asked myself what would I do if I had no alternative?  (I kind of don't have one, since DD would not take a bottle of anything unless maybe she got very, very desperate.)  I flattened my breast with my hand so I could get the nipple good and deep into her mouth, past the teeth.  I slid my nipple in from the side, along her cheek, to help stimulate the rooting response.  I say "milk," as I have done since the beginning, as another cue. Also, this may sound rough, but when she bit me hard, I'd remove my breast, set her down and walk away briskly without saying anything.  Pause a few beats...then come back.  Sometimes I could tell she did want to nurse and for some reason was having trouble doing it without biting (eg when I had overfull breasts), so I sometimes did re-offer right away.

One last thing -- even now she sometimes seems like she's going to bite during the initial part of the latch, but it's actually just the teeth pressing in as a prelude to the proper latch.  It was unnerving after all the biting, but once I realized it was not going to turn into a bite, I could handle it.  I think she just has a lot of very big teeth in her little mouth!!

Good luck and hang in there.

[akind1]

DS has only bit me a couple times since he has gotten teeth, each time, I immediately removed him from the breast, covered it up and said "no biting, only sucking" and depending on whether I felt he was really hungry (like a PP said, they can't bite if latched properly) I offered a breast - the other one, as I felt it did help to switch sides for some reason - and let him nurse again, warning him to not bite before he latched on.

For about a week after the first couple times he bit me, I began EVERY nursing session with that warning, I was so paranoid he would do it again and tense waiting for the teeth to come out! but it seemed to do the trick.

Now he doesn't bite my breasts, but will walk by and bite our toes (which is funny and weird), or he willl bite the shoulder of my shirt, or DH's pants leg. None of these hurt so I don't correct him on it. He never seems to be doing them maliciously.

As for the full breasts: yes they get full, but I nurse him to sleep for naps and bedtime, and this frequency seems to keep them from getting too engorged. Even if all he does is nurse for a couple minutes before he conks out, it helps to relieve the pressure.  I also nurse right after his longest nap (which can be 3-4 hours) Now that he is a year old, I am trying to encourage solids more, and give them first. Our day usually goes like this: wake up, play, breakfast, play, nurse, nap, lunch, play, nurse, nap, nurse, play, dinner, play, nurse, bedtime. He STTN now so there usually is no night nursing. Hope this helps!

[McGucks]

My son is 8.5 months and has four sharp teeth.  The biting thing, like Celicia's mom said, seems to happen most often when I am trying to get him to nurse and he's not hungry (ie:  middle of the night when I am hoping nursing will get him back to sleep).  Like a previous poster, I say "No.  No bite" and sometimes "That hurts Mommy" and take the nipple out of his mouth.  I cover that side up and don't offer the other breast until I am very sure he will want to nurse.  It does get a little scary...I catch myself kind of holding my breath anticipating a bite sometimes.  He has tried maybe twenty different solids since he was 6.5 months, but still isn't terribly interested most of the time, so I am not getting full since he only eats a maximum of around 2 tablespoons a day.  As far as fullness, my LLL leader says it usually takes the breasts around 3 days or so to adjust to increased or decreased demand...she says to pump (or hand express) just enough to get it tolerable.  And how has breastfeeding changed for me?  I enjoy the time more than I used to and I am less hung up about a lot of it.  Also--and this is an edit--I pretty much can't nurse in public anymore because he has gotten very distractable.  Even nursing at a friend's house on the couch is a no-go if anybody's around.  Good luck with lil' vampire :)

Edited by McGucks - 12/9/10 at 2:32pm

[Mosaic]

DD1 had 2 teeth by 3.5 months, and it did change our nursing relationship. She was a biter, big time. She bit whenever she wasn't interested in really nursing, so that meant 1) I no longer offered to nurse as often and 2) no more multi-tasking during nursing! I only offered when I was pretty darn confident she would actually nurse, because otherwise she would bite for sure. I also had to watch her like a hawk to make sure that when she was pretty much done nursing, I took her off the breast immediately or she'd start "playing." FWIW, she only BIT me a handful of times, but the "nibbles" aren't a walk in the park, either!

Solids did not affect our nursing relationship really at all, in part because I always nursed before solids anyway.

DD2 is a totally different gal. She's a dedicated nurser (after some initial issues), and so far she only nibbles if I encourage her to nurse when she's not hungry. Solids have been a total no-go with her so far (she's almost 8 months), so no issue there, either.

[mumkimum]

Good advice above already.

Dd2 here ends up having a week or so when she's 'bitier' (this seems to be when her teeth coming in are bothering her) - I try to keep a teething toy around while nursing so that if she seems to need to do that, we switch.  When she's bitten me I say 'ow' and offer her the toy.  I also try to offer her solids (like baby carrots or frozen veg/fruits) that are especially good for biting and owie teething relief for her.  

I usually do a 'meal' for her and we nurse at a separate time, so that I don't end up offering to nurse when she's hungry for foods.  I think we've ended up with pretty consistent times - maybe looking at when or whether you're giving food might help balance out your milk production and biting problems too (but starting solids and with new foods she likes a lot and ends up eating more of, I also end up very engorged - if possible I try to take that time to pump a little to save in the freezer since normally I don't pump and have extra milk around, so that's an option).    

[RaeDyCo]

Originally Posted by Snapdragon 

How many people are dealing with biting issues?

What about the issue of having full of milk breasts and a not hungry baby because they ate solids?

Are these things many of you experience?

How else is breastfeeding changing for you?

DS2 didn't bite when teething but he did have a biting spell when he was recently sick with a very stuffed-up nose.  He was trying to nurse, breathe through his mouth at the same time and it did not make for a happy baby.  When he did bite, I would gently stop the nursing session and tried again later.

I still nurse first and then do solids about 30 mins - 1 hr later so I'm never full because he is too full from solids. He has started to really eat solids well finally but I have taken it very slow so my body would adjust to DS2 getting more solids but keeping breastmilk as primary nutrition.

Breastfeeding hasn't really changed too much for me.  DS1 was very similar to DS2 and DS1 nursed until 20 months so, even though they are very different kids, I feel as if I have been there, done that.  I do still have a touch of oversupply that kicks in anytime DS2 ramps up his nursing (I had hoped that would be done by now!).  I also am still leaking on one side -- I leaked with DS1 until after 9 months but it is now 11 1/2 months... sigh, good thing I have washable pads otherwise I would have spent a fortune on disposables!

Hope the biting stops soon!  Have you read these tips?  http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html

[skfmama]

DS is almost 9 months and has 4 teeth (first at about 7 mo). I notice that a few days before/after a new tooth breaks through, nursing is not comfortable for me. DS seems to change his latch to massage his gums more before the tooth breaks through, and then it takes him a few days to get used to the new tooth. He doesn't usually bite, but it's not as comfortable for me as it usually is. I also notice that when he's tired and has a sloppy latch anyway, it's sometimes more than I can handle so I end up not letting him nurse all the way to sleep if that's the case.

There have been times when it's felt like he latches on with a bite. He'll do that for a few days, again I think it has to do with getting used to new teeth. When he does that, I unlatch him immediately, tell him to nurse gently, and let him try again. Usually the second time he latches more gently, but if not I'll do it again.

As for solids, I try to have nursed him fairly recently before he eats solids (like 30ish min before). Something that I think helps is he eats at the table when we eat at the table, so it's almost like two different things. He nurses when he's hungry, he eats when we eat (whether he's hungry or not, and if he's really hungry I'll nurse him first). I do notice though that he's stretched out how often he wants to nurse by a bit, esp in the late afternoon (dinner is the main time he eats solids). But then we he does go longer between nursing, he wants to nurse both sides (usually he's a one side at a time kind of guy).

[wishin'&hopin']

Originally Posted by skfmama 

DS is almost 9 months and has 4 teeth (first at about 7 mo). I notice that a few days before/after a new tooth breaks through, nursing is not comfortable for me. DS seems to change his latch to massage his gums more before the tooth breaks through, and then it takes him a few days to get used to the new tooth. He doesn't usually bite, but it's not as comfortable for me as it usually is. I also notice that when he's tired and has a sloppy latch anyway, it's sometimes more than I can handle so I end up not letting him nurse all the way to sleep if that's the case.

My 7 1/2 month old is on the edge of his 8th (!) tooth.  And, while he's not much of a biter, I have noticed that EVERY time he gets a new tooth or is on the edge of one he has to re-learn how to latch properly--and it's uncomfortable (scraping with his top teeth more than biting) for a couple of days on either side of getting the new tooth.  He's also 21 1/2 pounds, and we've just started solids on a daily basis and we ALWAYS nurse first (1/2 to an hour before we all sit down to eat).  So, solids are just practice right now...altho' I'm upping the ante a bit b/c I did the math as far as how much breast milk he needs to eat to sustain his almost 22 pound self--and no wonder he really nurses 3-6 times a night!!!  

[Snapdragon]

thanks everyone. Today was so difficult on the biting thing.  it was something like this :(ds crawling around at my feet so I may get cut short)

At night nursings he is better- has actual nursings- tho i thikn I cut them short from fear of him signalling his end by biting- I usually go until he is happy with a toy or paci-

anyway- usually I nurse him right before sleep but last night was a fear-biting day and he didn't seem to want it- so

 to bed at 7, nursed at 10, 2 and 5- (this is typical night pattern for us)

woke up at 7- I normally nurse him but I was nervous about it- I hate that I am scared to nurse my baby- and it was very dry in our house so I gave him some water/juice and some grains (cereal) (I know lots of people don't think cereal is actually right for a baby but I think it is okay as a part of the whole thing)

So that was around 7:30

Then I offered to nurse him 4 or 5 times between then and noon or so. My plan was- no more solids that day until he had had a good nursing. Well, every single time he bit a lot.

sometimes I think I just get so scared in the latching on part when he kind of pulls out to the edge of the nipple- even if he isn't planning to bite I think he is- so I am popping off and on and switching breasts like crazy-

I try to say- just be calm and go through it but I get scared!

Finally around noon he was os hungry but still biting so I fed him a good am't of baked/pureed squash. He loved it and ate a lot of it, followed by some water.

the he got hic cups and I managed to nurse his hic cups away for like a few seconds~

then he took a nap and when he woke up we were both sleepy (I napped too) and we managed to have an actual nursing

then since then I have offered once or twice and he nursed a little and then bit---

ugh!

I tried 2 different things today- one was just stop nursing when he bit and give him a chew toy

and when I did that he seemed happy and didn't seem stressed

Then finally I was like - I have to nurse him properly- so I tried stopping when he bit and then starting again

the thing is that I am SO tense when I nurse him so this perpetuates it  I wish I could not let it get me so nervous- I pep talk myself every time but when he is kind of pulling to the edge of the nipple- even just to latch on I think- I get nervous

ugh

gotta go deal with the baby now

Now I just walways want to nurse him and then always want the nursing to be done for the session

Edited by Snapdragon - 12/9/10 at 6:31pm

[Snapdragon]

hi again--

Just after that last big post I went upstairs to the bedroom with ds and we had a good proper before bed nursing- phew- gives me a little hope that it won't be like this always!

[1blueheron]

Hang in there!  We did get past it (for now, anyway!) and it's been lovely to nurse without fear for a month or so now.  

[ciga]

Oh my god! This is exactly what is going on for us.  He has had his two bottom teeth for more than a month now. he bit me a few times in the beginning and then fully stopped and all was well. Now for the last week he bites me EVERY TIME.  Breastfeeding used to be this lovely calming time for us both and now I'm on edge and stressed whenever he's eating.  This is combined with major sleep issues and its getting really hard.  I'm sleep deprived and afraid to nurse.  I'm kind of at a loss.  I don't know if it has to do with the chest cold he's recovering  or the fact that we've be travelling for a month or neither.

Originally Posted by Snapdragon 

for me it was wonderufl and balanced up until recently- ds has been biting a lot in that last week or 10 days

Now it is a scary time to nurse him and I stress over it!

[akind1]

OP  - I think it is important that you be consistent with whatever you are doing - if pulling off and giving him a chewy toy works, then do that every time. I think verbal reminders are important too.

It sounds like he is just really enjoying his solid foods! how old is he? maybe he is ready - not necessarily to wean, but to have solids as the major portion of his diet, and nursing as more of a bedtime thing.  That is where I am trying to get to with DS . . . it is a slow process - he loves his solid foods too, but whipping out the boob when he is hungry is easier! and right now he doesn't seem to have a preference.

Anyway, it is a tough spot, but it will get better. I think consistency is key.

[cocoanib]

This is us totally. I think it takes DD awhile to get used to the new tooth a bit before and after. That's when nursing is horrid!

I generally nurse before offering solids, so the full breast thing is not a problem for me. It may also be that I am gone for about 9 hours out of each day(I pump during that time), so when were together DD usually prefers nursing to food.
 

Originally Posted by skfmama 

DS is almost 9 months and has 4 teeth (first at about 7 mo). I notice that a few days before/after a new tooth breaks through, nursing is not comfortable for me. DS seems to change his latch to massage his gums more before the tooth breaks through, and then it takes him a few days to get used to the new tooth. He doesn't usually bite, but it's not as comfortable for me as it usually is. I also notice that when he's tired and has a sloppy latch anyway, it's sometimes more than I can handle so I end up not letting him nurse all the way to sleep if that's the case.

There have been times when it's felt like he latches on with a bite. He'll do that for a few days, again I think it has to do with getting used to new teeth. When he does that, I unlatch him immediately, tell him to nurse gently, and let him try again. Usually the second time he latches more gently, but if not I'll do it again.

As for solids, I try to have nursed him fairly recently before he eats solids (like 30ish min before). Something that I think helps is he eats at the table when we eat at the table, so it's almost like two different things. He nurses when he's hungry, he eats when we eat (whether he's hungry or not, and if he's really hungry I'll nurse him first). I do notice though that he's stretched out how often he wants to nurse by a bit, esp in the late afternoon (dinner is the main time he eats solids). But then we he does go longer between nursing, he wants to nurse both sides (usually he's a one side at a time kind of guy).