teething, "biting", injury and refusing..help!

[GoBecGo]

DD2 is teething, she's not got any teeth yet but is full on with the crankiness, grabbing at her mouth, mouthing things, etc. etc.  There are 2 spots on her lower gum and one corner of a tooth is visible but not through.

So, on Saturday i was at ikea, in the restaurant, and she was fussing and unhappy, and i decided to try to nurse her.  She bit my right nipple.  She has no teeth as i say, but she bit down very hard, her whole body was shaking with the effort.  I didn't really react (i gasped a deep gasp, she let go of her own accord, then my Dad asked was i ok and i burst into tears as it was so painful).  She wasn't nursing at the time really - she'd been arching and screaming and i was offering and she finally took a deep latch then pulled her tongue back and bit down hard.  I ended up changing her nappy (which wasn't all that wet, but it was a change of scene for her, you know?) and walking about with her and that kept her somewhat calm.

I hadn't fed from the right for a few hours and it was so painful from the bite (hurt for hours afterwards, especially when i moved) i ended up expressing a bit by hand later on in the shower, as i was getting very full and hard that side, and there was blood in the milk.  I am still in pain when i nurse her that side, and let-down when i nurse from the other side also feels a bit more painful than usual.  My nipple is a bit black.  I think it's unfortunate that she sucked the nipple so deep and then bit because a GOOD latch actually hurts the bruise, and a bat one of course rubs the nipple painfully. :(

The next day she was refusing the right, but i managed to get her on if i waited until she was tired (i was really worried about getting mastitis if i didn't keep nursing her, and the right is my better-supply side so it fills so fast).  I did see more pinkish milk when she was initially popping on and off and arching and fighting and i wondered if the milk tasted too bloody and it was putting her off, today (monday) she is happy enough on both sides again.

So, i know they say "say "no" or "oh, you don't want to nurse then" and put the baby down or stop nursing and offer a teether when they bite" but what if you're out in public?  I had to go BUY a teether (didn't have one with me) and also got some homeopathic powders (though i don't even believe in homeopathy!  I was so desperate, i would try literally ANYTHING, i have 2 different brands of teething gel and have an amber necklace on order).  She is so hard to nurse during the day now anyway - she is too interested in everything going on around her - at home i go lie down with the girls and a book and nurse on the bed, but it's not possible when we're out and about.  Since the teething began she's not just distracted but refusing to nurse, sometimes for 3 or 4 hours (she usually nurses every 2 hours), and even when she is behaving as if she's hungry.

With DD1 my thyroid broke and my supply vanished and by this time (6.5months) she was almost entirely FFed.  Nursing has been going AMAZINGLY this time, and DD2 has never had anything but breastmilk (and is now slowly beginning baby led solids).  This is becoming uncharted territory for me.  People say "oh you just keep nursing" but no-one mentioned refusing (DD1 did it, but she wanted, and got, a bottle with milk in it rather than the breast with nothing in it she was refusing), biting, or injury.

What am i doing wrong?  If she bites me like that when the teeth are through i'm going to need stitches.

[motherhendoula]

Yow that sounds just awful!  My LO is only 4 mo old and is teething, but nothing has popped thru - my other children were weaned by the time they got teeth (9 and 10 months old)  - My LO keeps latching on then turning his head and stretching the nipple until it pops out of his mouth....this is aggravating but by no means what you have experienced!  you mentioned that at home you can go into a quiet dark room and nurse her without incident - maybe thats what you want to do until those teeth come through and this behavior changes.   I keep feeling like i am nursing my baby more often than he really needs - since he is playing and not eating.   I would be wary putting the nipple back into your LO's mouth when she is crying - good luck!

[a13xandra]

Sorry, just wanted to commiserate.  I have the same dangerous sort of baby, and last night was very painful and injurious.  But my babe is only just three months today, so she can't even reliably hold a teether up to her mouth very well.