I'll breastfeed until...

[JamesMama]

my child cuts his first tooth, then I'm going to bottle feed. I'll try to pump a little bit." :

Thats what a TTC friend of mine said. Despite the fact that I told her James has 7 teeth and has only bit me a few times (all of them my fault)

I don't get it! Why would she have to wean from the breast just because DC has teeth? Grrr, I hear this all the time! I got that all the time before DS had teeth "You'll breastfeed until he gets that first tooth! Then you'll wean him so fast his head'll spin." Well 7 teeth later we're still doing just fine. In fact he hasn't even had a sippy

Oh, wise mamas! What do you say to people like that?

[annekevdbroek]

Maybe she doesn't know what to expect with BF and is a bit anxious about all of it? She doesn't have other children or has never BF? I'm of the school of thought that some BF is better than none -so "trying it" from the Moms who aren't sure about it is encouraging. I can recall thinking the same thing before I started to BF - that teeth or solids or turning one would be time to wean. I'm still nursing my 29 mo. DS, which I never would have expected before I had him.

What to say? I'd offer empathy and encouragement - e.g. "Yeah, teeth can be a challenge" If she's open maybe: "But it really isn't a problem most of the time. There are things you can do that prevent biting. Why, when DS was teething I just watched him extra close when he paused and never got bit. And, you know, you don't feel the teeth at all when they nurse!"

Personally I think coming on too strong can turn people off. It may not be perceived as supportive. KWIM? Even though it is so frustrating to hear people be wishy-washy about BF or misinformed or whatever.

[shelbean91]

I said I'd do LOTS of things a certain way until my dc were actually here. I was never going to cosleep, for one. I'd have baby in basinette next to me for the first month or so, then into the crib. We had a crib for over 2 years before we sold it. It was not slept in once and my kids still sleep with me.

I'd gently tell her it's probably easier to work through teeth issues than have to get up in the middle of the night to mix/warm bottles, etc.

[katerkat]

Eh, I used to say that too. DS cut his first two teeth 2 weeks ago. Forgot to wean him. Whoops! When people ask now, I just say the teeth don't bother me when he nurses and he hasn't bit me yet.

[Plaid Leopard]

WEll, we can hope that her baby will be a really late teether!

[stacyg]

I was having dinner with my childless best friend (we don't get to see each other that often) and started to nurse my almost 1 yr old ds...she said "Doesn't he have teeth? Don't you know you're supposed to wean when they get teeth!" I just laughed and said that that's not true.
Maybe (hopefully) I'll be a good influence for her when she has children...

[rmzbm]

That's funny...my 1st son was born w/teeth!! Does that mean he shouldn't ever have had BM??

[hunnybumm]

When DS was about 4 months or so I got a similiar comment. Before DS was born I planned to nurse for 6 months, after he was born I planned for a year, at about 4 months I decided to let him self wean.

So I went to my DHs work to show off the baby. A friend's wife was there was well and she knew we were nursing. She told me that as soon as her son got a tooth he bit her twice and that was it. I told her we were planning on nursing for at least a year. She said "Oh, that will change when he gets his first tooth. Just wait!" I just gave her a crooked smile.

DS nursed until he self weaned at 18 months due to not liking my milk during pregnancy. Whenever we saw them I liked to point out the fact that DS was still nursing well past the first tooth.

[soccerchic21]

Does she have any other children? I had that same mentality when I was pregnant and before I had my first child. Then my DD got her first tooth at 4 months old and I loved breastfeeding and wasn't going to stop.

Just be gentle with her and give her time.

[Shaunam]

Originally Posted by JamesMama

"You'll breastfeed until he gets that first tooth! Then you'll wean him so fast his head'll spin."

Oh, wise mamas! What do you say to people like that?

I had people tell me this. Even my GMIL, who is pro-bf, bf'd her 3 kids (two of them for about a year) said this to me. If she managed, why does she think I won't be able to?

Oh well, DS has 8 teeth and we're doing just fine.

I used to tell people, "I'm not going to punish my baby for getting teeth, I'm going to celebrate it!" And that's what I did.

I don't know what to say to people who actually plan on weaing then, though. I think a lot of people assume that once baby gets teeth, they bite ALL THE TIME. I don't know a single baby that is a habitual biter. All the babies I know have biting phases, but it's not an on-going thing with on-going pain. But then again, I know women who think that bf'ing is painful, and painful for the duration of bf'ing, not just the first few days or weeks. And they didn't bf because they were misinformed.

[njeb]

Originally Posted by soccerchic21

Does she have any other children? I had that same mentality when I was pregnant and before I had my first child. Then my DD got her first tooth at 4 months old and I loved breastfeeding and wasn't going to stop.

Just be gentle with her and give her time.

:
I'd tell her something like, "Yeah, I thought so, too, before I had kids. But then he cut his first tooth and it wasn't nearly so bad as everyone told me. You can teach them not to bite."

[wannabe]

Let's hope her baby isn't a biter.

BFing isn't comfortable for me - between painful let down, bad latch when she pull off numerous times, and now teeth, it's certainly not something I'd call fun. But it's how my baby eats, and I'm so proud that she's growing from ME!

[nakagain]

Oh O used to say I would only BF until teeth and then would say until a year and I ended up BF until 24months.
I now know better and my 2dd was/is a biter. I'm still going strong with #3 and shes almost 11 months with 2 teeth

[marisa724]

I also try to ease them into it by pointing out that if they're positioned correctly, their tongues will cover their lower gums and there won't be as much chance of contact with the teeth at first. Buys you a little time, so they don't think that tooth #1 automatically means weaning....

[CallMeMommy]

I just roll my eyes and say I've never been bit. I actually typed a doctor's note a couple of months ago where a mother didn't even TRY bfing her second child because her first one started teething at 2 months. I 'bout hit the roof.

[DBZ]

I have to admit that I am scared of my DD getting teeth. I hope I don't over react when/if she bites me. My DD is already teething, so she'll probably be like my other two and get her first tooth at 4 months.

[crittersmom]

I told people that when I was pregnant with my first.I didn't know anybody who Bf anyway and I just was going to try it until he bit me.He was so stubborn and never would take a bottle and he got his first tooth at 5 months and never bit me on my breast.I got bitten on my arms my legs, fingers but never the breast so we continuted until he was 23 months old.

[Devaskyla]

guess I should wean my 4 month old, then. he started teething around 6 weeks and now has at least 3 teeth/

[wednesday]

I also thought I would wean when my son got teeth. It was a surprise to me to realize I couldn't feel his first teeth when they came in, because his tongue covered them up. I've explained that to several new/expectant moms to put their worries at ease. You can read a LOT about breastfeeding without ever coming across that little fact.

[JamesMama]

I'll be sure to bring that up if it comes up again. See what brought this up was she noticed James has teeth (he has 7 teeth) and asked if I was bottle feeding him and I was kind of confused for a second and said no and then she said she'd never breastfeed a baby with teeth...I'll keep my fingers xxed that she'll change her mind.

She doesn't have kids yet, her and her DH are just starting to TTC. I'm trying to use the allergy spin to get her to bf longer, her DH is allergic to dang near everything (all but one or two detergents, most perfume, some soaps/shampoo, animals with fur, and some other stuff I can't remember right now) I told her the baby would be less likely to have all those allergies if she bf'ed.