My nipples are bleeding

[guestmama9915]

My 9mo old is having her top teeth come in and she doesnt really bite, but just latches on with her teeth. And nibbles while eating. And it HURTS and I saw blood in her mouth yesterday and she had broken the skin of my nipple. And it wasn't the last time and my boobs hurt so bad!!

How do I get her to stop? I take her off my breast and tell her no, try to get her to understand that she's hurting mommy, and her bottom lip quivers and she cries so sad. This baby never ever cries! I feel awful, but it's so hard to lay there in such horrible pain, and I wonder if it's dangerous to be feeding her at all if I have blood on my nipple?!?

[3daughters]

My advice would be to try a different nursing position that puts the pressure of her teeth on a different part of the nipple. Rub some breastmilk on your nipples after a feed and let them air dry so they will heal.

Swallowing little amounts of blood will not hurt your baby.

[alegna]

First- as the pp said, it's not dangerous.

When she bites, pull her TOWARD you. That will make her open her mouth and not bite.



-Angela

[mccelticmom]

This may go against what you might want to do...but I have used orajel before nursing. Seemed to help us!

[andimama]

oh i so feel your pain!

i just posted a thread ... i'm going through the same thing with my 9 mo old dd! trying new positions and making sure she has a good latch helps but for me, unfortunately, the damage is done! i have a severely injured nipple and have had to stop nursing so it can heal. i'm pumping to keep my milk up but my babe has no interest in a bottle or cup!

anyway ...i hope you heal soon!

[dot2dot]

I have a 10 mo and am there with you! I agree with using different nursing positions to keep contact with the injured spot to a minimum. I also check to make sure my ds really opens his mouth when latching on. The more I watch the more I see that he often tries to latch with a half open mouth. For us, it is easier to wait a second to encourage a better latch, than to take him off and keep trying to re-latch. That just gets me a mad and frustrated baby. I hope this is a short phase for you and that your nipples heal quickly!
oh, and this:

Swallowing little amounts of blood will not hurt your baby.