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The biting thing...

454 views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  crazycandigirl 
#1 ·
I'm sure this gets discussed a lot- hope someone won't mind giving me some tips. My 7 month old DS has 6 teeth and is suddenly biting. Alot. and hard. It really really hurts. Is there any way to teach a baby this young not to bite?? DH tried telling him that if he didn't stop he'd find himself on a one way road to formula land- but DS didn't buy that one for a second
 
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#2 ·
Oweee! Yes, I could have written your post.

First, can you figure out when he's going to bite? Is it at the end of a nursing session, when he's bored? Or maybe when his teeth are bothering him?
Biting is not an effective way for him to get milk, so you've got that working for you. If he's biting repeatedly, try to address the cause. Ofter a cool teether, or start unlatching him when he stops actively sucking.

Second, be ready to unlatch as soon as you feel it coming. I spent a couple of days nursing with my finger right next to his mouth, ready to pry open his jaws if he clamped down.

I will unlatch him, say "Ow! Biting hurts mommy." with a frowny face, and cover up so that the nursing session ends abruptly. Usually he's not hungry when he bites, anyway. (If he DID want to nurse some more, I would let him; for me it's about communicating my needs, not about punishing him for biting.) I'm working on this with ds2 right now, but it was very successful with ds1. The worst bite was when he got his first top teeth, but there were little episodes every time he had a round of teething.

If it's more of a continuous gnawing, pinching or dragging on the nipple, double check your positioning and latch. The combination of a bigger baby, bigger mouth and increased distractibility/wiggliness can add up to a shallow, uncomfortable latch.

Don't worry, your baby will understand what you're trying to communicate!
 
#3 ·
Thank you! Dumb me- I hadn't even thought about it being related to teething- he got his first two teeth at 3 months old and got his sixth and seventh this month- just one week apart. Of course he needs something to bite on... What better than me?
I'm going to try the unlatching and offering a teether.
 
#4 ·
Thank you! Dumb me- I hadn't even thought about it being related to teething- he got his first two teeth at 3 months old and got his sixth and seventh this month- just one week apart. Of course he needs something to bite on... What better than me?
I'm going to try the unlatching and offering a teether.
 
#5 ·
Just have to say that mine bites too...owch!

Sometimes the teether works, sometimes apparently she has a need to chew my nipples.
:
 
#7 ·
My DD bites hard too. And she doesn't even have teeth yet!!! I can't believe how bad it still hurts.

My DD doesn't usually like to be put down. She cries. So I tried unlatching, putting her down and saying, "No biting. That hurt mommy. No more milk." I figured that would teach her that biting isn't fun for either of us.

Wrong!

She smiles. Huge grins. Sometimes even laughs. It's like a game to her. I can even get up and leave the room and she stays happy. I'm baffled.

The biting has subsided though. I just try to stay aware of when she's finished eating and am very quick to unlatch.

I think she's just waiting for me to let my guard down before she gets teeth. Then she'll go Cujo on me. Stinker!!
 
#8 ·
my DS2 is 7 months and has 4 teeth (DS1 didnt get his first tooth until now, and DD had hers at 6 or 7 months also, he's had teeth since 5 months but just started biting)

anywho, I just pull him into the breast or squeeze his cheeks to unlatch him, say firmly "no bite" and take him off the breast. I say "ouch. hurt mommy." he laughs... but I just keep doing this in hopes it ends soon!
 
#9 ·
My DD (now 15 months) spent a lot of time between 8 months and 12 months biting down- ouch!! She even made me bleed a few times. It was often as well- sometimes 3-5 times in a single nursing session.

Sadly not much seemed to help us. I told her that biting hurts ouch and that we needed to do "soft nur", but it didnt seem to make much of a difference- I still told her that every single time she bit me and would praise her for "soft nur" when she was nursing properly. I tried putting her down when she would bite, I was loud (hard not to scream when she bites hard enough to draw blood- ouch!), I gave her teething tabs and medications. nothing worked.

It was worse for about 6 weeks, and then she continued to bite regularly for a couple of more months. Once all those teeth came in she stopped.

Occasionally she will nip now- and if I tell her to "soft nur" she will- So I guess she did understand the concept after all


It will get better!
 
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