[*bejeweled*]

Please help me. I'm bfing my 9 month old DD and it had been going well. But now she's teething ---her 5th and 6th teeth. She is really biting me hard and it is impossible to tell when it's coming.

We had this issue earlier with teething and I solved it by pulling her in close to me. She would then release my nipple. I also tell her "Don't bite" and set her down for a while before resuming. But now I'm scared of her bite.

We co-sleep and I often awaken with a scream (mine) after she's chomped down.

I wasn't quite ready to quit, but maybe now is the time.

Can you offer any advice please?

 

[faythe]

My dd did the same thing, and after 2 months of tense nursing I stopped offering her my breast. She asked for it once and that was it. I was never engorged or had leakage issues, so looking back I think that was her way of telling me she didn't want to nurse anymore. Hopefully that is not the case with your dd and you will be able to find something that works for you two.

 

[jeca]

I'm sorry I disagree Faythe. babies bite because well it's there and a new sensation. It doesn't mean your babe is ready to wean. BOTh my DD have done this the oldest starting biting at 6 months old and didn't wean until 15 months and that was due to a milk drop. A LLL leader suggeted that everytime she bites me to pull her off and sit her down. After about the 5th time she didn't bite anymore. Also when is she biting you is it at the beginning of a feeding or the end? If it's at the end she may just be playing and can be taken off anyway. My youngest DD is almost 7 months old and has 2 bottem teeth, but I know she'a not ready to wean. I'm sur other momaas will give you some better advice just try to hang in and contact someone from your LLL for good ideas.

 

[mamabutterfly]

Faith ~ Ouch!

That does sound painful!

My dd bit me once or twice when she first had teeth. For us it was enough to unlatch and say, "Ow, that hurts Mommy!" (But now loud enough to scare her, just in a serious voice.) She didn't keep doing it - which I figure was mainly because you can't bite & get milk at the same time, lol!

One question is whether you've been able to find a way to address the teething so that she's not gnawing on nipples out of tooth pain. It might be icy cold washcloths, or Hyland's Teething Tablets, or whatever (in the worst of teething I did use both Orajel and Tylenol at times, but others may not do that). I did nurse her a lot more during teething, and it didn't help her though it for sure, but making sure that she had some other teething relief seemed to discourage the biting.

Now at 19 months she still loves to nurse but we never had biting problems after that early couple of times. I hope you can find a way to work it out for you. Nursing is my favorite time of day with my toddler (plus she's so healthy, etc etc).

Good luck!

mamabutterfly

 

[Quirky]

I feel your pain! My baby was shark boy for a while, and bit down at the start of every nursing session. He had to learn to nurse with teeth; he now has four on top and four on bottom and I don't feel them at all when he nurses.

There is some great advice here on Kellymom's site about biting, nursing manners, etc. Hope it's helpful!

 

[*bejeweled*]

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. It really means so much to hear that others have had similar issues and overcome them.

I'm happy to report that DD hasn't bitten me in the last two days. I think she may be over the hump of her teething pain. Thank Goodness! We're still nursing strong. In fact, last night she seemed to want to make up for lost time.

I appreciate your posts.

 

[faythe]

Quote:

Originally posted by jeca I'm sorry I disagree Faythe. babies bite because well it's there and a new sensation. It doesn't mean your babe is ready to wean. ... A LLL leader suggeted that everytime she bites me to pull her off and sit her down. After about the 5th time she didn't bite anymore. Also when is she biting you is it at the beginning of a feeding or the end? If it's at the end she may just be playing and can be taken off anyway. ....

Two months of biting at every feed is not experimental "how do these new things work". I know a lot of women here are all for extended BF and that was my plan, too, but not all babies are interested. I tried every suggestion given, and none worked. Like I said, in the end I just stopped offering it to her and she never asked for it. As a side note, from 9-11 months her weight gain slowed dramatically, once she was weaned it jumped right back up to where it had been all along.

 

[jeca]

Fayth,
I was not faulting you for weaning your child. I would not do that, I understand each case is differant. I was just disagreeing with you that it may be a signal for her child to wean. My oldest DD bit me alot and if that was her signal to wean why did she continue for so much longer? Re-read my post if you disgree. As you can see many mothers go through this without the end result weaning. That was your decision I was trying to offer her alternatives.

You mentioned 2 months of biting as not being experiamental, but that was your case, we were discussing hers, remember.

 

[teniprice]

My ds started biting me at about 6 months right after he got his first teeth. It was very painful and I contemplated weaning him. I think he was just frustrated that my milk didn't let down fast enough. He only bit when it took a minute to let down. Anyway, he stopped and I continued to bf him until he turned 1 and he weaned himself.

Teniece
Megan 8.10.99
Jacob 10.22.01

 

[Geofizz]

We also went much longer dealing with biting than I was told it would take to get past it. Setting Karen down on the floor just made things worse.

We finally started to pick her up after she's fall or otherwise hurt herself and say "owie, that must have hurt!". When she'd bite me, I'd say "Owie, that hurt".

I think she finally associated the word "owie" with pain and realized she was hurting me and finally stopped.

Best of luck.