Teething and nursing

517 Views 6 Replies 7 Participants Last post by frenchie, Mar 28, 2006

tammrat

Discussion Starter · Mar 28, 2006

My 8 month old has 2 bottom teeth and appears to be cutting more teeth.
She's nibbled a little lately and I was wondering how other mom's dealt with little teeth while nursing. My husband thinks I should pump and give bottles now that we're getting teeth and have had a couple mishaps.

A couple times I was so shocked I screamed which upset us both. A few of my gf's said this is about the time to stop nursing,however, I'd like to continue until she is no longer interested.

Any suggestions......

Save

1 - 7 of 7 Posts

mamainmotion

· #2 · Mar 28, 2006

Well, I'm an extended nursing mama.
My ds is 26 months.
The teeth are new for your babe too, expect to be a sore, as I'm sure her mouth is too!
my ds has only lightly bite me a few times and I think he was as startled as me! I have read that some babes do bite to get your attention though.
If she is starts to chomp down remove her immediately and talk about it, simply.
My advice is don't stop nursing because of teeth, but that is a personal decision you have to decide.
Nursing for me helped my ds so much through early toddler-hood when so many changes happen. It is honestly still one of his favorite things, it's very hard to take that away. It brings your baby close, and they become quiet, soothed, smothered with love.
get your lanolin cream back out to toughen your nipples again.

Save

janerose

· #3 · Mar 28, 2006

My biggest advice is change positions a lot! Also, be *really* picky about how the latch is. You shouldn't really be getting much irritation from the bottom teeth because the tongue should be over them if the latch is correct.

Once I figured those 2 things out things went much better for us. That said, I do have scars on both nipples from where DD rubbed some raw spots while we were getting used to the teeth. My DD got 4 teeth within 3 week of her 6 mo birthday though, so it was just crazy!

If you do get a sore spot try this:
After nursing hand express a little milk onto your nipple, gently rub in & let air dry most of the way. I also applied Lansinoh when they were really bad.

There were a few days where I only nursed on one side because the other side was sore & just pumped that side. So that is an option as well.

My DD self-weaned at 11 mo anyway, but I'm SOOOO glad we didn't stop when she teethed at 6 months. If you'd like to continue I say be a trooper & it will get better over the next couple weeks. Most babies figure out pretty quick not to bite you because you stop feeding them when they do.

Best of luck whatever you decide!

Holly

PS: You may also get more ideas if you cross-post this in the Breastfeeding forum.

See less See more

Save

lauren

· #4 · Mar 28, 2006

I don't think teeth mean it is time to stop nursing but it is important to be clear with your baby that breasts are not for biting. Sometimes biting happens when baby is finished but hasn't learned to communicate that, or to experiment with your reaction. I think to say a firm, matter of fact "no" and when baby is older put him/her down if needed to help get the point across. Usually it only takes one or two times for baby to understand. Once when I screamed I startled my daughter so badly that she went on a nursing strike for 12 hours. When I finally figured out what was going on (through researching on kellymom.com--a great site!) I had to woo her back to nursing because I had frightened her!

It is not really as bad as you might fear it to be, nursing with teeth.

Save

AugustineM

· #5 · Mar 28, 2006

Definitely don't give it up yet, especially since you don't want to! My DS did the same thing when he started teething -- he bit down a couple times. It was never that bad, but it did hurt a little and scare both of us. I agree with PP that say to unlatch, firmly say "no biting" and wait a little before starting again. That's what I did with DS and I'd say he bit me a total of 4-5 times. He's 18 months and still nursing fine -- never bites me at all! In fact he's very gentle when he unlatches and latches. It's sweeet!

See less See more

Save

EnviroBecca

· #6 · Mar 28, 2006

EnviroBaby (15 months and 5 teeth) bites once in a while, and the most effective response seems to be yelling "Ow!!" and making him let go, then filling my eyes with tears (not difficult

: ) and telling him sadly, "Biting hurts me!" He gets very contrite and is specially gentle to me for a few minutes.

Resist the idea that teeth mean it's time to stop nursing. You and your baby can continue to benefit from nursing for another year or more--and it's so convenient to have this source of comfort/nourishment ready for her anytime!

See less See more

Save

frenchie

· #7 · Mar 28, 2006

I'm going to sound like the meanest momma in the world, but when my son bit me (for a short while it was often and hard) I would flick him on the cheek enough to startle him. I tried to be extra gentle, remove him, talk to him, tell him it hurt and all that, but he wasn't responsive to that at all. When I flicked him in the cheek, I would firmly say ouch, and sometimes he would pull off, and then relatch.....most of the time he would remove his teeth from my nipple and continue nursing. Kai and I had a beautiful nursing relationship, and he nursed until he was 2. I'm not recommending that you do what I did, I'm just telling you what worked for me.

Save

1 - 7 of 7 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month