[celia]

... breastfeeding a baby with teeth? My dd just sprouted her first one

and I can just barely feel it when she nurses... is it going to hurt when it comes in all the way and when she gets more? Do they usually keep their teeth out of the way when they nurse?

 

[maxwill129]

Hi! I was really nervous when my dd got her teeth too, but when a baby nurses their tongue is actually over their teeth (before they had teeth it was over their gums) when they suck. If they were to bite while they were nursing, they would bite their tongues!

That being said, you may have to watch for cues that your dd is getting done and get her off right away or she may bite down just for "fun". If my dd loses interest in nursing she'll start "playing" with my nipple, biting on it because she doesn't want to be at the breast any more. But not all babies do that! You'll have to play it by ear and see how your dd handles her new teeth!

But don't worry about biting during active nursing- it can't happen!

S.

 

[AugustineM]

My DS has 8 teeth and honestly I don't notice any difference now as far as how it "feels" when he nurses. He did bite me a lot for about two weeks when his top two teeth were coming in. I started to get really nervous because it hurt a lot and I couldn't figure out how to get him to stop. But then he stopped on his own as suddenly as he started. It was totally a phase, and now he never bites me. But that is the only thing I noticed that seemed different. If he'd never bitten me things would seem exactly the same.... lovely!

 

[celia]

Thanks all. That's a big relief. Now I can relax and go back to marvelling at how brilliant my daughter is for growing a tooth. lol. (you'd think she was the first baby to ever do this ,I'm so proud. :LOL

 

[DreamsInDigital]

My little former nursling (he weaned, *sob*) had 12 teeth and he never once bit me. What hurt the most was his sharp little fingernails!

 

[TortelliniMama]

Beyond ds's experiments with biting, I wanted to mention that each time he got a new tooth, there would be a couple of days where nursing was uncomfortable. I think he had to figure out how to latch well with each new addition. So, if you find that happening, know that it will go away! (Although you may want to actively work with your dd to improve her latch each time, so that she doesn't end up settling on one that's still painful.)

 

[NullSet]

When the tooth first comes in watch out for the "slowly falling asleep while nursing" thing. Not really sure how else to describe it. A couple of times just when my dd was falling asleep her mouth would slowly start to close, teeth biting into nipple. It was slow enough that I could pop her off before she did any damage. It only happened a couple of times with the first tooth and then never again.

 

[LaughingHyena]

DD has just got her second tooth and so far we've had more biting before they came than since. I think it was just as the first one was poking through. Actually her favorite thing to bite is the plastic clip on my bra, it's quite funny as she pops off the boob for a quick bite and then goes back to sucking happily.

 

[ExuberantDaffodil]

Oh boy was I terrified of teeth coming in... I had nightmares about it, actually. Haha. So my DS's teeth came in, a few bites here or there, a couple of *youch* exclaimations on my part, and really it wasn't so bad. Now he has eight teeth, and I noticed right before a new tooth came in he would experiment with the resiliency of my nipples, but he never has used them like a teething ring, as I so feared in the beginning. (I figure at this point my nips are like rubber anyway, :LOL )

 

[ChristiansMomma]

My ds only bite me once and I think he was experimenting becuase he started to smile rightr before he did it. I yelled out and I think it startled him so much he didn't do it again! LOL

I think I had a lot more gumming that hurt before ds got teeth!

 

[ZeldasMom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristiansMomma My ds only bite me once and I think he was experimenting becuase he started to smile rightr before he did it. I yelled out and I think it startled him so much he didn't do it again! LOL I think I had a lot more gumming that hurt before ds got teeth!

When DS was 8 months old or so he went through a little biting phase. It hurt and I said "no" and took him off for a minute. It took a time or 2 of this and that cleared the problem right up. I still watch 4 smiling/playfulness at the nipple when nursing though. That's when I know he's done and I better take him off. Now he's 19 months and sometimes I think he thinks it's a game to do something a little naughty--fortunately I can tell when it's coming though so biting isn't a problem for us.

 

[mommy love]

ds son is almost 7 months and has 8 teeth 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom i was so scared ive been bit a few times but neverhard enuph to cut the skin and that was more when he was around 3 4 mo now he is good i dont feel a thing

lets hope i dident talk to fast :LOL

 

[theelfqueen]

Really -- I never had much problem with it --it's not that different than nursing a kid with no teeth. I got bit a couple of times, we stopped nursing for a few minutes at those times, and that stopped it.