Breastfeeding once my little one gets her teeth.

Vania - posted on 12/19/2009

You're supposed to push her into your breast and then she'll let go, then take her off and say no! I've tried this with all 3 kids and it works!!!

Schmoopy - posted on 11/22/2009

Baby's tongue covers the bottom teeth when they're suckling, so it's not usually an issue at first.

If you get bitten, say, "NO!" loudly. Then end the feeding immediately by putting baby down. They usually get the message pretty quickly.

Melissa - posted on 11/22/2009

I breastfed through the first year and 3 months. My daughter obviously got many teeth and never once was I bit. But I always made sure to be calm during BF always in a quite setting, and in turn she was always calm. I also made sure not to give her teething toys right before feeding because that would seem to me to aggravate the gums.

Ruth - posted on 11/21/2009

My daughter doesn't bite anymore (at 12 mo, is practically weaned, by her own desire), but I would bop her in the nose, say no, and unlatch. She was usually almost done anyways. If she wasn't, then we'd try again a few seconds later.

Erin - posted on 11/21/2009

My eldest son bit me once at around 5-6 months when he was getting his second tooth in. I yelped (couldn't stop it; he drew blood) and broke his latch. I laid him on the floor and told my husband that he was done eating. I then didn't hold him at all until the next feeding. He and I used to cuddle after feedings so he missed that and never bit me again. My second son is almost 7 months old now. He got his first 2 teeth within a week of turning 4 months old. He hasn't bitten me yet, although sometimes he pinches. I break his latch and tell him "no biting". I think his pinching of from the fact that he's just cut his first top tooth and isn't used to "shielding" that tooth yet. Babies learn quickly.

Ingunn - posted on 11/21/2009

I nearly quit breastfeeding a couple of days ago because my little boy BIT me.. i SCREAMED.. he SCREAMED.. and he didn't get any more milk from me that day.. now he eats nice again :-)

Lauren - posted on 11/21/2009

i use to yell ow!! and he laughed at me. but usually i think it let's them know to stop biting..it's a game pretty much..you have to take them off and put them back on until they know not to bite..my son wouldn't stop biting since he got teeth..he got his first tooth at 5 1/2 months and i kept nursing him even though he bit me every time..then i stopped and pumped all the time til he was 7 months then it got tough so he had formula for a few more months now he's 13 months and on whole milk..by the way he has 11 teeth now

Diana -n Craig - posted on 11/19/2009

My dd is 13 months and has 12 teeth (I know, that's a lot!). She goes through phases where she'll bite for a few days and then move on. When she bites I pull her off and very sternly say, "no bite". She gets super sad and makes that heartbreaking pouty face! I think it hurts her feelings when I tell her that, but she's gotta know it's unacceptable. She's never bit so bad that it hurt longer than a couple seconds.

Jessica - posted on 11/19/2009

i BF with my 1st for 20months n only had a couple of bites. i would just growl n tell her no n take her off n she quickly worked out that if she bit she would get cut off n stopped. so if bub bites just try takin her straight off.

Courtney - posted on 11/19/2009

My daughter got her first 2 teethe at 3 months and I tried yelling (well that was a natural reaction) that made her cry the 1st time then laugh after that. I tried pulling her off and waiting a few minutes and saying "No Biting" that seemed to work. Not to scare you, but then she began biting and grinding, I thought I was going to loose my mind during this stage, but with some encouragement from some ladies on this site I made it through that too. Most of all I tried cherishing the good nursing moments to get me through those rough stages.

Ahyze - posted on 11/19/2009

i tried and always says ouch whenever she tries to bite my nipples... she even not scared but will laugh at me whenever i say that. i also say '"NO" then she stops...

Havala - posted on 11/19/2009

Thanks so much ladies I love this site!!!!

Jessica - posted on 11/19/2009

I tried the screaming thing and my baby laughed at me so decided to bite and laugh!!! i had to get serious with her and explain to her it hurts...its strange explaining things to a 7 month old baby like shes a grown up!

Justine - posted on 11/19/2009

mine has one tooth at 10 months, and man it hurts. he tends to bite when he is distracted, like when he is falling asleep, when he wants to play, or when he is grumpy. its hard especially if he bites when he is falling asleep because i dont want to wake him up. im not sure what to tell you, im having problems in that area myself. good luck, i hope you dont have too many issues.

Dana - posted on 11/19/2009

My little boy got his bottom two teeth a few weeks ago. Initially I didn't feel it at all, but in the last week or so I've had a few nips. If it's at the end of a feed, I think it's just playing, so I end the feed. If it's in the middle of a feed, I take him off and relatch him, it's worked fine so far.

I've also called out ouch a few times, not to scare him, but more because I was surprised by the sudden nip. He just seems to find that funny though.

Emma - posted on 11/19/2009

a friend of mine suggested that when my boy bites me to flick him in the mouth. it'll get his attention and interupt his feed. but you have to be careful as to how hard you do it. at the same time you say no biting and frown.

Stina - posted on 11/19/2009

My first baby got his first tooth at 4 mo with more to follow and we happily breastfed till he was a year old. If your baby is latching right, the teeth won't bother you.

When your dd takes her first nip (they all do) take her off the breast, tell her NO Biting in a firm voice (try your very best not to yelp) and put your breast away for a bit. Offer her something else to chew on. If she's still hungry, try again in a little bit. If it becomes a persistant problem, when she bites, you can also put her down on the floor after saying No. Then when you pick her up, say again- "no biting Mommy-that hurts." let her see your face looking exaggeratedly sad. They really pick up on facial expressions. Be consistant and as calm as possible- it hurts like crazy even without teeth- my toothless 7 mo nipped me for the first time this month. Yowza!

Crystal - posted on 11/19/2009

Quoting Cori:

he has 6 (almost 8) teeth now at 12 months and i never feel them anymore..

That's a big thing right there -- my daughter didn't get her first teeth until she was a year old, so she was old enough to understand after the first time or two of correcting her that she shouldn't bite Mommy. Younger babies can learn quickly, too; a lot of people underestimate the mental capacity of infants. However, it might take different tactics than what I suggested.

Sara - posted on 11/19/2009

Teeth don't necessarily have to interfere with breastfeeding, as they actually arrange their lips in such a way that the teeth don't touch you. That said, I know my girl would go through brief (and frustrating) phases of it. I tried the suggestions on this site:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/bi...

Crystal - posted on 11/19/2009

I breastfed my daughter til she was a little older than two, and had very little trouble with biting. The few times she did bite (and it was more of a nip than a "chomp down and cling like a terrier" type thing) I just took my nipple away, and wouldn't nurse her for at least a few minutes (or longer, depending how long she had been nursing).

It's not really possible to bite while latched on properly, so if your little one does decide to nip, chances are that they're just playing, and not really all that interested in eating. If they are still hungry, they'll figure out pretty quickly that biting is counter-productive to getting more milk!

Sophia - posted on 11/19/2009

My son got his teeth at three months and whenever he would bite i would flick under his chin. I know it sounds kind of mean but it works and they learn not to do that. I breastfed him til a year and a half and sometimes when he would be teething again he would bite again and every time i did it, not too hard just enough to get the point across. Good Luck! :)

Cori - posted on 11/19/2009

some people say to scream ouch so that they get a little scared and realize they hurt you but i didnt like scaring my baby.. what i did was push his face into my breast even more so that my nipple goes further into his mouth.. he has only tried biting 2 times and that was when he first got his top teeth.. i never felt the bottom ones.. he has 6 (almost 8) teeth now at 12 months and i never feel them anymore..