Please Help, OUCH!

Elizabeth - posted on 10/20/2010 ( 5 moms have responded )

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My (almost) 9 month old has two bottom teeth which I had to work through with biting already. She bit me before she started teething, but I got her to stop. Then she got two teeth and eventually started biting again and I got her to stop again after trying a few different techniques.
Now her third tooth is coming in and it's on top and the pain is excruciating!!! She is biting almost every time she nurses, I would swear I was bleeding, but she hasn't broken skin (yet) thank God. On top of that my milk production has started to decrease. I think part of it is because she's eating more solids and also because I was out of town for two days without her and we just haven't bounced back the same. I take a daily fenugreek supplement and have already wasted $50 on Mother's Milk Plus which helped temporarily, but once I was done taking it it didn't help anymore.
Anyway, I have been planning on breastfeeding until age two, and now I'm seriously considering weaning now. I can't take this biting anymore.
Things I've tried:
Taking her off my breast and saying firmly some combination of "Ouch," "No Biting," and "That Hurts Mama" and then ending the feeding or waiting a few minutes before starting again.
Flicking her nose
Poking her cheek
Holding her closer to me
I've never laughed or smiled when she has bitten me, but she smiles at me half the time - I have a baby bully on my hands!
To be clear, the above has worked in the past, but now it's not working anymore.

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5 Comments

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Sarh - posted on 10/22/2010

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Would a nipple shield help?! I was really hoping this type of thing would stop, my son is only 4 months old and has been biting me for about a month now, teeth or not, it hurts! I'm dreading the day he breaks a tooth through. Good luck! Looks like you have tried some other things I was going to suggest.

Kylie - posted on 10/21/2010

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My daughter was bitting around that age too (she is now 11 1/2 months) my boobs were scared they still are cause she has 6 teeth now. I kept kept sticking my finger in her mouth to releive her jaw and was giving her formula sometimes but one day we had gone out and it was a while between feeds and she was grizzling and no biting because she was so hungry, i don't if my story will help you but i eventually got thru it and she is still breastfeeding with all her 6 teeth but those 2 bottom teeth were the worst i found. Good Luck.

Rachel - posted on 10/21/2010

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I don't think I can help, but I feel your pain. My son bit me a few times after he had teeth and it hurt so bad that I practically threw him off my lap. I remember ripping him off the boob and screaming. I wasn't trying to be mean, I was just shocked with an unexpected bite to the boob. I think i scared him so bad that he stopped because it didn't happen more than a few times.

Elizabeth - posted on 10/21/2010

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I don't think she's biting me because she's teething, in other words, I don't think she's using me as a teether. She chews on stuff all day long. She bites me sometimes at the beginning of nursing and sometimes it takes a while. I have to poke her jaw for her to release. Now she's starting to laugh more and more. I really don't want to do formula but I've had a heck of a time pumping enough for a sitter for a night. I really want to nurse, but I'm really getting tired of the biting.

Aura - posted on 10/20/2010

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I had the same problem with my daughter but she got her two bottom teeth at 6 months. She did bite me hard enough to draw blood, and then we were weaned at 7 months. I regret it. I wish I had stuck it out longer, tried more, tried harder, etc, etc. Someone said to me that if she is biting, she is not nursing. Babies are smart. If you stop nursing her when she bites, she'll catch on. Also, try getting some teethers for her to bite on. Those gums are sore and babies LOVE to bite to make them feel better. Try Baby Orajel or, if the pain for her is bad enough, try Tylenol. Maybe that will help sooth the pain in her mouth so that she will focus on eating? Things I should have tried. Just don't flick her nose... I know she's hurting you, but she really doesn't mean to. She smiles because she gets a funny reaction out of you, you probably wince or something to that effect.