Biting while nursing

April - posted on 12/09/2009

Just take her off after she bites and tell her no bite. She may never bite at all. I breastfed my daughter for 20 months and she never bit. Good luck!

Becky - posted on 12/08/2009

while I was nursing my daughter she would bite...all I had to do was either tap her cheek lightly or I would stick my finger in her mouth to dislodge her from my nipple(she didn't like that one bit) and then I would softly tell her no biting or mommys gonna take the yummy stuff away......a couple times of that and she quit

Kathryn - posted on 11/29/2009

I have nursed four children. Actually, still nursing my 17 month old, I have experienced this problem...it is not fun! The most effective way I have found to keep them from biting is to take the breast away and say "No Biting!" firmly. I don't normally take it away all together just for a minute...I offer the breast to her once more and remind her not to bite...if she bites again then the feeding time is over and you again say "No biting" firmly. I wouldn't advise thumping them in the cheek, or any other type of physical punishment. As mine has gotten older, I also remind her before putting her on the breast...before feeding begins when she climbs in my lap and wants to nurse, I will take out my breast and say...No biting Mommy...be sweet with Mommy. It has worked for me...I nursed each child on average 24 months. I hope it works for you! Happy Nursing! :)

Alyson - posted on 11/28/2009

i remember those days! first, i will say to you that the nipple is an incredibly tough area of the body. and if it isn't yet, it will be! as the other moms have said, startling the child (although it felt terrible to scare my baby) seemed to work for me. also putting my finger between my breast and his teeth (kind of on the gum area) to gently pull him off the breast helped. he's 21 months old and still nursing, and he still occasionally bites me, but now it's mostly for comfort so he loses the ninah (that's what he calls it) right away! best of luck to you.

Jessica - posted on 11/28/2009

Unfortunatly there is really no way of stopping it that I have found!! Mine is 11 months now and went thru the biting thing at 5 months when she started teething and now that she has 8 in that little mouth she is starting to do it again!! It is a very scary thought, but stick with it! I detered her by simply taking the nipple away! Wait for 20 minutes or so and let her try again, but every time she bit me I took it away, after just a couple days of this she stopped. I have had people tell me that gently flicking them in the cheek helps to deter, but mine thinks this is funny!! To be completly honest it doesn't hurt as bad as you think it will, and if your lucky she will get bottom teeth first! An actively sucking baby has their tongue over the bottom ones so unless she is playful she cant really hurt you unless she bites her own tongue!! I found that once she got the top ones if I just stayed serious and didn't talk to her or play at all while nursing she didn't tend to be as goofy and didn't try to bit as much! Hope this helps, remember you are doing the best thing you can for that cute little girl!! Good luck!

Melissa - posted on 11/28/2009

My son got his first 2 teeth at 6 months old. He bit me once and I stopped feeding him and firmly told him "NO BITE" and he never did it again. But I didn't go back to feeding him after I told him no, so he would understand that if he bit me, he would not eat. And if I ever felt him start to clamp his mouth down, I would immediatly stop him from feeding and tell him no bite again. It seemed to work for me. Best of luck!!

Jennifer - posted on 11/28/2009

I just went through that. My daughter is almost 7 months and has her 4 front teeth. She has bitten me twice ( in the same feeding period). I jumped and pulled her off quickly ....it scared her enough hat she hasn't done it since.

Kathi - posted on 11/27/2009

Believe it or not, my daughter cut her first tooth at 2 months old! What I did when she bit me was immediately remove her from the breast. She quickly learned "if you bite, you don't get fed". After 5 minutes or so, I'd put her back on. It only took a time or two and she got the message. Also, make sure you have her well latched. In other words, she shouldn't have just the nipple in her mouth. She should have a large amount of the surrounding breast tissue in her mouth as well. This also helps prevent biting. Good Luck and stick with it! She'll learn!

Megan - posted on 11/27/2009

I was concerned with that to with my daughter. I never had a problem from her biting me. I think that she knew that she wouldnt get anything using her teeth.

Bonnie - posted on 11/27/2009

One of my daughters LOVED to bite me. I screamed and put her down and she got the message it wasn't going to work for both of us. She wanted mom and I wanted no biting. But I do admit that another of my daughters just thought it was funny and would laugh even when I screamed and put her down. I guess it depends on the child.

Amanda - posted on 11/27/2009

My son always cried when he made me jump from biting and that made him not want to do it. If you ignore the biting as hard as that sounds, she probably won't do it. If she sees that the biting gets a reaction she may keep doing it just to make you react. Check e-bay for nipple guards, they are plastic sheilds that will ease the pain and use lots of lansinoh cream!!