Advice on Breast Feeding

C.,

My first child was a big biter and he weaned early (9 months) I think because he didn't like me yelping in pain when he would bite...I think it scared him. But, I really wanted to nurse him for at least a year and would have stuck it out had he not started refusing to nurse due to my pain issues. I know one thing I was told to do with the biting, and did work some, was to plug his nose when he started biting. He would stop biting to catch his breath. But...it also made him so mad he would just refuse to nurse after that.

This is a very personal decision, and only you know what is right for you, but I would try to do some things to get him to stop biting before I forced a wean.

Oh, another thing, I wouldn't start giving him all the stuff the doc was recommending. 6 months is the age some docs recommend starting solids, but that doesn't mean he needs 3 meals a day of solids. At this age it is more for exploration than nutrition, and you don't want him to cut down on nursing since that is much more important. Even though he is big, and maybe because of that, I would not offer that much solid food just yet.

Let us know how it turns out.

D.

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Look at these websites for advice on feeding solids and how much. Kelly Mom also has lots of information on breastfeeding too.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html
and http://www.superbabyfood.com/

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Hi C.,

I'm sorry there are painful, bloody days...perhaps its a latching issue. can you pull out or yell 'owwww' until he puts more in his mouth or learns not to bite?

its great you pump. fits your lifestyle, it seems, with working. 6 montsh is definitely time to start solid foods because it takes a bit fo tiem for them to adjust to new tastes--but your son has teh advantage of having atsted foods thru your milk so he should be less averse to new smells.

so...start with a little babyfood when he's not extremely hungry...like rice cereal after a few minutes of bvreast (or bottled) breast milk....figure out which times of day is best for you so he doesnt rush thru the new experience of baby food! and do it every day same time then add more feedings mixing in a new jar (or homemade pureed food) every few days (to check for allergies) into the rice cereal...

dont stop milk because he loves it and would stop eating food if he knew food was teh new substitute. i was advised not to gove regular milk until age 1. i held out until my daughter was 21 months (breastfeeding 1x a day by then or pumped milk)....its so good for their immunity!

Cow's milk should not be introduced until he is 12 months. And no, it is not the same as yogurt. Yogurt is much gentler to digest than milk and isn't as much an allergen. So if you want to stop breastfeeding give him expressed breast milk or formula.

To wean him off the breast cut out one feeding at a time slowly to prevent engorged breasts. No, it is not selfish. Good luck.

A.

Hi C.,

You've gotten a lot of great suggestions on how to teach baby not too bite. For me, not reacting and just taking my son off the breast worked well, but I did not have bites that bled! It'd not selfish to not want that kind of pain! I don't think that anyone mentioned that teething comes in waves, and so will pass. If you really want to continue to nurse, maybe you could give expressed milk only for a couple weeks, and then offer the breast again once the wave has past. I have not tried it so I don't know for sure how baby would react, but it's a thought if you really don't have patience for the techiques suggested below but do want to nurse longer.

All the best,
C.

You can't give regular milk until he's 1. However, if he's biting you then he isn't latched on properly. Because the tongue is between the teeth and your nipple if he's nursing correctly there still should be no pain. However, my son did the same thing. When he got teeth he had to "try them out" and since I was nursing they were tried out on me. This is one of the main reasons I stopped nursing. The other, he started crawling and didn't have an interest in sitting still long enough to get a meal. If you don't want to give formula but your set on stopping the chi chi, then continue to express or give formula. But don't just stop totally. I would continue to express but cut back on how much and how long you do so. Cut back little by little until you can get to the point where you can stop.

Congrats to you for managing to work and still nurse your son! I am currently nursing my 18 lb. 4 month old (3rd kid) and am myself trying to remember what I did for the other 2. I did nurse when the other 2 had teeth. When they bit me, I would take them off, tell them no and try again. After at least 3 tries I seem to remember that they wanted to nurse enough to learn not to chew on me. My son learned quickly but my daughter was just a bit stubborn. I think she got the pacifier a couple of times because she wouldn't stop biting, but she came around. In so far as dairy, I didn't start yogurt until the kids were 8 months and no milk until one year mainly because I was worried about allergies. I did however mix expressed milk with cereals and a couple of bottles here and there to make sure they were getting nutrients, especially when they refused to eat the solids. By 10 months both of my kids were only nursing before bedtime and they honestly had no interest in nursing by the time they were 11-12 months and were thoroughly enjoying all the solids and table food. So good luck and do what you feel is best for you and your baby!

Hi C.,
It's great that you're still giving him breast milk. I breastfed all of my four children about 1 and half years. The fact is human milk is designed for human babies and cow milk is designed for calves. I think all other food is supplemental until 1 year old so if you can give your breast milk, it will be better. Breastfeeding has two important purposes. One is that it provide best nutrition to the baby and the other one is bounding. I breastfed all my children but with my first one, I had to switch to bottle because my milk stopped coming. You don't know how different I felt between breastfeeding and bottle-feeding. So if possible, I think it'll be good if you can continue to breastfeed but it really up to you. How do you feel about it?

C.,
Congratulations on giving your baby the best you have to offer for so long! I am so sorry this is painful for you.

Everything I have read seems to coalesce on this:

Milk - not before 1 year
Eggs - not before 2 years
peanuts - not before 3 years

I haven't heard much that makes sense for yogurt though; you'll have to get the scoop somewhere else. All the sources I've heard and read contradict each other.

If you are able to pump that much, more power to you and more good for your baby! Awesome! I am lucky if I can get an ounce to 3 ounces a day for mixing cereals.

Breastfeeding will certainly cut down your costs. I hope you can stick with it.

My little one has 4 teeth - two more coming in. I admit I am stern with him when it comes to biting: He nearly took a chunk out of my shoulder - nevermind being playful when it came to feeding. He is serious about eating, however, and when I put him down with a frown, a 'no biting', and waited approximately one minute before I would pick him up and start over, he didn't repeat the bite but 6-7 times overall. I didn't let him go hungry, but I let him know it is unacceptable to bite when nursing (or any other time). He was surprised and a little sad, but when I comforted him, I reinforced the message, and at other times, we smile and laugh together.

I hope you try to continue feeding without the bottle, it is better for you and him (well, nursing over pumping is less painful for me any day, nevermind during teething).

Good luck, and greater peace for both of you!
M.

i also have a 6 month old with two teeth and nearly 20 lbs- though he has been more polite than it sounds like your little one has been re: biting at the breast - when he does it is usually at the end of a nursing session - i break the suction/bite immediately with my pinky finger and take a break before allowing him back on my breast - sometimes i switch sides at that point to "start anew"--- hopefully he can learn not to bite - if you can manage it i think it is good to keep breastfeeding - especially since you are away at work a lot, it is a wonderful way to bond with your baby (that is if it is not a constant pain for you!) even if you stop with the breast - don't stop giving him your milk!!! it is such a great thing, even if it is always and expressed and given in a bottle! cow's milk is customarily not introduced until after they are one year old. i think yogurt is ok earlier because of the way it is processed. good luck!

Just my experience:

I was very excited to share solid food with my little one so I started introducing food at about 4 months. (I did get "permission" from my pediatrician but the second time around I'm going on my own experience and my second baby's readiness!)

I tried some of the baby foods -- and then I tried the baby foods, yuck! I ended up prepping a lot of food myself (checking for those foods it's not good to home-prep for bacterial reasons). My little one LOVED the variety.

I also transitioned her from breast milk to soy milk at about 6 months -- my work-expressing was just not as successful as yours. It won't help on cost savings at all, but was gentler for her system and she liked it just fine. Cow juice came in between 10-12 months.

Basically, I think you'll probably like experimenting with new foods and seeing how your little one will react to them. I have a perfectly healthy tot, and no family history of food allergies or intolerances.

I'm not trying to *encourage* you to stop; if you can remedy the biting, then keep at it! However, if you can't stop the biting just remember; while it's sad to lose the breastfeeding connection, you and your baby are moving to the next level of learning where you get to share your likes and dislikes, and your culinary experiments and experiences. Plus you get to capture all of those classic pictures of baby with pureed squash smeared all over his face as he improves hand-eye coordination with the spoon. :-)

First things first... You have to do what is right for you and your baby! Don't let anyone else discourage you from what works best for your family. I stopped nursing my daughter around the same time because I was going back to work. I started giving one - two bottles a day of formula and the three meals of baby food. I nursed her first thing in the morning and right before I went to bed. So during the day, she was eating food or formula. Then I eliminated the morning feeding, and eventually the evening one. It took a week or two to stop completely. But if you are still expressing 2 - 4 times a day, try eliminating one bottle at a time, to save some pain from engorging! Also as far as costs of formula go, my first daughter had Enfamil, the second time around, I checked out Wegmans brand - I know it might sound "cheap" but if you look at the ingredients comparing Enfamil to Wegmans, it is EXACTLY the same and it is about 10 bucks cheaper per can! I would steer clear of milk until he is one though - their stomachs can't digest it as easily as formula or breast milk. Hope it helps and remember you are a great mom and do whatever works for you!

Hi! I am the mother of 4 kids, ages 7, 4, 2, and 8 months. I have breastfed all of my children and am going through teething right now with my 8 month old. Whenever, my kids have bitten me I would always say "Ouch, that hurt mommy. Don't bite." They quickly understood that they were not supposed to bite and stopped. I tried to breastfeed all of my kids until they were at least one years old (that is when they can be introduced to regular milk). One thing that helped me greatly when first starting out was reading the book "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" put out by the La Leche League. That book was so helpful to me!! I also called one of the League's contact people and she helped me with a lot of questions also. You can visit their website also at www.llli.org and type in biting under the search column. I did that just before I wrote you and there were some other good suggestions like keeping your baby close and not allowing his mouth to get to the tip of your nipple so he doesn't bite you. etc.... If you can, breastfeeding is really great for your baby and I would encourage you to continue. I hope this helps.

I would try to get that breast milk into him any way you can for at least his first year. It really is the best food you can give him. You are lucky that you can express milk in adequate volumes ( I had so much trouble!) so why not give him the best you can!! You may find that when he is sick, breast milk will be the only thing he wants, the only thing that he can keep down, and truly the best medicine.

My kids don't drink milk (ages 12, 10, 6 and 4) because I feel that it is mother's milk for an animal that is too different from humans. They do eat some dairy products, though, and take calcium supplements.

Good luck and keep up the good work..!

i had a problem with acid in my system and not enought milk when i tried to feed my middle child. if you are able to keep pumping, i would definetly do so. it is better for the baby, and if you are ready to get him on other milk, consider contacting one of the hospitals in your area to see if there is any place you can contact to see if there is a need for expressed milk for a baby that can't have other feeding products. food for thought. some mother may not be able to supply what her child needs and you may be the answer to that little ones prayers and life support.

my daughter nursed her children well into their second year. When they were toothing, she stopped nursing for a few minutes and told them no. It didn't take them long to realize that biting was not allowed when mama was nursing.

Hi, C.
When my now 30 year old was 11 weeks, he got 2 tooth and 2 more followed. I remember the pain even today. I nursed 2 others after that. I hung on because I hate cows milk and used soy and goat's as well. But, the damage was done. Even now, sometimes my husband can cause discomfort when we are intimate. Teeth are hard to withstand. Since he takes from bottle easily, why dont you express all you need to, and use bottle only. By the way, you can make yogurt very easily for fraction of the cost. Goggle it. Do not feel bad, you have done well so far!!!!
A.

Hi C.! First, congrats on your son! Second, no whole milk until he is one.. As for breastfeeding or expressing, that is completely up to you. If you want to stop, you can but you will have to give him formula until he is one when you switch to whole milk until he's two. Sounds like you're doing a great job, so whatever you are comfortable with..
good luck!!

Hi C.~

Props to you for breastfeeding and pumping while having to go back to work!! As a mom who breastfed her daughter for the first year and in the process of breastfeeding 4 month old son, I would encourage you to stick it out as long as you can, either with the actual breast or just by pumping. I think it's really up to you if you want to give up the boob or not. As long as he doesn't seem to mind, it's really your choice. As long as you are pumping and he's still getting the breast milk, that's the best you can do for him. I'm a 32 year old stay at home mom of an almost 2 1/2 year old girl and an almost 4 month old boy (my 4 month old is 18lbs, so I know about the BIG boy syndrome!!). I'm also in the process of getting back into the workforce, and trying to decide how to proceed with breastfeeding. My son will now take a bottle (had a difficult time with it at first), but only if it's breast milk. He has no desire for any of the formulas I've tried. I'm just not sure I'll be able to pump and store enough for him once I return to work. I have always been advised not to give milk until they are a year old, so you should do breast milk or formula until then, but it's best to check with your pediatrician. My daughter didn't get her first tooth until she was 10 1/2 months old, so I didn't have to deal with teeth for too long, but I never had a problem with her biting me or any sort of pain. Not sure when my son will start teething, so that's something to look forward to! Best of luck with whatever your choice is.

S.

C.,

my doctor (and i have also read) said that the first six months is the most important in breastfeeding; after that you start loosing some of the essential vitamins that the baby needs, that's why you start them on food, formula, etc.

my son is also six months (at the end of the month) and has been breastfeed. i have asked my doctor about "weening" him off my boob and they said that if the baby has taken a bottle before, then no need to ween, just stop and give him the bottle. that's exactly what i am going to do.

it's not being selfish at all... i don't think i can deal with the pain. my son is teething now, no teeth have broken thru yet.

you do what YOU have to do. your baby will be healthy no matter what you feed him - boob or bottle. :)

nikki

Hi C.. I had a similar issue with my son beginning at 4 months when he got his first two teeth. I dealt with the biting and pain for several months, but finally couldn't handle it and weaned him at 9 months. In retrospect, I should have done it sooner - I was dreading every nursing and was resentful of having to pump all the time. My advice is to do what you are comfortable with, whether that is expressing milk for him or weaning him or a combination. You are probably going to get a lot of responses from over-zealous people who encourage you to continue breastfeeding at all costs and tell you you're being selfish to wean. Don't believe them - it's not selfish to want your nipples to stay attached to your body. :)

Talk to your pediatrician about regular milk, but s/he will probably tell you to wait until closer to 12 months. Yogurt is not quite the same as milk - it is easier to digest and that's probably why your doc said it's okay to start.

Just do what feels right to you. If nursing/pumping is not enjoyable or working for you, do something else. There are great formulas out there (actually, the generic ones are great and exactly the same as name-brand - consider Target brand or Costco's Kirkland brand) and you're not wrong if you want to wean. Your baby sounds big and healthy and will thrive however you decide to feed him.

Good luck!

Dear C., OMG! Please don't let him teeth on your nipples. But that doesn't mean you have to stop breastfeeding. When a baby is nursing correctly, sucking and swallowing, his tongue lays over the bottom gums. The times that my four beautiful grown-up boys accidentally or playfully nipped me, they were nearing the end of the feed. I simply had to mind this and be at the ready. If I saw signs that they might be about to bite I simply removed them and said no biting, it hurts mommy. If the behavior didn't stop I would put them down and walk away, making myself inaccessible. That usually got the message through to them. A little patience and a little time and the behavior stopped. Do protect yourself and be watchful. Provide him with something cold to suck on before feeding to numb his gums. This might offer some relief and squash his need to nosh on you! good luck! And may this stage pass quickly. C.

Hi! If it's any help, I found that with both of my boys (also very big), the biting thing when they got teeth didn't last long, maybe a couple of weeks at the most? I would immediately stop feeding if they bit and then resume later. The food that your doctor is recommending seems a little fast. My pediatrician and lactation consultant both recommend 1 meal at 6 months, two meals at 8 months and 3 meals at 10 months. I preferred it this way-it is a lot of work and time feeding a baby food-this way you kind of ease into it! Hope this helps and good luck!

Wait till 1 year to give milk- yogurt is a bit different, but watch you still could find an allergy reaction to it. There is a national breastfeeding help line which is very helpful and can mail you info too... the number is 1800-###-###-#### and here is their web site:
http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/index.cfm?page=...
I called the help line several times with questions with both my boys and they were very helpful

my daugher is 7m, and nurses approx 4 times per day (also eats 3 meals and water from cup). when she bites, i move the breast closer to her (covering nose, so she has to open mouth) and say "no biting." its helped already. other pattern i've noticed is that she bites more often if she's not that hungry, or if she's very distracted. i'd try quiet place, move boob to face, and only nurse when hungry before giving up. then if its meant to be, its meant to be!