Biting During Nursing

My 7 month old has no teeth yet and the gummy bites hurt enough - so I have no advice about the biting. I say "no bites" and he just smiles and we both laugh. HOWEVER... about the distractions - this is a BIG problem with my curious little fellow. Firstly, we can now rarely nurse if there is anyone else in the room (especially any of his 3 siblings that he just loves to play with) - I also find that the only sessions that he is really into is when he is REALLY hungry (first thing in the morning) or REALLY tired (before afternoon nap and before bed). Any other time I need to keep him focused and I have uses a variety of things. Firstly I sing to him songs that make him look at my face (while staying latched) like all the various animals on the bus (the snakes on the bus go hiss, hiss, hiss, all through the town)that makes funny noises. I also have worn this string of beads that he plays with while nursing. Once I even held the ring part of a pacifier in my mouth and he flipped the rubber part around while nursing. He is focused on the "entertainment" and doesn't realize that he is eating at the same time! These measures may sound crazy but my son was constantly yanking away from his latch and trying to sit up to check out the scenery.

Good Luck!

My daughter is 8 months and she never bit me when she got in her bottom teeth, but now that her tops are commng in... OUCH!!! I have almost gotten her to stop by breaking her latch, telling her no, and putting away my breast. She still sometimes thinks it is some kind of game;just don't smile or she won't take it seriously. Also, while your daughter is teething, do not let her bite on people. If she gets into that habit, she may not see a difference between Grandma's finger and your nipple.

As far as distractions... all I can say is if she gets hungry enough, nothing will distract her. My daughter tends to grab my necklace if it is reachable, but usually it just depends on hunger.

Good luck!

When my son did this and I started to bleed, I consulted online w/ Laleche league's library of information. It is so helpful. They recommended that you slip your finger into the corner-side of your baby's mouth which will loosen the grip onto your nipple. Then slide your finger along baby's mouth to pull your nipple out and gently tell baby not to bite. It worked well for my son to stop. Check out the laleche league site for any more specifics.

Hang in there. This is a phase.

You may find that sometimes she doesn't nurse well because she's distracted, then other times she will nurse really well. As long as she's getting enough over all (full diapers, gaining weight) then I wouldn't worry too much about that.

As far as the biting goes, it's tricky because you can't reason with a 7 month old. But you can teach her that it's not fun to do. If she bites, immediately yell "ouch!" once--loud enough to startle her--then take her off the breast, even if she cries or she's not done. The idea is that she associates biting with discomfort. You probably will not have to do it more than once or twice. Of course, if she's done nursing and still on the breast, you still run the risk of her getting bored and nipping you, so at least for a while you need to pay attention and take her off when she's done!

Good luck, and enjoy this lovely time.

When my two daughters went through that phase, and I nursed both till they were two years, so we got through it fine, I would try to give them a very clear message re: the biting. As well as you can, clearly say something like "ouch!" and/or "no biting, that hurts mommy" and remove them from the boob for a moment. It's hard b/c you have to strike that balance of not being too harsh, while still making it clear that even if it was accidental, which it probably was, they can not use their teeth and it hurts you. They will probably cry and look heart-broken the first two times or so, but get over it soon enough. And if you are still loving with them and connected, they'll get the message that it was the teeth and nothing else.

Good luck and keep going!

Hi Karissa,
This may be the same as others have already said, but what worked for me was just to go with what my son wanted. He went through that distractable phase while nursing as well. I just had to wait until he was hungry, because as I am sure you have found, even in a quiet room there are things to look at and check out. She will nurse when she needs to, although I know that is hard to imagine, her wanting to be so active all the time. Try not to get too upset if she is not nursing on a schedule, at 7 months especially if she is eating some solids she just may not require the same amount of milk as before. The pumping and giving her a bottle may not work anyway, as she still will be looking around and trying to explore her world even with a bottle. I think this is normal- be thankful your daughter's development is on target and everything will take care of itself.

can't help with the bitting cause I'm in the same situation but I know my daughter is fixated to the pendant around my neck. It keeps her focused when she wants to look away.

My 7 mos old daughter has been clamping lately and thinks its funny when I cry out and yelp. I just say "no," break the latch with my finger and put the boob away for a bit. Her bottom teeth are in and her top two teeth are almost in, so its been a bit painful lately. We got through this period fine with my 1st daughter, so with this one, I'm sure it'll pass as soon as those teeth come in.

As far as distractions are concerned, keep doing the quiet room and you can try wearing a beaded necklace. Just be prepared for some pulling on it. I've never really used one for that reason. Both of my daughters would try to take my boob with them when they would look around while nursing. I would just break the latch and put the boob away for a bit. When they're hungry, no amount of distract them will stop them from nursing.

For most of my friends, it was a short phase. They would remove their kids from the breast, say "no" firmly (but not loudly), and put them down to sit or play. They would then nurse them again after a short break. It seemed to work, and their kiddos chilled out with the biting after just a few days or weeks.

My little guy never stopped biting. He just bit harder and harder, often drawing blood. He basically self-weaned. Really hard for me, but he's doing great!

Good luck, and enjoy the time nursing!

I just went through the biting with my son after he got his first 2 bottom teeth. The first time he bit me, I screamed out ouch involuntarily and took him off my breast. I also had to get out the lanolin cream again for the first time in months. After a 4 or 5 times getting bitten and yelling, he figured it out and I have not had a problem in about a month. My girlfriend told me the same thing happens when they get the top teeth but her daughter figured it out quickly too, so I'm hoping the same thing happens with my son when he gets his top teeth.

My older son bit me exactly three times - the first time, I took him off, said "NO" very sternly, and put him in his crib (it was nap time). The second time (a day or two later...), he did it again, just to test; I took him off, said "NO" again very sternly, and put him in his crib. The third time (about six months later), he got startled, bit by accident, and I let him continue to nurse. I didn't begin weaning him until he was 14 months old.

With my second son, however, he continued to bite me about every week or 10 days. I would do the same thing - take him off, say "NO" very sternly, and put him down (feeding was over!). I now realize that is his personality - he's going to continue testing and testing and testing (his current favorite is unclipping the top latch on his car seat). I began weaning him on his first birthday.

You may just have a tester. It may just be her personality. As for the concentrating...I never had any of those issues (thankfully). We never had latching issues, either, even with my second son, born 7 weeks early. He latched the first time I put him on. :-) My SIL, however, had issues with her daughter, too, and she just ended up giving up on nursing her altogether at about 8 months. (At the time, though, she had a 3 year old and a 4 1/2 year old, and couldn't mess around.) She tried all the things you did, and even tried not feeding on demand, but rather on a schedule (once she was about 6 months old...), and that didn't work...again, it may just be a personality thing with your daughter...

HTH

try to be proactive, when you think she might bite, like when latching on, distracted, or falling asleep, pull her in a little closer or break the latch yourself with your pinky finger. with all my kids, we went through a period where i couldnt even look at them while they were nursing because they would try to play or laugh and end up biting me. very cute, but ouch! tyler still does it sometimes if i smile at him, but knows not to hurt me now (he is almost 15 mos). and if you are really having a hard time keeping her attention on the breast, i am thinking that she just isnt hungry at that time and try again later. i assume she is eating some solids now? and even if not yet, remember that their feeding patterns change, and she also is a much more efficient nurser now than she used to be, she is most likely getting full a lot faster than she used to, which just means you guys have a great nursing relationship. ...and if she does really bite you, which she will probably try out soon, what i did was a firm "NO." with a stern face, and then stop nursing immediately. i would actually either put the baby down away from me and turn my back, or just keep a firm hand on the baby for safety and literally turn my head away dramatically and not look. even if they cry for a minute. sounds mean, i know. it was all of my kids' first lesson in "no" and it worked with each one after only a couple of times. it actually worked well for lots of things, when they try out the head banging, for instance. do it first time, every time, for the serious things like that. try it, i hope this helps. take care, D.

i agree with hannah. ive heard that from several moms and although it wasnt a huge problem, there was one week with my LO where i said no 4 times. she started crying!!! i wasnt loud at all, but it completely stopped. some kids actually need the stopping, waiting a minute, then restart. just make sure you address it now before major pain occurs.

for distraction, i dont worry too much. its a natural phase of development and she has trust that if she pauses, you will be right there for when she wants more. its a good thing that she has trust. and the bottle doesnt guarantee anything. i bottle fed my first and she was just as distractable if not more. things that i have done- white noise to drown out all sounds, singing to her, nursing necklaces(actually you could use anything small around your neck that is only avail when nursing and change them often), rocking, reading, doft blankets, or i just give up and nurse her more often for shorter periods.

i think its great that you would like to cherish this time, you are doing great. just fix the biting and dont stress about her distraction. good luck

Hi Karissa

I nursed four children until they were at least a year old, and when they started teething it was quite an experience. When they bit, I'd tell the baby 'No' in a calm voice and interrupt the session briefly - like 10 seconds, and they caught on. Most of the time they were not intentionally biting, but once or twice they did it for the reaction they got from me.

My son used to dawdle and play, and I'd tell him to "get back to business" and he'd nurse a little longer. But it is hard to keep the babies focused! So when they were really distracted, I would say "are you finished?" and stop the nursing session until they were really ready to eat and then get back to it. If your baby is not paying attention, is she really hungry enough to nurse? I realize you don't want to let her get overly hungry and cranky which brings on other issues, but if you're trying to nurse her when she really isn't looking for food, then she will be more distracted.

Good luck!

R. T

Ohh I know exactly what your going through. My daughter did the same thing for about a month. I was getting very frustated with it. I read some previous responses on Mamasource and did a combination of everything. When she bit I would take her off the boob, tell her "no bite" and not put her back on for awhile. I started to realize she did it when she was tired or just done nursing. It only lasted a month or so. Hopefully it is just a phase! GOOD LUCK!

Hi Karissa,
Clamping down is intentional. Not that she means it to hurt you. If she is smiling at you, then it means she isnt actively nursing and it's time to take her off the breast. A baby who has a good solid latch and is actively nursing can't bite you. Watch when her sucking slows down and don't keep her on the breast longer than that - that's when biting can occur, when they're just taking a few lazy, playful sucks, taking the breast in and out of their mouth, etc. When the eating is over, it's over.
While a lot of experts will say to take the baby off the breast and firmly say "No", when my son was a baby, he found my stern voice to be the funniest thing ever.

Good luck