Breast-feeding While Teething

Hi! I am still nursing my 13 month old and he has six teeth with two more coming in and he never bit me he just loves my left boob that even when I do the suction to get him off he gets back on and pops out. He has not done this for awhile. The talk in my play group is that the lower teeth are not the problem as they still put their tongue over the lower teeth to suck to nurse but the upper teeth but I have not had the problem. Great job on nursing. I was determined to nurse for years when I was pregnant then I was counting every three months as my goal when it actually happen for me to nurse. I am pass the first year and if he wants I will do for another year.

I accidently did what turned out to be the perfect thing to get my daughter to never bite again. I screamed in pain. She burst into tears, and I felt terrible. But she never bit again.

As at least one other mom said, smoosh her into your boob. With her nose covered she will automatically open her mouth to breathe. At that point you take her off the boob, hold her away from you and say "NO BITES!". She will quickly learn to not nip while eating.

Keep in mind your reflex may be to yank her immediately off, but if you just pull her away you can really hurt your nipple if you don't break the seal first. So you can put your pinkie in to make her stop, but if you remember to just push her into the boob you will really only have to do this a few times before she learns. Good luck - both my kids nursed until almost 2 yrs old!

Hi J.,
I breastfed my last to 13-14 months, many women nurse babies with teeth. When your baby is latched solidly and nursing actively, they can't bite. It's when they slow down and are playing at the breast, taking a suck, then looking around, then taking another suck and you feel that latch loosening, is when they can bite. If she starts to do that, you may need to end the feeding as soon as you realize that she is no longer sucking actively.

When my daughter was getting her first 4 teeth, she would bite towards the end of her feeding. YIKES, was it painful! I would yelp in agony because I couldn't help it, and then I would break the latch with my pinkie and say, "No biting!" But you don't want to be too dramatic about it because you don't want it to turn into a game. If she tried it a third time, I closed up shop until the next feeding session. After a couple days, she learned that biting was not acceptable. She tried it again a few months later, and we had to repeat the process. She's now 21 months old, with a mouthful of teeth, only nursing at bedtime, and I can't remember the last time she tried to bite me.

Congratulations on your continued perseverance with breastfeeding. Your baby's tongue should extend over the tooth that is starting to erupt, so the first teeth should not be a problem with breastfeeding.

First of all, congrats to you for sticking with it! Breastfeeding is really the best thing you can do for your baby and the bond you create in those first few months of life is irreplaceable.

My DS is now 7 months and he cut two of his bottom teeth about 3 weeks ago. Nursing with him has not changed at all for me. If the tooth your little one has cut is on the bottom, you shouldn't have to be worried, since your baby's tongue always covers her teeth when she latches.

The only thing is that it might change is how it feels for her, not you. She may start sucking a little differently if she is still teething (another tooth is probably just around the corner), or she may start pulling of more frequently to change her position.

Either way, nursing should not hurt more for you. If you are still having pain, you should consider contacting a La Leche League leader in your area, or contact a lactation consultant. You can do it! You've done a great job so far, mama!!!

Most of the time teeth don't really have to affect breastfeeding. With my kids it was the one time "oops I bit you" thing we both screamed & they didn't really do it again. If the baby is latching on well it shouldn't really hurt. If you are sore cold wet compresses may help & the lanolin creams.
Congrats on persevering. Breastfeeding does still help build immunities after 6 mos. As the child ages the benefit increases because older infants are usually exposed to more. Good job on making it this far & best of luck on making it further!

Just FYI, extended nursing is considered nursing past the first year, as this is how long the AAP recommends nursing until. Antibodies are received through nursing at any age...they dont stop at 6 months. That being said, if baby bites, you pull her into your breast to "smother" her and this will break her latch. If she is doing it frequently, you can have a finger ready to pop her off, but if you pull her into you the first few times, she will most likely not continue biting. Good luck!

My daughter is alsmost 12 months old and still nursing. She has had two bottom teeth for four months now. I did have a small problem with her biting me when they first came in but that was quickly solved with a firm "no bite", setting her on the ground and leaving the room for a few seconds. I only had to do this two or three times until she got the hint that it was not okay to bite mommy. I tried very hard not to have any reaction other than saying "no bite" when she bit me because I did not want her to find it funny. Hopefully your little girl will not discover biting but if she does maybe this will help.
Good luck

I know its a valid concern, but as the other moms have said, as long as she is latched on happily and not just "fooling around" she will not bite. If it does happen, it will happen near the end of the nursing session when they are done. I nurse my son who is 17 months old and has 12 teeth now. He only lightly bit once about a year ago. Even feeling teeth is a little scary, not to mention biting! I just pulled him off and said no! in a very stern way. No problems after that. If they loves nursing like my son does (sigh) then they learn very quickly. Congrats on sticking to it, especially with Winter and cold season coming.

If she's latched properly, she shouldn't be able to bite. That being said, she'll probably try. When she does, get her off, tell her no, and put her down. No more nursing. (She won't starve, believe me...) With my first son, he tried a second time (about three days later), and never tried again. Nursed him til he was 14 months old. With my second son, he continued nipping about every 10 days or so until I cut him off on his first birthday. (I now know it's his personality...he's going to try and cross the line on a regular basis...) HOPEFULLY, your daughter is like my older son, and figures it out fast!

I nursed my daughter for 18 months and she had a mouthful of teeth by 10 months. Yes I was able to nurse her even when she bit me a few times.
They learn if you correct them not to bite.
Good luck!