Breastfeeding and Biting

I breastfed 3 kids for what amounts to alomst 4 years total. Every one of them started teething at some point and decided to try out my breast as a chew toy. If you are consistant with your discouragement, your baby will get past it fairly quickly. An exhibition of my stern displeasure and immediately depriving them of the breast taught each of my little ones that it wasn't a good idea to chew on mommy. I hope you won't let this be a deciding factor in weather to continue breastfeeding. The short term and long term benefits to your baby are worth the occasional inconvenience.

My daughter started biting also in her 7th month. I tolerated it for about a month and then realized it was natures way of telling me to stop breastfeeding. I then put her on soy formula (on top of solids). She (and I!) were content.

Don't stop breastfeeding!!! He is probably just teething. My baby did this to me. I everytime I'd thought he was going to do it or he did it I tapped his mouth and sternly said no to him. It actually hurt his feelings a couple times and he cried but it didn't last long. He got the hint and he's had more teeth come in since then and hasn't done it.
The reason I say keep breastfeeding is your babies immune system is still developing. My son I breastfed for 11 mos, my daughter only 5 and there is a HUGE differance in there immune systems. My 3rd baby now 9mos is thriving and still breastfeeding and I have no intention on quiting now.
Keep up the good work! Hang in there!

We the baby bites, the feeding is done!! After a few times of removing him from the breast, he'll get the hint that he shouldn't do that.

good luck!
S.

When mine would bite they would be done with that feeding. It did not take them long to realize what was up. Sometimes I would scream too but I would also pull them away from the breast at the same time. Usually the next feeding came earlier..especially if they did it at the begining of the feeding.

Best wishes!
K. B

www.shaklee.net/takecontrol

This seems like a common age for biting to start, and I was told a trick that really worked! Instead of screaming (which you really want to do!) just push your baby's face into your breast so he can't breath unless he lets go of your breast with his teeth/mouth. Do this each time, and he'll soon learn that biting means less air than he likes, no entertaining screaming out of mommy, and it's just no fun!

Breast fed four....the only thing to do is take him off the breast and put him down..he will soon get a clue!

My sweet Phoebe, who is 10 months, does the same thing occasionally then has the nerve to look up and smile at me. I ALWAYS stop nursing at that point. I have also began to realize that it may be her way of telling me that she's done since her nursing now revolves around sleep and I may think that it's time for a nap but she's not ready yet. I think it is usually accidental but on the rare occasion that she does it deliberately I take two fingers and GENTLY tap her cheek just to get her attention and sternly tell her no, which she hears a hundred times a day. She has also started to bite randomly throughout the day. I think she's just trying the teeth out and knows she will get a reaction when she does it. I don't know that anything will permanently stop the biting.

LOL-I only laugh cuz' i feel your pain. I stopped breast feeding my now 13 yr old at 7 mos cuz of thesame thing. See, I pumped as well since he started his life-on-earth in the NICU. With the first one, I was never comfortable breast feeding in public either so bottled breast milk was the perfect solution. He liked the bottle cuz' he could multi-task. Look around, move his head, etc. THe first time he tried to look around when breast feeding was probly the most painful thing since child birth--he had 7 teeth at 7 mos. I really haven't experienced anything similar except for the last mammogram I had. Good luck. Hope I made you smile in spite of your dilemma!

When this happened with my daughter and I I would say "ouch that hurts Mommy!" in a firm voice, stop her from nursing and put her down for a minute and ignore her. After a minute or two, I resumed nursing, and said, "No biting" This type of reinforcement taughter her that biting was not acceptable. She only did it 2 times and learned this lesson quickly.

good luck.