Breastfeeding Problems with Teething Baby

It is normal that she is going to eat less at her age and teething does cause some problems. I nursed my daughter 11 months and my son 14 (he did not want to give it up). I highly recommend Gentle Naturals Teething drops. You can get them at Target, Meijer or Babies R Us. They have a picture of Pooh Bear chewing on Eyeore's Ear. You put some under their tongue and it is a miracle worker. I hope you can find these and try them out. They worked much better for me than things you put on the gums - the additional saliva from teething seemed to just wash them away. Good luck and hang in there.

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It sounds like you are dealing with a nursing strike. I've never experienced this, but I can say that you might pump or manually express your breasts past the second let-down reflex, so that you do not lose your supply before this phase passes. There are La Leche League leaders in many towns who will know far more than I do.

My baby cut 4 teeth at age 3 months. Sounds like your little one is facing a lot at 7 months. She is teething and possible experiencing a world so facinating she can not concentrate on eating. This is also known as a hunger strike. This is NORMAL, and when she gets hungry enough or adjusted to her new world, she will settle back in. It is harder on you than on her in many ways.

Be patient, keep loving her and enjoy her enjoying her new world. She is also getting ready for other foods to be introduced. You did not indicate if she has started solids yet, but she sounds ready to me. The most important thing is to use your God-given instincts and listen to your heart.

Also, your milk supply will adjust both down and up when she returns to more nursing, if she does. My daughter nursed for 4 years along with eating everything under the sun. She had pneumonia 4 or 5 times and needed the nursing for fluids and comfort. I took a lot of good natured ribbing about her still nursing, but she eventually stopped on her own. She was the most healthy kid ever during childhood, so I guess that was good.

Enjoy your baby, These are cherished moments, and the both of you will do just fine if you relax and let her call the shots for right now. She will not starve herself. Good luck....

If this is just recent. Is she running a fever or favoring one side? Could be her ears. As for her teeth try some Oragel right before feeding to numb her gums also a wonderful thing to use is a tablet called Teething Tablets made by Hyland's its homeopathic you can get it at the drug store possibly others I've only found it at Rite Aide so far. It has worked great with all 3 of my boys. Good luck and don't worry things will get better.

T. Just relax girl she is starting to ween herself from you. Have you started to Introduce her to solids yet. I breasst fed both of my children and my youngest one seemed to ween herself or not need my breast milk near as long as my oldest did . I started tyo slowly introduce solids around Six Months old .
I think you just Need to relax ok. I dont think you have anything to worry about.I think if soft solids arent being introduced then you may need to start thinking about it but othere then that girl just relax

Your baby is fussy because of gas. Gripe water is good for gassy babies or try giving her mylicon drops before she nurses.

Fear not! I nursed my son until he was just over a year - so he definitely had teeth & was teething. Your daughter's gums could be sore - but more likely, she is ready to change her schedule & she is ready to get down and play (especially if she is crawling). Go with her clues. At 7 months, she really only needs to nurse about 20 minutes total (5-10 mins on each side). If she only gets 15 minutes total, that is fine. Since she is probably on baby food by now, a lot of her nutrition is coming from there. Also, it is good to nurse every 4 hours or when she signals that she is ready. Takes a little time to understand her cues, but you will know.
If you still feel full after she nurses 15-20 minutes total - then pump. Save the milk for a rainy (or busy or travel) day. Or mix it with cereal.
Hope this helps. I applaud you for nursing. I think that is one of the best gifts we can give to our children and to ourselves.

Hi. It seems you have gotten good advice, but I was just wondering if you are feeding her solids before nursing or the other way around. Up until 1 year, the main nutrition they need is the milk. I always nursed my son first and waited about 45 minutes for it to digest, then gave him breakfast, lunch or dinner. It could also be that she has learned how to get her fill in the shorter amount of time. As they grow, they get faster at nursing and the time shortens. You also could pump the remaining milk after the feeding and freeze it for later if you'd like. This will keep your milk supply coming in at the same amount.

You could try 2 things; give her tylenol or motrin 20 minutes before feeding but I think she may be wanting more table food. Biter biscuts, toast etc.
I would also consider pumping your milk when she doesn't want to nurse. You can always give it to her later in a sippy cup!

T.,
Depending on how old your child is and if she is eating baby food or table food can determine how much she nurses. The more they eat the less they drink. At this age she is definitely ready for food if you haven't started already. Teething is not usually a problem except for the mom because they tend to start biting. As long as she is nursing you will have the supply that she needs. I had milk a year after mine was done. Only be concerned if she is not getting other nourishment or if she seems to loose weight. If you still seem full after she is done try expressing it into bottles and they can be frozen until needed. Maybe you can use the bottles when you out somewhere. Another thing I would do is check with the OBGYN to have your milk tested if you are REAL concerned.
Good Luck!
A. - Mom of 2 teens

have you started solids? she could be ready
or
1. yes, her gums could be hurting so the suction hurts
2. she could have thrush. any white patches in her mouth? its easy to treat if yes
3. if she doesnt empty, you could pump and offer a bottle which may not hurt as much if teething and she would still get the nutrition

when my daughter was that age, she did the same thing, but i'd already quit nursing casue she started getting teeth at 4 1/2 months...crazy huh. but she'd eat a little of her bottle, then get fussy and not want any more. she wanted to play and look around, and interact witht he world. it didn't matter where we were in a crowded mall, a quiet room, etc. i think it's common. just don't try to force her. she'll eat when she's hungry. as long as she's gaining weight and other wise healthy then you and her will be fine. as far as emptying your breasts and your milk supply, try pumping the rest of the milk and storing it. it's always good to have some frozen milk on hand, just in case...some one else might want to give her a bottle, you might get sick, or go out and have to leave the baby with a sitter. but your milk supply works on supply and demand, it'll diminish a little if she's not eating a lot, but will increase when her appetite does. also, i think once babies start to get older, then don't nurse as often becasue they don't get hungry as often, also if you've started introducing solid foods and cereal, that'll fill her up more and she's not gonna need as much milk.

Hi you might try using a breast pump and then letting your husband try to feed you daughter. Teething is very painful for babies. Try using a cool wash cloth (clean) to help soothe her gumss. It can"t hurt. Let daddy have a helping hand.

It's probably the sucking movement is bothering her gums since she's teething. You can't force her to nurse, and she might over-react if you try; so just keep doing what you've been doing -- nurse her as long as she wants. If she fusses, you can try to see if she wants to nurse more, but I'd only try it once to see if she just needed to burp. She's also at the age where she's getting more interested in the world beyond herself and you, so she just may want to get up and go. :-) If she's still gaining weight it shouldn't be a problem; and if you're feeding her solid food, then she may not need to nurse as much. Different babies do different things. Some babies self-wean around this time, but she might just be decreasing it right now, due to teething or being interested in the outside world. (Could you possibly be pregnant? sometimes that causes the milk to taste different and some babies wean; but I'd say this is a slight possibility.)

Mine did the same thing. I was concerned and asked my pediatrician and this is what I was told:
When they are first born they grow really fast so they need lots of calories so they eat alot and often. As they get older, they aren't growing as fast so their body doesn't use the calories like it did so they won't eat as much. About 6 and 7 months is when they start slacking up on the eating and they won't eat as much which means your milk is going to naturally decrease. But don't worry. THey are made for supply and demand so if she eats alot it will naturally make more. Let her decide what she wants and what she doesn't want and don't force her to eat. If she gets more than what she needs and her body can't use it all that fast, then it will just make her full and sick feeling and then she will be fussy. They are designed by God to know what they need and they will let you know and especially if you are breast feeding, that baby knows what it wants and you know how to and when to make it automatically.
It is possible that he is uncomfortable because of the teeth also, so if I thought that he was a little uncomfortable, I would give him a little tylenol infant drops. That will help sooth him and make your life alot easier. He may also want to be stimulated a little too. It is nice outside now so why don't you take him for a walk in the stroller or just hold him and walk around in the yard. I know that you think he is too young to know this but when you walk around, point to a tree and say tree and if the wind blows on him say 'wind'. Just keep doing that even when they are 6 and 7 months old. You will be surprised what they soak up. Their minds are like a little sponge at this age. That will stimulate his brain also.
Hope that helps. Good luck!

it could be that she's just not as hungry due to the teething - some kids eat very little at the height of teething. I'd call your ped for an opinion...

Hi T.,
I had been having the same problem with my daughter and she is only 5 months old. What I did was not force her, of course, but started her on cereal. I really hated to do it, but once I did, she would eat the cereal and then wait about 10 minutes and then be ready for the breast again. In our case, I think that she was just ready for something more substantial. I still breast feed of course and it turns out that most of the time she still wants me more, which is wonderful, but I think it just helped her out a lot to have a change. My daughter has two teeth already and working on a third, and so far this has worked for me. It is hard, because they can't tell you what is going on and a lot of it is a guessing game. I attend a breast feeding support group once a month and I was offered this advice from a lady there. Hope it helps you and good luck!

Hello It could be teething and hyland's teething tablets are GREAT for teething (and temper tantrums, and when the baby does not know what they want!)

(I have used homeopathic remedies ALL my life and so did my parents and grandparents, they are very safe!)

They are on the bottom shelf at walmart in the vitamin section (close the the airborn)

Also could it be thrush? Thrush is a yeast infection of the month and can be very painful. If the baby has it then so does mom. There is something call Asodophillus (it is the live culture in Yogert) You can get it at a health food store and sprinkle it right on your breast and take it internally for both.

Also you could try pumping and giving your milk in a cup/bottle to see if she will take it that way.
H.

Is she already eating solid foods as well? If she is 7 months, she is at the age where other things in the world are more interesting then in the past. If she is eating solids, she may be naturally cutting back on her nursing needs. Your milk supply will adjust to her growing needs. At this age, she may be getting more in a shorter time, or just simply need less due to her increase in solids. If at some point she begins to nurse longer again, your supply will naturally increase. Her gums would be massaged by nursing and she would probably increase her time if her gums were sore, so I wouldn't worry about that. If she is not on solids yet, is she showing signs of interest? Perhaps you could start solids and see what happens. If she continues to grow fine, this may just be her new pattern. I would encourage you to enjoy breastfeeding for it's great self-regulating abilities. Relax and enjoy your daughter, breastfeeding will provide what she needs in whatever sessions her body prefers. Good luck
Carol Horrocks, Bradley Childbirth Educator

T.,
If I remember correctly, my daughter started wanting less milk around 6 months old. We both kind of weaned each other, and I started introducing her to cereal and small, soft food items. Then my milk came in less and less because she needed less. Have you tried feeding her small bits of crushed food or rice cereal? I wouldn't worry or stress - I'm pretty sure it's a natural transition for babies to start needing less milk after 6 months. At least mine did!

What are you eating or drinking? Are you eating a good diet with lots of veggies? Drinking lots of water? I always drank ONE beer a day, usually late in the evening. Has she been taking a bottle? Sometimes if they become accustomed to drinking from a bottle, they lose interest in the breast because the bottle feeds quicker than the breast. Maybe she's just not all that hungry. Try talking to your local chapter of La Leche League, they are a wealth of information.

I admire you for sticking with it!! Your baby will only benefit!

It could be any of those things you mentioned. Let her set her schedule and demand. Your body will adjust quickly. If you think she is hurting, you can try massaging her gums or sometimes I give Tylenol.

Are you starting to feed her table food? She might be getting her calories elsewhere. A bottle or cup?

Some babies wean themselves early. It could be a short phase. I think I've heard of something called "milk" or "breast rejection" or a "strike." Go figure why a baby would go on strike!

Anyway, just be patient with her and yourself as you continue to get to know your little one!

Good luck!

Of course, if you notice fewer wet diapers and she's feeling thinner, check with your lactation consultant.

J. Cobb
mother of three, all breastfed

T.,

Try putting some oragel on her gums before you nurse.... She may have a soar throat.... Sometimes they will not want to nurse when they have a soar throat or ear infection, look for a fever..... She may be getting ready to eat more solid food, or want solid food to eat if you have not started that yet........ She will eat when she gets hungry.... Try not to get frustrated, I know it is hard not too.... I have nursed 3 boys and they were all different... As long as you are offering her the breast she will nurse when she ready.... Good Luck C

I went through that problem with my 7 month old son. I continued to pump when he would not nurse. When he got hungry enough, I would give him his bottle. I also had to increase the amount of baby food I was giving him. Alot of the times when he would not nurse, he would eat babyfood. Some people don't believe in giving babies food that young, but it provided me with security knowing that he was eating something.
If you don't pump and is not eating as long, yes your milk will start to decrease bc u supply milk by supply and demand.

I hope this helps!!

Unless she really nearly quits nursing, your supply will probably be fine. Within a few days, your breasts adjust to supply the amount demanded at different times during the day. Older babies do suck down more milk faster, but at about this age they begin eating solid food and nursing less during the day. You may also be giving her juice or water in a cup. She probably nurses longer in the morning and evening because she's sleepy and cuddly, and during the day she's more alert. Within about a week, your breasts will supply less milk during the day but more when she's demanding it. So as long as she keeps nursing you should be fine, and as long as she isn't losing weight or getting dehydrated she's probably getting plenty to eat. Don't force her to eat more than she wants.

My bet is that she is distracted. I went (correction - am still) going through the same thing with my almost 7-month-old, though it has been going on for about 2 or 3 months. I think you'll find she likely make up for those feedings at night, unfortunately. That is what has happened here. But it is just one extra, long feeding usually around midnight-ish. Your milk supply is fine. I wouldn't worry about that a bit. Also, has she increased solids lately? That could also have something to do with it.