Breastfeeding While Teething

When I breastfed my now 14 year old son (whom I breastfed for 2 years) and my now 6 year old daughter (whom I breastfed for 18 months) I was told to sound harsh when they bite. Just a startling "no". He may get upset the first time but will stop biting after just a couple (maybe only one) time.

Hi R.,
I nursed my 3 year old and my 23 month old. the only suggestion I can give you, sometimes when you put your finger in their mouth and push down, rubbing their gums it helps then to realize this is mom and they will usually stop. worked for me. good luck

I when I was nursing my daughter if she would bite me I would tell her no in a harsh voice and gently thump her cheek. After a couple of times with that she quit.

J. M

My first question is, what leads you to believe he's teething? Is it because of excessive drool? Or do you actually see teeth buds? I ask, because right about that age, their salivatory glands start functioning at full capacity, but they lack the tongue control to keep it in their mouths. So... teething may be farther off than you thought :) My daughter started the excessive drooling at 3 months but didn't have a single tooth until almost 11 months :)

The only time my daughter bit me was when she WAS teething, and it was always at the end of then nursing session (it's physically impossible for them to bite while actively nursing... their tongue is in the way). So as soon as I would feel her latch loosen, I would remove her from the breast. Using that method, and paying very close attention to her nursing... I was only bit a couple of times. Not bad considering we nursed every day for 33 months.

Best wishes to you!!

my son also started teething at 4 months.
whenever he bit down HARD I would always yell NO at him
( I din't meen to it was just my reaction to the pain)
It didnt take him long to learn that was not a desired behavor
my son is now 19mo old and still enjoys the bond of nursing.

Hi R.,

I'd like to introduce myself. My name is H. B. and I am a certified Lactation consultant. Here are a few things to keep in mind about biting and breastfeeding....
PREVENTION....
1.Pay attention... Eye contact, touching, and talking make it less likely that your baby will bite to get your attention.
2. Learn to recognize the end of a feeding. Being alert also helps you notice that the baby is becoming less interested and may be ready to stop nursing. This is the time biting is most likely to happen.
3. Do not force a nursing. Stop the feeding... if your baby is wiggling, rolling, or pushing against you trying to get away. You can always try later.
4. Pay attention to positioning and latch on.... Back to basics.
5. Keep your milk supply plentiful. Repeated bottles of water, juice and formula or pacifiers can decrease your milk supply, causing your baby to become frustrated at the breast and cause biting.
6. Try the football hold or clutch position. Biting can happen if your baby's nose gets stuffed up or if the baby has an ear infection.
7. Break the seal. Some baby's will take the nipple with them when they get distracted. Place your finger in the corner of the baby's mouth and break the seal.
8. Never pull the baby off the breast. It seems natural that when the baby bites, moms pull away. This causes the baby to clamp down. Instead, push the baby into the breast. This will cause a breif moment of excitement and cause the baby to let go.
9. Offer lots of positive reinforcement. Thank You, good baby, smiles, hugs and kisses go a long way to remind your baby how to breastfeed.
10. Signs of illness? Colds, teething, and ear infections are common reasons for biting. Not sure, schedule an appointment with the pediatrician.
11. Stop the feeding and give the baby something appropriate to chew on. Some mothers have to go as far as to place the infant down and say no biting.
Congrads! for Breastfeeding this long. What a wonderful gift you are giving your child. I will also let you know that I would not have BF both of my children until the age of 2, if biting was a problem. By that age they have soooooo many teeth.
Good Luck! If you have any other questions, feel free to email me a personal message.
Hope this helps. Nice to have info, but maybe you won't need to make use of it.

H. B.

After you get him unattached ;) put your finger in his mouth put pressure on his gums and say firmly no biting. Then stop that nursing session. He'll realise quickly that when he bites the cafe closes. About this age once my youngest got his immediate hunger satisfied he'd get distracted easily and try to look all over the room. I found that a nursing necklace helped with that one.

I just wanted to re-pointout that when a baby is actively nursing, their tongue is in the way of the teeth. If they bite, they are probably about through anyway. I am still nursing 14 1/2 month old twins, with 8 teeth each. I was bit a couple of times, but the harsh "NO" worked for me/them and I don't care what anyone says, it is not hurtful to your child to say No to them in a "harsh" voice. Believe me, they need to recognize what that harsh voice is and respond accordingly- like when they are older and headed toward the street or toward a flight of stairs or a hot oven.

My son got his first tooth at 3 1/2 months and had a full set except for molars at a year. I breastfed him for 13 months so it is totally possible to continue. My son bite me twice I think. It hurt but he didn't break skin or anything. Whenever he would bite I first of all stayed calm so that I didn't pull him away while he was biting down, then I would gently plug his nose. Obviously he would have to open up his mouth to breath so that took care of the bite but he also hated having his nose plugged so bad that it only took a couple of times before he quit doing it and he never did it again. Even with almost a full set of teeth as he got older there was no problem. I would even plug his nose if he just kind of nibbled so he learned. So don't stress, it probably will happen but it's pretty easy to remedy and there are no lasting effects. Nursing is so important for the first year, so keep it up!

I nursed my daughter until she was almost two. When I could feel her starting to nibble a little I would pull her off my breast and firmly tell her no and let her back on and the two times she actually bit me I firmly pulled her off told her no and waited about an hour and attempted it again. It only took the two times for her to figure it out.
Good luck breastfeeding is a wonderful thing!

I have had a couple of problems with my son whose 8 and a half months now, if he does try to bite down I just tap his face, not hard, and say NO kinda stern so that he knows hes not supposed to do that. Dont give up, I nursed my 3 year old for about 10 months and he got several teeth during that period. Dont worry, and good luck!
M. Pierce

I'm breastfeeding my son and he is 6 months old and teething. Don't be scared. What I do when my son starts to teeth on me is I talk to him and I'm not sure if he understands but I tell him that mommy is not a teething toy. He thens smiles and keeps on eating. Just talk to him and if you don't already have them get some teething rings for him. Or even get him some teething books. My son has both but he likes his teething books better than than the teething toy. If you have any more concerns then talk to his doctor and see what they say. I do hope that this helps you out a little bit.

my son had teeth while i breastfeed but i quit at 7 months. he never really bit me but he would hold on to my nipple with his teeth and pull back, that hurt. i took him away from me when he started to test his teeth hoping he would realize, once he put pressure with those teeth i pulled him off and he had no food. after being consistent he stopped and he didn't even take long to catch on.

So say the experts:"Raise your voice and sternly tell the baby"NO"! He may cry the first time, but he may get startled enough to realized he does not want this response from mommy again. It is a displeasing experience for both of you and he will stop. It worked for me tho I felt like Atilla the Hun the first time I said no! put my pinkie into his mouth to break the seal and end the feeding temporarily. It only took a few times and baby got the message.

I lightly flicked my kids cheek when they bit, NOT HARD just enough to distract them.

Hi R.!

As a mom who is still breastfeeding an almost one year old, I can tell you it IS possible to get through. ; )

Mine has bit down a couple of times. And yes, it hurts a LOT. But what I do, is I stop nursing and tell her firmly "NO" and touch her nose. TOUCH her nose. LOL I don't flick it or hurt her in any way, and I don't yell. You gently let them know that they just hurt you. If you take a quick break from nursing after they do it, they start to understand that biting = no boobie. lol

HTH,
Christy

Have you considered pumping your breasts? Also, if you meet guidelines WIC might be able to help. If you pump instead of feed I'm sure there are other ways of bonding, such as giving baby massages, or simply holding baby while he looks into your face.

Don't get scared, you are in control. If your son bites you while nursing, simply take him off the breast. Wait 10-15 minutes before allowing him to finish feeding. Believe me he will not bite you any more, he wants to eat. If he starts biting you after he's full, simply look for signs that he's almost through and beat him to the chase. Don't let anything come between your baby and your breastmilk, no formula is as good for him.

i agree with the other moms who say "no." i breastfed both my son and daughter till they were a year old and who got their teeth at 3 mos and 5 mos respectively. both only bit me once. i would look directly into their eyes and give them a firm "no." no yelling (even though i wanted to scream!). they understand when you're serious even at that young of an age. definately work on this. breastfeeding is the best thing you can do for your son!

I nursed my boys (many years ago), but my doctor told me to in a firm voice, say NO! It startles them, sometimes they will cry a bit, but it worked. If you don't do this, then after awhile they start to think it is funny...and as you know it isn't -- especially as their teeth get bigger:)

I successfully nursed both boys (one until 12 months, the other until 16 months). And it was worth it.

Just pay CLOSE attention when he's nursing. Babies cannot physically bite and nurse at the same time. If you are vigilant and remove him from the breast right when he's done actively nursing, you'll eliminate the opportunity to bite.

My son is 11 months old, has two bottom teeth, and he's working on the top 4. He tries to 'chew' on me. He's quite a bit older though, so for him a really stern NO NO usually works. The only time I've been bit was when I was trying to nurse him to sleep and he didn't want to. LOL My fault totally.

My oldest son started teething at 4 months like yours, and had teeth by 4.5 or 5 months. I got REALLY nervous for a while when he had top AND bottom teeth...lol...it'll pass.