Suggestions on How to Ween My Almost 9 Month Old from Breast Feeding!

You don't have to wean just because she has teeth. If that were the case then every baby would be weaned before age 1. If she wants to nurse she won't bite. You have to very firmly tell her "no bite" and take her off the breast. Then put her back to breast. She will get it very quickly. She is biting down because it makes her gums feel better. Try giving her tylenol during the day to make nursing easier for her and give her teething rings as she likes the counte-rpressure when biting. It relieves the pain in her gums. This is just a phase and it will pass quickly. Honestly, by the time you went thru the weaning process she will be over the pain and will go back to nursing just as she has done before. Doesn't make much sense to wean when you think about it like that.

You've come this far and only have a couple more months to go. Try to stick with it. :)

If the teeth are the only reason you want to wean, don't! I DO know exactly how much it hurts to be bit with those sharp little teeth, but making other major changes in diet while teething can cause your baby to associate pain with the other means of eating! Instead, teach her to not bite. If she bites you, tell her "NO", stick your finger in the corner of her mouth, and pull her off. (The finger can stop the bite so it won't hurt you to pull her off.) Every time she bites, make her stop nursing. She'll stop biting very quickly. In a day or two, you'll be back to normal, and she won't bite again, no matter how many teeth she gets.

I recently weened my 7 month old. It was pretty frustrating, but here's what we did. I began with taking (1) of her afternoon feedings from nursing to a bottle. I went directly to formula so it was difficult for her to take not only the bottle, but the actual formula. I'm an at home mom so if I had the opportunity for someone else to give her the bottle a friend or family member I would. I would disappear into the other room until my friend tried for a good 5-10 minutes.
I would supplement 1 feeding a week until we were only on bottles. After the 3rd supplement she pretty much didn't want to breast at all except in the early morning feeding. I left the early morning and late night feeding last. Be sure to be consistent and be persistent; try giving the bottle for at least 5 minutes.
I also added formula to her rice and oatmeal cereal to help with getting used to the taste.
It is frustrating but stick to it and all will work out. Be sure to try different nipples and flow. We ended up with the NUK bottles silicone nipples. The silicone on these nipples is very soft and flexible.
Good Luck!

You don't have to ween her, you can teach her not to bite. As soon as she chomps you, break her latch and put her down and turn away from her. Give her a minute or two if she's crying to stop, (or at least slow down) then pick her up and resume feeding. After a few times of this she will associate that using her teeth will only get her taken off the breast. Hope this helps, it worked for me and my son, and was the method recommended to me by the LC.

I wanted to add my voice to the chorus of people who said that you don't have to wean. I used the same detach and ignore technique described and it worked for me as well. It took a little longer for my stubborn boy, but it worked. I also would praise him when he was nursing well for being "gentle" and then ask him to be gentle when he would start. That also seemed to make a difference.
Hylands teething tabs worked well for us, also the teething gel from hylands.
If you really do want to wean, I've read to do it slowly. One feeding at a time and to make sure to increase cuddling so your baby still feels as connected to you. Good luck with this!

Start with breast milk in a bottle. You will want to get a couple different types of bottles, nipples, and sippy cups to see what works best for her. Since she is 9 months you may want to start out trying a slow flow sippy to avoid having to make another switch soon, but if she does not take to that than start trying the different bottles. I assume she is eating solids, so things like yogurt can help her meet some of her dairy needs while she transitions, allowing you to cut out breast feeding sessions and encourage the cup. Work up to no breast over a couple of weeks, and start out with your husband or other person offering the cup or bottle without you around or she may be more resistant. Once she is taking it you can either continue to pump but not breast feed, or you can start to introduce formula,(or if she is close to 12 month, cows milk). To do this start by mixing small yet increasing amounts of the formula or milk with breast milk to give her time to adjust to the new taste. Best of luck!

You don't have to wean because of teeth. Heck, my daughter had a ton of teeth when she finally weaned at 3.5 YEARS old!!

She is biting you because the counter pressure relieves her pain. I would give her orajel and tylenol before you nurse. The orajel will give her immediate relief and the tylenol will kick in 30 minutes later. I think that is why she is biting - not to "test" out your reaction. That is different.

If she is biting for a reaction, you say "NO" loud and firm the instant she does it. Break her latch with your finger and put her down on the floor and walk away. You have to do the whole thing very fast. You want to almost startle her. When she starts to cry (or about a minute - whichever is first), you can go back and pick her up and try to nurse again. Repeat if necessary, but I have found this technique works REAL FAST.

I really think it is teething pain though. She needs pain relief and once she gets that, you won't have nipped boobies!

:)

PS - the "natural teething tablets" didn't do a thing for my son except make him HYPER.