Teeth Marks from Breastfeeding

You should get nipple guards. I used them the entire time that I breastfed. My daughter had teeth at 3 months old. It is just a clear plastic guard that fits over the nipple. We had to use them because my daughter was having trouble latching on at first and then had teeth early. It acts almost as a bottle nipple and makes the transition from breast to bottle easier. The best part is you wont feel the teeth unless she bites down hard. You can get them at almost any baby store or target for $3.00 and they are reusable. I kept them for the next baby as well. Hope this helps!

Have you tried holding her in a different position so the teeth are in a different area. It may give the open spots some time to heal. Although it could result in more open areas:(

hi gloria, i cant believe how many people told you to stop nursing. no offense to any of them, but this can certainly be overcome, as i did with all 3 of mine, fairly easily, too. is she biting or kind of scraping you? she can learn to be careful even if it is just scraping....this is your baby's first lesson in "no".... if she bites/scrapes you, immediately tell her a stern NO and take her off the breast (you stick your pinky finger gently into the corner of her mouth to break the seal), then pull your shirt down and thats the end of it. i would put her down immediately if possible and break eye contact. i know this is not always possible, for me it was enough to take her off, close my shirt, and look away while holding her safely. it depends on the baby. my first 2 responded well to turning away, this one thinks i am hilarious when i tell him no, so i put him down and that worked.....she will fuss or cry, you have to let her for a minute. and i really do mean only a minute, it was all i needed. i did this a few times with each baby and it worked. breaking eye contact is the key, as i found it to be with many things, like when they try banging their head for the first time, etc. and if she has a bad latch, take her off and re-latch her. do it every time, its easy for bad habits to form. be sure her mouth is full of you, squish your breast like a sandwich and put it in as far as you can (within reason, of course :)
try to take note of when she bites you. often it is at the start to get a better latch or if you dont have a great grip on her and she feels a bit insecure or uncomfortable, or at the end of the nursing session when she is getting full or falling asleep, sometimes they startle as they fall asleep and bite. in that case, its up to you to stay alert and when you feel her finishing up, you take her off as described above and end it or switch sides.
i used nipple shields for a day or 3 when i had sore nipples right in the beginning with my current baby. it saved my nipples, but they were not good for my supply at all, the baby cant suck quite as hard. at 9 mos, this is probably not a problem for you, your supply is well established by now, but be aware of it. mine is 9 mos too, as as he eats more and more solids my supply is adjusting and dwindling rapidly, if you use nipple shields, just be aware of it and maybe add in a pumping session during the day to compensate, im about to do that.
also, let the air get to your nipples when you can. put some breastmilk on them and let them air dry, this will help them to heal. (lansinoh never worked for me, it irritated me a bit. im allergic to wool, thats probably why.) best of luck to you, i know how much it hurts, but it can be overcome. take care, D.

Maybe try a nipple shield until the skin heals? I have had lots of success with them.

Hi Gloria, I am the mother of 5. All were breastfed. I remember some difficult times. Be sure to push the whole red area of the nipple into her mouth. If she seems to be hurting you, put the knuckle of your first finger into her mouth, separate her teeth a little, and gently tell her no. I remember the children clamping down. Good luck. C.

Me too--I agree, it is hard--I really am committed to continued breastfeeding, but wow, the pain sometimes with the teeth clamping...other times it's just fine, teeth and all!

I am nursing my 4th child. I have nursed the other 3 long and successfully. I feel very strongly advocating extended breastfeeding and I'm so glad you want to also.

I suggest keep trying to communicate--even at young ages--I've heard it said that we should say "Open wide" and demonstrate to our babies, showing an open mouth. I sometimes even release her with my finger, and ask her to open wide. Sometimes I have to stop her for a while. I say, ouch, that hurts, and she might be sad, and I try to tell her to open wide to nurse. It seems silly to tell one so young, but I believe they are so smart and I know they can understand us.

I sometimes need cool air on myself after some pain occurs.
Thankfully, the tissue is strong and pliable and heals fast. Sometimes I'll use a green herbal salve to help feel better, too. Keep trying--she'll adjust! I know she can!

Bless your mothering.
Julie

Gloria,

I know what you are going through. My first child stopped nursing around 9 months because he was hurting me so bad due to teething. He was actually biting and I would yelp and then he would start crying and I would try to let him latch on again but then he would bite and it was this awful vicious cycle.

Now my 15 month old is starting to do what you are describing...not biting, but I have had her teeth marks on my breast after a feeding. It really hurts. I know someone said that they cannot nurse and bite down in that way, but they are so it certainly is possible. She is actively nursing, but her top teeth are sitting right on my nipple and it hurts! She is not done eating, is not playing, it is like a new latch technique she uses on occasion that is torture to me!

So I don't have any answers, but wanted you to know that you are not alone! I hope you are able to make it through this period without her weaning. Sure wish I had found a way to make it work when my son was that age. If my daughter weans at 15 months, that won't bother me, but when they are less than a year it is unfortunate to have them wean over something like teeth! Let me know how it turns out.

D.

My daughter started biting around 9 months as well. I can certainly empathize with the pain and the fear of continuing to nurse. I gave something a try that I read about and it worked! Often, babies will bite when teething and or when they get a little bored on the breast. Make sure you nurse when your daughter is truly hungry, so she aggressively sucks. When you feel that she is at the end and starting to slow down (this is usually when the bite will occur), push your breast into her face (I know this sounds a little cruel), so that she has to pop open her mouth to disengage - and not pull/rip off with her teeth. Once I did this for several sessions - it never happened again. Other suggestions that I read (but didn't try) was to put her down if she bit and say 'no bite' and show her that she can't nurse if she bit me. I always felt like she was too young to really understand - but maybe I was being overprotective. I also read that you can run the risk of the baby being distressed about nursing in general, causing her to stop. As for what to put on the nipple to stop the pain, I'm not sure as fortunately my baby never broke the skin. Good luck!

I gave my 8-month old a '3 strikes you're out' rule on nibbling: If he bit/nibbled/dug in 3 times in a row in a nursing session, he clearly wasn't hungry, so I put the breast away. They can't bite you while latched on correctly. It hasn't been a problem in a while, but then again, he mostly did it while he was teething and we haven't had a new tooth in a while either. Have you tried Soothies in between nursing sessions? They are little gel nipple covers that feel soothing and cool to ouchy sore nipples.

|Hi!
They make a breast shield. It is a plastic piece you put over your nipple area, and it protects your breast. I had to use them once or twice in the beginning when my nipples were sore. I'm not sure if your baby will mind, since it will be different than just your breast. You could try talking tour ped. or OB.

nipple covers
made especially for breastfeeding
at least until they heal

Watch out for the Lansinoh ointment - with my first baby I got a yeast infection and the dr told me that Lansinoh used regulary contributes to yeast infection b/c it keeps the moisture in. Dr told me to use olive oil instead. I went to a wonderful dr who specializes in medical issues relating to breastfeeding.

pump/express the milk and feed her from a bottle.
The important thing is the nutrients from your breast milk not how she gets it.
The bond is already well formed between you two by now.

I breastfed my daughter for 13 months and i didn't have her bite me but she was a very hard sucker. What i did with her is rotate her in any position that i can get her in then this way which part hurt the most had a chance to heal. I hope this works for ya it did for me now she is 7 years old and not a day goes by that i don't miss that.

I found that calendula ointment was the best for my nipples when I was nursing.

Good luck.

Sorry to hear it Gloria,

As far as i know there isn't anything you can really do besides the obvious, of stopping for a bit and pumping.

you could try putting medical tape on the area till it heals.

M

Is she eating any solid food? She may be ready to wean. I breastfed all 5 of my children and they all stopped when they were ready. It is heart breaking when they are ready before you are....believe me I know!! She may be full or just not interested any more. If she has broken skin she's biting. When my kids started biting (even when they didn't have any teeth) I stopped nursing for that moment and tried again later. She just may not want anymore or she might want solid food. Don't give up nursing just yet. But my advice if she keeps breaking skin it may be her way of telling you she's ready to be weaned. Good luck.

Hi Gloria. I suggest purchasing nipple shields. They are made of super super super thin silicon and the baby can't even tell there is something attached to your nipple. It also feels the same for mom. I promise this will help. Avent sells them but I highly reccommend the Madela brand. They also come in different sizes. The smallest size worked great for me. Good Luck.

Contact La Leche League the oldest breatfeeding support group they have all the infor and support you could possibly need
http://www.lllusa.org/

With my own, my startle when bit was enough to stop it.

Best regards
E.

Wish I could help, but my son does the same thing and he is 15 months. I just try to re-latch when it is too painful. I will definitely be reading your responses to see if there are any tricks to make this better. Good Luck