Teether Biting the Nipple~!

EVerybody has a different way of dealing with this, so you might have to try a few things. With my daughter (who also thought it was funny as can be), I started immediately pulling her off the nipple and setting her on the floor and walking away. She didn't like that, and quickly got the message. I had tried some other things first, but that's the one that worked for me.

My little man is doing the same thing, and I found that with him, it was becuase my milk supply was decreasing. I upped my milk, by drinking mothers milk tea, and drinking a ton more water. I am also able to produce more since I am no longer anticipating his bite.

Good luck to you!

I wasnt able to breastfeed for very long, so I may be totally off base here, but it sounds to me like he likes the reaction and has now made it a game. I know it sounds really hard, but maybe if you try to ignore it, or when he does it simply stop doing it right then and then come back to it a lil bit later. I hope you find a solution that works for you.

M. - it worked every time when my kids tried this. My mom told me and what you do is this, when he does this simple flick his check with your finger nothing hard but so that he has a negative result and he will stop! Hope it works for you

Both of my boys got teeth early (all four front teeth by about 5 mo), and both went through a phase of biting. I tried taking it away, tried the pulling closer "smother" trick, tried not to react, etc., and nothing worked with my older one until one day he chomped down so hard that it brought tears to my eyes. I finally flicked him on the cheek and said "ouch" sharply. He looked a little upset and his little lip quivered a bit, but only did it one more time after that (I repeated the flick a second time). With my younger son, I resorted to flicking his cheek a lot sooner, and went through a lot less pain as a result. Both boys continued a wonderful nursing relationship after that until over a year, and both are happy, well-adjusted kids now.

No, I'm not a proponent of hurting kids, obviously, but as a mother, I think one of the most important things that we teach our kids is how to treat other people, and that there area boundaries. If he's old enough to be making a game out of hurting you (obviously he doesn't know he's hurting you, just is getting a funny reaction), he's old enough to understand that some behaviors are not OK. A couple of flicks on the cheek will not ruin your relationship with him, but it sounds like allowing the situation to continue as is might. You don't want to transfer feelings of past pain to your son when he's nursing... that's not healthy for either of you.

So I know this sounds cruel but try flicking his little cheek. My daughter used to bite me as well and I couldn't get her to stop until my mother offered me this advice. I didn't want to do it at first but after a few more good bites I finally did try it and it really worked. One she stopped our nursing time became enjoyable again. I hope this helps and I wish you luck I know just how painfull it is!!

When my mother was nursing, and my siblings and I started biting, she gave us one solid flick with her finger on the cheek or chin to show us that biting is painful. She only had to do it once or twice, it didn't interrupt nursing at all, and none of my sibilngs or I are maladjusted. My little one hasn't started biting yet, but when she does, I fully intend to use her method to nip the biting in the bud. Just be sure to do it directly after he bites so he associates it with biting.

Hi M.. I very much feel for you. Both of my boys were early teethers (first tooth at 3 months old) and both bit me a lot. I didn't learn this trick until the second time around, but when he bites, give him a GOOD blow in the face right under the nose (if you can concentrate on aiming). This makes them inhale they'll let go of your nipple in the process. It's just as effective as the flick on the cheek method, but it doesn't hurt them. The pulling off method generally only works for babies that are a little older and after the fact. It's not something that computes enough for younger infants.

Good luck!

When my son was doing that, I filled a small bottle with breast milk before a feeding. Then when he bit I told him "No!" and gave him the bottle. He didn't like that, but finally took it. He was stubborn, it didn't stop him. So, I started pumping all the time and weaned him off me after the first time he bruised me. He wasn't happy, but he did learn what 'No' meant at a young age.
I hope your little one will ease up on you, I know it hurts!
J.

Since you are aware of the fact that his biting is triggering something from your past you may want to check out EFT. The website is emofree.com.
By using this method, you can let go of the energy/emotion from the past very quickly.
I have had great success with it for all kinds of things and I feel certain you can continue happily continue nursing without the tension you are now experiencing.
L. Crunick CH
health-through-hypnosis.com

Hello M.

I am still nursing my 1 year old who by now has 6 teeth :) and she does try them out every now and then... though really not too much anymore.

I have had good success with pulling her closer and covering her nose so she has to let go to breathe. I will then take her off the breast, tell her no biting and usually she's done nursing. If she is still hungry, I will allow her back on the breast while reinforcing the "NO BITING" and 9 out of ten times she will behave - when she doesn't we end the nursing session and get some "real" food, that she can sink her teeth into.
I agree with the "no yelping" rule - it turns it all into a fun game for your little one - sometimes that's impossible, but try to minimize your reaction.

In my experience the best way to combat bites is to try to read your baby's cues and catch them before they chomp down. My baby usually bites when she is done eating and just nursing for comfort. I can tell because she increasingly plays with her hands, grins at me, etc... I usually try to unlatch her at this point and cuddle with her.

It may be that you little one is still experiencing some discomfort, if his teeth just came in, so putting some baby-orajel on his gums or giving him a cooling teether before you nurse may help.

It is just a phase that will pass! Hang in there!

i'm sure it will be some trial an error to find the solution right for your son but here's my two cents.

i did the whole pull off thing too and it just didn't work. my coworker suggested the flicking the cheek thing but i wasn't prepared to do that. until one day i'd finally had it and flicked my daughter's cheek. she did not like that at all but she never bit me again.

it might seem cruel to some but is a flick on the cheek worth continuing breastfeeding? i thought it was.

good luck to you

My older daughter would bite a few times a week or so after getting any new teeth. The way I handled it, and it worked very well, was to have my finger close by my nipple so I could quickly break her suction and pull her away from me when she did it. She very quickly learned that biting = no more nursing for a bit (30 seconds to a couple minutes - just until I stopped hurting so it was longer the harder she bit).

She cried, but she wasn't hurt and I kept holding her, I just waited to nurse again for a minute or two (which probably seemed like forever to her). Worked like a charm!

Thankfully my younger daughter has never bitten - so they don't all do it :)

Best wishes!
~B.

You need to give him a reason to stop.

When my brother did this to my mother she also gave a good gasp and he thought it was a fun game. (I think it happened a few times.) So when he did it again, she pulled him off, flicked him in the nose and said, "No!" He cried and didn't do it again.

Babies don't understand "sad" reactions because they don't have any empathy at 7 months.

My son got teeth really early, so he didn't have as much awareness as your child will. However, when he would bite me I would forcefully poke my finger into his mouth and break the nursing seal. I would also jump a little because it hurt. It took about a month, but he got the idea and stopped biting. When my mother nursed she said that she would flick our cheek so that we would get the idea that we were hurting her. All kids figure it out sooner or later and stop biting.

I, too, had a nipple biter. I took a baby bottle nipple and put it over my nipple. At first she refused it but soon got the message. We both survived and now she's a grandma. Hope it works for you.
Good Luck
C. M Hamlin
Cave Junction OR.

Oh dear -- yes you are exactly correct - this is a funny game for your treasure - . So - here's a truth- babies ''hear'' our body language WAY better than they hear our words at this age - it will be years before he can hear ''why this is not'' -. So- a body language response that he wont like - is a nipple guard. You can buy them at Babys r us and likely many other places -. Every single time he bites -put the guard on and offer him the guarded nipple- for 10-30 seconds - with a stern SOUND - to your voice - say ''biting HURTS'' - This will be crazy-making for you the first few days- but should help so that soon all you have to do is let him see the guard and hear your stern sound-- ''no biting'' -- You can - I promise -

Blessings,
J.

When my children have gone through this phase I have pulled the nipple away, said a stern "NO!" and flicked them under the chin with my finger. That also ends feeding time. Each of my 3 children have only bitten twice - I think the second time is to make sure the reaction will be the same. Good Luck.

Ouch! I'm sorry for your troubles. My third baby is starting to nibble with his two little teeth (he's 5 1/2 months) and my other two children were biters for a while, so I can relate. Firstly, most mothers yelp bc it is a sensitive area, surprising, and painful. If you start to get re-stimulated, you could take a few breaths and bring yourself back to the present moment. As a tactic to prevent the behavior I have heard and tried two approaches. I have taken my baby from the breast and made him wait to nurse again (all babes seem to get a kick out of hurting mom, by the way). Also, I have shoved the breast further in for minute~ another uncomfortable thing for baby. Eventually, he will get it. As for the pinching, it is annoying; try holding his hand or letting him hold something else that is not too distracting. Hopefully you won't have any broken skin, but if you do you will have to pump from the wounded side and nurse only from the other until it heals. Not much fun, I know. It is really hard, but remember that this wil pass soon and you will have many more months of peaceful nursing. Good luck, S.

Congrats to you for seeking a solution!! My 15 month old bit a couple times too and while it hurts, the less you yelp or sound excited, the better. I know it's hard, but it's really worth making the effort especially if he's smiling about it. Removing him, a simple stern "no" should help. He won't understand a long explanation and it may just be another way to interact so the less reponse the better. I could never just take my daughter off and know that she hadn't gotten enough to eat so I always waited just a few minutes before putting her on the other side. She hasn't bit me in months! :) Good luck and stick with it!!

Dr William Sears suggests actually holding the baby closer to your breast when they bite because their nose gets smushed into the breast and the only way they can breath is to let go of the mouth. (I know this sounds odd but it is really effective.) Yelling can scare them, but holding them closer is a simple cause and effect sequence and has no negative overtones. Good luck!

The advice my mother-in-law (who successfully breastfeed 7 children), really helped. First she said that I need to not make any noise. Then I was to pull his face into my breast firmly to cover his nose for a second. He would pull off and take a deep breath and look up at me and I would say, "ouch, that hurts mommy." (in the sad, but not too responsive way) It only took a couple of times and he never did it again.

For pinching I just kept redirecting his hands to my shirt or some other tactile experience.

I hope this helps.

It seems cruel, but the old remedy that my mother and mother in law both used was to "flick" us on the nose when we bit. Not hard...just a little bop. Apparently it worked for both of them.

I stopped letting her breast feed and began pumping as the main source of her milk when mine got her teeth because she didn't respond to being told "no bite!" She listens to no in everything else now, but at at 10 months I just don't want to breast feed that toothy little cutie.

I don't know if I have much advice but I can say that I've been there and my daughter is now 14 months. She occasionally still bites down and does that smiling thing that looks like she's laughing. My hubby who is a speech-lang. path believes that when she chomps down it is stimming her in some way with her teething and that's why she smiles. Anyways, my only strategy has been to just stop nursing as soon as she bites. I've read somewhere that if they are eating, it's not possible to bite so usually it happens when they are at the end of a nursing session. I also say to her when she goes on "open wide" and then if she doens't, I just put the breast away. Hang in there! It's worth keeping that nursing relationship strong!

I called it el-snapp-o. My son did it, but not my daughter. I stopped nursing when my son did it, but he didn't do it in fun, he did it by accident, and pulled away while holding on with his gums.

M.,

I got this from my sister in law with her three kids, and it worked for both of mine. Every time he bites you flick his cheek and tell him no bite. Both of my kids only bit me a few times then they got the picture that it wasn't ok to bite Mommy while eating. I didn't do it very hard, but hard enough to get their attention.

The reason, now, that he's biting is that he gets a reaction out of you. When teething the counter pressure of biting anything relieves the pain they are feeling.

Good luck,
Melissa

If you make a loud sound he may either think it's funny or get scared, so I know it's hard but try not to react. What worked for me is pulling the baby closer so they have to let go and then stopping the nursing session, and saying no biting that hurts mommy! My dd caught on really quick after a week or so. They understand a lot more than you think. You can also give him something cold to chew/suck on before you nurse so he doesn't have as much urge to bite. He may just bite because he is done nursing and feels playful, or he's just learning about teeth.

My pediatrician told me to cry out as loud as I can OUCH. Loud and strong enough to scare your ds into crying. I did this one time and he never bit me again. It was around the same age.

My ds had a habit of biting my husband on the shoulder and I kept telling my hubby to try the yell method. One day he finally did and made my ds cry, but ds NEVER bit anyone again.

My daughter did/does this. I can't help but yell. When it happens I put her down and we are done nursing. She doesn't like the effect and doesn't do it again for a while. (When she starts getting a new tooth she tends to try it again.)

My little girl got into the habit of biting me for fun... i think for attention. The only thing that has seemed to work to solve the problem is that i give her one warning - if you bite me you will go in your crib and i will leave the room - and then i follow through immediately - i put her down and walk away with as little as possible emotion. Sometimes if she seems like she is going to bite me i warn her and it dissuades her. She hates being left in her crib, but i need to leave for a minute and then go back and pick her up and tell her i can't play with her if she bites me, because it hurts.

For a while i was saying 'OW' loudly and pulling her off, and this just seemed to make things worse - it was like she enjoyed making me respond.

Strangely, she never got into the habit of biting while nursing. But, every single time she has nipped me while nursing i've given her one warning - do that again and we're done - and then followed through immediately, putting her down after i pop her off. That seemed to get the message through for biting while nursing quite early.

i guess it took me longer to figure out how to be as consistent and unemotional in response to the other biting.

Hi M.,

Biting while nursing is very painful, I know. I'm sorry it has brought back some painful memories for you and it's good that your not feeling angry at him, but want to deal with it appropriately.

If he bites when he's fully awake, taking him off the breast for a minute when he does it is good (to help you recover from the bite and to send a brief physical message to your baby that something has gone wrong), however, I wouldn't stop nursing completely as most babies don't do it more than once during a single nursing session and there are ways to avoid it (as I will describe below). Also, to get him to unlatch, you may be tempted to pull him away from you which will make the biting hurt more. Instead, draw him in toward your breast so that his nose is very briefly pressed against you, which will cause him to need to take a breath through his mouth and then release the clench on your nipple.

Secondly, babies often bite down after they've finished nursing and/or while they're asleep at the breast. While I enjoy nursing because it is such a great comfort/sleep tool, if my child is going through a little biting phase, I have to be careful to take them off as soon as I can tell that they are done and not let them suckle for really long periods of time because that is typically when a bite will occur (when they're falling asleep or when they've finished nursing for milk and are just nursing for comfort). I would be proactive about this for a week or two, and then he'll probably be through this phase and not bite as often (or at all). During this time, I would also get a teether that he really likes and try giving it to him cold (but not frozen) to chew on. If he has something to chew on in between nursing sessions, he may not chew on you as much. *Avoiding* biting this way has been more effective for me than trying to teach my infants not to do it. They each have had brief phases of it, and it has always just naturally gone away without any training, really (and I've successfully breastfed 4 children, 3 of them well beyond a year of age; my last two I have nursed until just before they turned 2 yo). Weaning is not necessary and I would definitely not physically punish him or be punitive about handling it; try not to yell at him if you can. It's just a reflex due to teething and they don't have much idea of what they've done. An older toddler has slightly more reasoning ability, so talking to them about it can be more effective than trying to talk to a baby under 18 months of age. Since your 7 month old is not able to reason yet verbally, trying to talk to him about it isn't going to solve the issue. Just knowing that it's a common developmental reaction to teething and then being proactive about finding the right time to take him off the breast before a bite occurs helps a lot.

Also, if you're not in a group already, I highly recommend getting signed up for a La Leche League (breastfeeding support) Group in your area. They have groups all over the world and give so much wonderful information about everything related to nursing and handling/troubleshooting different breastfeeding issues. It's really a great solution for new moms who are experiencing these things for the first time and need informed guidance. I wish I would have joined one with my first baby! It would have saved me a lot of trouble and given me the support I needed at the time.

Enjoy that precious baby of yours and I hope the biting resolves soon!

Blessings,
J.

My son did this too at about the same issue. The first thing is not to yelp - that is a fun and funny reaction for the kiddo! I would immediately take him of the nip and tap fist teeth and tell him no biting, your hurting mommy, making a sad face (Sometimes it was probably an angry face). If he bites again, take him off the nip and tell him no more, he's hurting mommy - again tapping at the teeth and shaking your head. If this turns into a crying baby, it's ok to put him back on the nip with a quick discussion about no more biting mommy. Of course if he bites again that is the end of that nursing round.

Direct, clear action and consequences did the trick. He learned a valuable lesson, and I stopped getting bitten!

Best of luck,
Sarah

With my son I said a firm "No!" and then took the breast away and packed up the meal (so to speak). He cried as he didn't like being told No so firmly and he didn't like me taking away his food and being made to do something else. It took 3 times and he learned that he didn't get what he wanted (to nurse) by doing that and stopped.

Good luck.

First, congratulations on 7 months nursing. Every day is a blessing, but your message shows you already know that. My daughters both did this at about the same age and also seemed to act as if they were playing a game. I know they found joy in "causing" an "effect" in other games we played, like the "pick-up" game. I am sure this was similar.

I would deny them the breast when they would bite, using language I knew they understood. They loved to nurse and this was upsetting to them. They came to understand that the privilege also came with responsibility. With my first this was not as easy because once I let down, stopping midway was not simple.

Good luck! Trust your feelings and instincts.

-M

Not sure if it has been mentioned but try wearing a large, plastic or wooden or other ornamental necklace while you're nursing. It will give him something to grab/play with instead of pinching you.

Hi there.

Sounds like your teether has made a game of it for sure.

I agree with kirsten, simply unlatching your boy, putting him down, and maybe saying "well guess you don't want milk now." If it is teething, possibly redirecting by offering a teething ring might help too.

I would strongly disagree with flicking or otherwise hurting your baby. This runs a risk of creating negative associations for him, as well as teaching him that an appropriate response is to lash out. I'm very sorry to hear his biting is creating negative feelings for you too.

Here is a link to some more tips to handle biting when nursing:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html

Good luck.

first idea, see if you can stop the mommy-yelp part, and just give him the no-fun part of your reaction: remove him and put him down abruptly, and walk away. This was effective for 3 of my four.

I agree with the flick idea, too (I did on the lip) ... sadly(?) ... but it's very instant and if you are subtle they don't know it's mommy, they just know 'I bite, it hurts me' ... and it did move us past the biting stage in a couple of weeks and allow months more of the nursing relationship ... I had one baby who kinda wasn't hardwired on the cause-and-effect thing, so the reaction had to be INSTANT to take effect (through his movement-brain, I assume, because analysis wasn't happenin' for that one--by the time I was starting to remove him from the breast, he had no mental connection to the "bite"). I had another baby who was so analytical at 9 months that they would pause, look up, bite, and watch for the result. I also flicked harder or softer in relation to the bite strength. You have to be in your rational (not emotionally reactive) part of your brain to be fair to the baby in making these sorts of choices, though ... so it might be that you should stick with the put-down version, unless you can find a good therapist and get through your previous trauma pretty darn quickly.

I'm so glad to hear that you are conscious of how your trauma might be affecting this.

May God bless you both,
K.