Advice Please?!?! - Harrisburg,SD

all three of my boys did this, and I just gave them a light flick(hard enough to get their attention w/out causing them serious pain) on the mouth, and a deep "NO". That feeding session was also over. (I tried again after about 10 min.) I think not letting them latch right back on really drove the point home that I'm not a teething ring.

THis worked well for me. Only had to do that twice with the first one, and only once with the other two.

Married almost 12 yrs, SAHM 3 boys, 8,5, and almost 4
Usborne Books & more consultant

My kids have all done the same thing. When they bite, say "no" or "no biting" and immediately remove him from the breast. Then have him latch back on and start over. At 6 months, he is not trying to hurt you, he is just trying to figure out how to nurse with a tooth in his mouth. If he seems more interested in biting than nursing, you might offer a teether or a cold wash cloth for him to gum to see if this helps. Sometimes, they bite because their teeth are hurting, and a lot of breastfed babies seem like they need to nurse more when they have teething discomfort. . I found that if my babies were truly hungry, I did not have biting issues until near the feeding Also, if he is latched on properly and actively nursing, he can't bite, so pay attention to how he is latching on.

My son was a major biter, I never stopped the feeding but I did flick him in the cheek and say "no bite". The flick surprises them (it doesn't hurt them--they're cheeks are very strong in order to nurse) and I think its some quality in your voice that they understand (not the actual words). I had to do this 2 or 3 times and then he stopped, maybe again a few months from then if he got a new tooth. Hang in there!

I have been there! Both of my children got their first teeth at 4 months. What I was told, and what I did, is when they bit then kinda "yell" at them- just a little out loud scream. It startels them a little...then you get this little devious smile from them, and then usually they will continue eating and not biting. It takes a couple of times, but it worked for me.

Good Luck!

Hi B.,

My daughter started biting around the time she got her first tooth too. But I was able to get her to stop and continued nursing her until well after her first birthday (when she had 12 teeth!). When she bites you, immediately pull her off the breast. Say "no" firmly, but calmly. Wait 30 seconds or a minute and then let her try again. If she bites again say "no" again and pull her off. Stop nursing and make her wait about a half-hour before you try again. It might take her a day of two, but she'll pretty quickly figure out that she doesn't get to nurse if she bites. And remember she isn't trying to hurt you (she doesn't even know that it hurts you), she's just experimenting with this new tooth and figuring out how it works, so it doesn't do any good to get mad/angry with her. Also sometime it feels good for them to bite when teeth are coming in and their gums are sore -- you might offer her a teething ring before and/or after nursing so she has something appropriate to bite. Good luck! S.

A number of things:

--My first bit starting at 6 months and never stopped. For him, it was a signal he was done, so removing him from the breast was not a punishment. What caused it? He had bottled breastmilk 4x a day at daycare, and he would teethe on the nipples. We got to the point where I pumped more than nursed, which was fine.

--Most kids, I think, accidentally bite when they first get their teeth. My second did, and at 21 months, we're still nursing without biting at all. The trick is to teach them to not do it--show them you are hurt and displeased. My first thought my expression of pain was funny, which was hard. I had to school myself not to react in my usual way to send the message.

--A friend has grabbed the checks of her baby and smooshed them together to discourage biting. She claims it works very well.

--I've also heard advice that suggests you either stop nursing when baby bites or to push baby's face into the breast (obviously, not suffocating your child, but making it more difficult to bite).

--Finally--my second is a very hard sucker, and even when he's not biting, his teeth scrape my nipple. I have teeth marks around my nipple when he nurses hard, which is not all the time. I know he's not biting; biting is a shock and this is more a gnawing. If this is what's happening...well, then let me know if you get advice on it; I've just been putting up with it!!!

When my son was 4 mths, he started cutting teeth and exploring (biting). I pinched his cheek, it took about 1 1/2 weeks, but he stopped. And then it kind of came around again whenever he cut more, but within a few pinches, he got the idea.

I understand it's difficult, but here are some other ideas:
*don't yelp or cry Ouch!, he will figure out that he elicits a response from you and find it funny.
*look at him sternly and say "no bite"
*take him from the breast

Whatever you try, it will take some time, but he will learn that if he bites his food supply, it will be taken away. And don't be concerned with the teeth marks when his top ones come in, there is no way to latch on without making teethmarks.

Good luck!

My daughter had 3 teeth by the time she was 4 months old, and I continued nursing until she was 2 1/2.
The way that I dealt with biting was simply to shriek and over-act the pain. My daughter would look startled. Every time that she bit, I would shriek and pull her away. Within 3-4 times, she never bit me again.

Good luck and keep up the nursing - it's the very best thing you can do for your son!

One thing to know is if he is biting he is not sucking. It is physically impossible to do both, so when he is biting he isn't actually eating anymore. What I did was to take them off the breast, and firmly say "no biting." Then, you can give it another try. If he bites again, he probably isn't hungry and I would end that nursing session. If the problem continues, you can give him a gentle flick on the cheek or chin when you say, "no biting." The point is not to hurt, but to startle. Hope this helps!

I said "no biting" and took my son off the nipple. He then got a "time out" - turned him around on my lap for 10 to 30 seconds and then tried again. Took 4-5 times and the biting was done for the first tooth/teething period. It happened again with the next set of teeth and the learning curve was quicker.

Good luck! It isn't easy facing those teeth, but he'll learn.

what worked for me was immediatly ending the feeding, and no matter how hard it hurt, just pretty much blowing it off.
that way its quick to connect the bite with an end to the feeding.

be less afraid of baby not nursing enough at this point. you have to give baby the idea that a bite = end of feeding. they usually dont bite unless they are almost full anyway, they dont play around when they are really hungry.

:D try it. hope it works for you.

Congrads on being a new Mom.

Here is what I did:

When my sons breastfed, one of them decided it was fun to bite me or "teeth" on me. I would break the suction with my pinkey finger take him off of my breast for a few seconds. This seemed to teach him that he needed to be gentle while breastfeeding. A friend of mine had no luck with anything she tried and decided to switch to a bottle, pumping her milk and feeding her baby with a bottle. Best wishes regardless of what you decide to do. Try not to lose hope.

Good luck to you and yours.

Hugz

Right away look directly into his eyes and sternly say "NO BITE." This will hopefully shock him to realize it's not cool. If you have to take him off for a second, this may get the idea accross as well. He may also bite when he's done with that breast, so notice that as well and move him to the other but always tell him no bite.

I didn't make it to that point but what I have read in many books is to stop the feeding, take him off and say "no biting", wait a minute or two and then try again, and keep doing that over and over as long as he continues to bite. I know my sister would stop the feeding and set her daughter down and walk a few feet away. Even though they are so young they do catch on eventually