Biting Baby

Getting the reaction- any reaction is something my sons loved! When they did bite I would take them off the breast and look cross. Sometimes I would put them down ( to go off and rub ) Then I would come back all smiles and try again. Everytime he would bite I would take him off and stop feeding. My son was too greedy (just kidding) to have his supply stop so he stopped biting after a few days. My second son did it once and then never again. Different temperaments. there are all sorts of reasons they bite- for me, mine were just playing and trying out their new teeth although gummy teeth hurt just as much I found.

Hello,

My daughter started getting teeth at three months and continued up to now (13 months) steadily. I still breastfeed for going down to nap and she has 12 top and 12 bottom (24 total !)

Here is my trick, and this totally works if you are consistant.
When she bites you flick her on the cheeck. Then take her off the breast and wait for several minutes before letting her back on (3-5 min. young babies, if not getting her attention enough wait longer, I had to go 10 min.) By flick I mean thumb and middle finger, let the middle finger flick her. I know it seams cruel, but it's not, and is a really good alternative for detering all kinds of unwanted behaviors down the road, instead of smacking or spanking. It gets the attention but really does not hurt much and lets them know you are serious.

Give this a try consistantly for at least a week, I think after one week at most the biting will be gone for good. She won't want to give up the breastfeeding, so if your not getting results just increase the wait time before letting her latch on again.

Good luck and don't give up, hang in there!

M.

My daughter got her teeth really early and I had the same problem. I had a lot of people tell me to flick her on the forehead. At first I wasnt sure about doing it but I started and I didnt flick her very hard, it was more just a wake up for them to release. I did it for a few times and she stopped biting me. Hope that helps! Good luck to you.

Hi C.,

My son started doing the same thing once he had teeth. It is so incredibly painful isn't it? I found that yelling also only encouraged him more. What finally worked for us was to pull him into the breast immediately after he bit down. Pulling him in tightly forced him to let up. Then, I would gently and in a serious, calm voice say "no biting" and a the same time remove him from the breast for 1-2 minutes. This would cause him to cry, and in two or three tries taught him that if he bit, he didn't get to nurse....and he stopped bitting! In fact has not bit since! He's now 12 months and that was 8 months ago! I hope this technique works for you too! Good luck!
Best,
O.

I have a friend who's doctor had her use a breast shield while nursing. It worked very well for her.

All three of mine did this too. I think it is a new feel for them and that their teeth hurt so they bite. I used to just detach them and put them down. then pick them back up a few mins later and finish the feeding session. ((Hugs))

I have read (and I think La Leche League recommends this as well) that when a nursing baby bites you should pull them close to the breast, in effect making it so they can't breathe, and then releasing them. That way they won't associate the biting with scary or interesting noises from mom but more as a hinderance to their being able to nurse. Llli.org or kellysmom.com may have other suggestions as well. Good luck!

Hi,
If she bites you again (although you may scream) just recover yourself quickly, and calmly remove her from your breast and end that feeding session. You want her to know that if she bites, that's it for that time. Wait at least a few minutes, or get her attention on something else for a while before going back to nursing. It usually is short lived and well worth it to try to get through it. If you need some expert advice, call the local la leche league at ###-###-####. Good Luck, M.

With both of my boys, when they bit me while feeding, I flicked their mouth so that it scared them and then continued to feed. It took one son, 2 times to get the message and 3x for the other son. Good luck--don't let this be the reason to stop giving your baby the best nourishment. Breastfeeding is conveinent, not easy..but very worth it!!

Biting can be very upsetting and painful, as you have learned. You are not alone--many babies start to show this kind of behavior between 6 and 12 months, possibly due to teething tension. I commend you for being commited to breastfeeding despite the challenge; it is definitely in the best interests of your baby. I am a La Leche League Leader, so I would like to share a few ideas that may help. First, for immediate relief, if your baby bites and holds on, press her head in close to your breast. She will release naturally in order to breathe. You were startled of course and cried out in pain; you will want to remove her from the breast when this happens, and possibly say "no!" and end your nursing session. My experiences with biting tended to happen late in the nursing session, when baby was no longer extremely hungry; instead she may have been a little bored and ready to play. Because of this, when biting was a problem for us, I watched my baby carefully during the nursing, and when she began to show signs of winding down, I would get ready to end the session or switch breasts for an additional let-down. My children did work through the biting behavior fairly soon and nursed for a some time after its passing--take heart! If you would like to dialogue further on this, feel free to write me directly.
Best wishes,
K. Etcheverria, mother of 2, LLL Leader, wife, and librarian
____@____.com

C. ~

I don't blame you for preferring to breastfeed without pain! This is a hard one. What I started doing in this situation was pushing down - gently, of course - on his/her bottom gums, or teeth as the case may be, looking straight into his/her eyes, and firmly saying "no biting". Then when they latch on I grinned at him/her as reassurance that I wasn't angry. I had to do this only once with my son, and maybe three times with my daughter, and I nursed them right on through the first year. It's a good way to get the point across without causing any physical or emotional damage.

The best of nursing success to you!

~ R.

I am blown away by some of these responses from LLL telling to shove them into the breast until they cannot breathe! Maybe it works but it sounds horrible! With both my kids I gently tapped them on the nose, they quickly refocused and started nursing again. A 8 month old does not know what "no" means and I think anything associating nursing with a negative is not good for the baby. A gentle tap on the nose is just refocusing them, doesn't hurt them in any way or scare them, or get them to the point they cannot breathe. Granted the LLL have their experts, but I just think that sounds awful! If she continues and she probably will the more teeth she gets because of teething, try natural teething tablets before nursing so she isn't using you for a teething ring. If she is using you for that and not nursing really then it is probably time to consider pumping or formula and give her a bottle. GOOD LUCK! HUGS!

C.,
Sound cruel but tweek her on the cheek. I nursed 6 and they all bit me. If she feels alittle pain she will stop. It worked everytime and all my kids are A students.
C. B

Hey C.,

You could try pulling her closer when she bites. I know it is the opposite of what you would want to do. It helped some with my daughter. Also you could check out the La Leche League website for other help or info. Good Luck.

C.,

The biting thing is usually VERY short lived as they figure out how to nurse with those new teeth in their mouth. With both of my kids, when they bit, I would stop the nursing session, put them down and walk away for a few minutes. That stopped it really quickly because they learned biting = not nursing. Good luck!

T.

An excellent trick from a LLL leader that worked like a charm for us - whenever she starts to bite, quickly pull her in to your breast until she can't breath and she has no choice but to let go. A few times of that and she won't do it much more. Once mine did it, though, I never knew when she might try it again so I always had to be on-guard ready to pull her in.

My son did the same thing and what I did was that I would stop feeding him and gently tap his lips and tell him no. If he would do it again then I would just stop feeding him all together and lay him down. That worked and when he would try to bite me again he would stop and just keep on sucking away without biting me cause he remembered that I would stop. She will get to a point where she won't bite down on you. I know it hurts at first but don't stop because she has two teeth.
*hugs*

My son did the same thing. He was 5 months old when his first teeth came in.
Take your daughter off your breast when she does that and tell her NO in a stern(not angry) voice. She'll learn really fast that this biting thing gets bad results. Her gums are sore right now so a cold teather would help.
FYI: I happily and pain free nursed for a year!
Best of luck!!!