Help, Breastfeeding Hurts!

Hugs to you, mama. And way to go for choosing to breastfeed! If nursing on one side is okay, then continue to nurse on that side. Breastfeeding is absolutely the best thing you can do for your child. Keep at it as long as you can.
There is a forum on mothering.com/discussion specifically for breastfeeding challenges. Many of the women there have been through every thing from sore nipples to biting to thrush and any other possible problem you can think of. They will have some great advice and support for you. Also, you can get in touch with a local La Leche League leader.
I think that probably the most important thing that a woman needs when she has difficulty with breastfeeding is support an encouragement. So I want to say again how awesome it is that you have chosen to give your daughter this gift!

My children both began using me as a chew toy; eight teeth by three months for both. It never got any better for me. The blood that went through my bra, nursing pads, and shirt was the beginning of the end for my nursing experiences both times. Weaning is a personal decision for each of us, and when the pain became too much, I moved them forward. For both of my boys, they were fine to wean. It was difficult for me, maybe more than for them. Lanolin helped my nipples at first, so that may help your little angel focus on the job at hand better. I also tried just ending feeding when the chewing began. Sorry I don't have more to offer. I hope you figure out what's best for the two of you. Good luck and congratulations!

I breastfed five children. One thing I learned is that they are all different...so take this advice with a grain of salt.
The amount of time one should nurse a child has 'changed over the years'...or has it?? No, just the "they" of each time period had different opinions.
In biblical times, people nursed their children well into toddlerhood. Long ago in China, "they" nursed until the children were 7!!
60 or 70 years ago, in the states, "they" discouraged nursing, because it was 'unsanitary'....(Oh brother.)
Now, "they" say "one year".
I say? Don't believe everything you hear, as it will soon change. "They" don't usually know what's best for your individual baby. Out my five, I had everything from one who quit at 16 months, and I had to FORCE her (I was exhausted--seh was number 4)...to one who did it all herself at 7 months, and just didn't want it anymore!
If your child is chewing too much, he may just need to be on food and drink. I am not saying continuing to nurse is wrong...But pay attention. Teeth are for food--that's why we get them. To me, once they have a bunch, and have a strong chewing urge, it may be time--it just makes sense to me.
What a good mommy you are for nursing your baby to optimal health, and worrying about when to quit.
Hope this helps.
Blessings,
H.

If nothing else, pump and bottle feed.

Dont let her bite on you. Let her know that it hurts. She is old enough to understand "ouch". Its time to wean when they do that. Or, you could get one of those nipple covers that looks a bit like a bottle nipple and put it over yours for protection if you are determined to go the full year. Treat your own nipples with A and D ointment so that they will heal.
G.

When I first had my son, he had trouble latching on, and at the hospital and the first few weeks I had to use a nipple shield (made by Medela) and it helped A LOT with the pain, so you may want to try one of those so she won't be biting down right into your flesh. I don't know where they sell these, probably Target, I know not Wal-Mart. Or you can try online.

Don' wean! It is a phase. Here are tips that worked for us

Be careful not to reinforce the behaviour. Some moms have yelled and their baby has gone into a nursing strike. Or the baby thought it funny and wanted to continue getting a response.

A few suggestions in the Breastfeeding Answer Book
pull the baby in close so they will release the nipple
giving him a frozen washcloth or other acceptable teething object quickly put the baby on the floor when they bite, after a few seconds of distress after being put down, the baby can then be comforted and should get the message that biting brings negative consequences

The baby associates feelings of comfort and security as well as satisfaction of hunger with his mother. He does not understand that putting his teeth on her nipple causes her pain. Babies do not bite out of meanness. A bab has to learn what to do with new teeth while nursing, and this sometimes learned by trial and error.

Whenever he bites, immediately end the nursing. Take him off, say "ow" (but without too much of a guilt trip), stand up, and move on to the next thing. Don't start nursing again for a few minutes, even if you had just begun. Just nicely do something completely different with him for at least 5 minutes.

Second, if it's getting near the end of a nursing, watch him like a hawk. You'll probably see some signs that he might be getting ready to nip. He might lose interest or his tongue might slip back in his mouth instead of being out at the edge of his lower lip. (He can't really bite if his tongue is where it should be.) If you think he's slowing down, take him off and end the nursing.

I feel for you, those litle first teeth are pretty sharp. Hang in there. It gets better, I promise! Now mine has 16 teeth and hasn't bit me in a year.

And I dont agree with the posts that the baby has gotten all the benefits of breastmilk now. That is not true! There are so many benefits of breastfeeding a toddler
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html

From reading the other responses, it sounds like you have already gotten some pretty good advice. I just wanted to congratulate you on trying to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible! =0)
Good luck with your little biter!

I nursed my DD until she was 22 months... and my doctor told me the first time she bit me to thump her on her cheeck, take her off the breast and say, firmly NO. It worked (thump your cheek... it really does hurt!) She never bit again... and she had all her teeth except 2 by the time she was 10 months. It worked. Not sure since you've let her do it, it'll be hard to stop her now... but I'd give it a shot!

Hi J.! My name is A., and my advise to you would be to pump on the side that hurts but continue to nurse on the other until the other breast is healed. That way you can continue to nurse your daughter until she turns one. If you can wean now without regret do that. There are many studies that show that after about 6 months of age the breast feeding benefit slows some. So there is no need to feel guilt about stopping.

Hi J.,
My first daughter bit me twice and then never again. The first time I was reading a magazine while nursing and actuallly whacked her with it on the head, not hard, but it was completely reflex! I felt so bad, but I think it was the best reaction for her. The second time she bit me, I just made a huge gasping sound and I think that scared her too, so she never did it again. I weaned her at 10 months though because she was getting close to talking and I felt uncomfortable with her asking to nurse.

My son also bit while nursing, but nothing I tried with him seemed to dissuade him. He was weaned around 7 or 8 months mostly because he was unhappy nursing (it was also about that time I discovered I was pregnant again, so I think my milk supply may have been too low for him). So anyway, that took care of the problem.

So, all that to say, I think it is your choice. I really wanted to nurse my son until 12 months, but it ended up fine weaning him early as soon as I came to the decision that it was the best thing. You just need to decide what is best not only for your baby, but for you. You can try to discourage her from biting, but I have heard of babies that will go on nursing strikes if your reaction is too strong to the biting. (Not sure if that is true, but something to keep in mind.) Every baby is different, so you'll just have to try and see what works. I don't think that it is a problem if you decide to wean her. It is your choice, and she has already got the best benefits of breastmilk by this point.

I nursed my son for 2+ years. I did what was already mentioned--remove from breast, say no, wait a few minutes and resume nursing. I also tapped his cheek, not to the point he hurt, but just enough to get his attention.

Contrary to what I've read from others, there is no need to wean just because she has teeth. Babies just have to learn, and they can be taught, that they don't bite Mom.

What I wanted to add though is to help you endure the pain.

To ease pain before and after nursing, and to help heal your nipple/breast, use Lansinoh Lanolin ointment--in the purple tube. It was a lifesaver. The ointment won't hurt your baby, so you can use it whenever you need to. Also, try different positions on the sore side to take the pressure off the area that hurts. You could also use ice to help numb the area a bit before you nurse--it's not the most comfortable idea, but will help with pain until you heal.

I've read some great advice about that issue.

The La Leche League book, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, says to gently but firmly press the baby's face *into* the breast, rather than pulling away, whenever the baby bites or starts to chew (only for a few seconds, of course). The baby will feel uncomfortable because she can't breathe, and she will pull away. If *you* try to pull her away, instead, she'll probably take a mouthful of *you* with her :)

My baby gummed me pretty hard in the beginning, too, and I did this, and for the most part it worked.

The other advice I've heard, for older babies, is to make an exaggerated sad face and say things like "it hurts Mommy."

Good luck!

L.

My son did the same thing when he was around 10 months old. He'd had several teeth for 2-3 months, but for some reason around this time he just started using them while nursing. I decided to begin weaning (it was just to painful). I used the gradual approach to weaning to go easy on him, but before the first week was up he had stopped chewing. If he bit too hard I would just immediately end the nursing sessions, but I think for the most part it was a phase. You might want to wait several days to see if she stops trying out her teeth when she's nursing. If it continues to be painful though, don't feel bad about beginning to wean. 12 months would be great, but 10 months is a wonderful job. Good luck.

OMG, I totally remember the painful nipples once the teeth came in. I experienced this around 10 months also. What I did (I got this advice from my husbands aunt who was a lactation consultant)with my daugther was this....when she would bite I would take her off of the breast and just say a simple no, I would wait about 30 seconds and put her back on and if she did it again I repeated taking her off and saying no. After 2 or 3 times of that she figured out that if I bite I will not get to eat. For the pain I used the Gerber Breast Therapy Gel patches and they seemed to really help me. Once my daugther figured out that I was going to remove her from the breast every time she bit me she learned to not do that anymore (b/c oh how she loved the breast). It was just about a 2 week phase that she went through. I went on to breastfeed until she was 13 months old and she had 8 teeth. Maybe you could just pump for your daugther until 12 months if the pain continues. I hope that I was somewhat helpful. Good luck and way to go for breastfeeding this long!

Glad you are going to try to get through it. I had the same thing happen (bleeding, hurt even when he wasn't nursing, etc) and it took a couple of weeks for my nipple to heal, but it did heal and we're still nursing now...a year later.

If you haven't checked out Jack Newman's All-Purpose Nipple Ointment, look into it. It really helped me to heal. Here's a link to Kellymom.com that talks about it.

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/03b-treatments_sore_nipple...

I would say breastfeeding is beneficial so long as both parties are satisfied with the situation. If your newborn was not able to successfully latch on after many attempts, or refused to nurse at all (as one of my sisters-in-law did), then breastfeeding would not be the right option there, regardless of the many health benefits of breast milk. If you are suffering injuries now while nursing, you risk infection, and infection will hurt greatly too, preventing you from nursing while you heal and possibly drying your milk during that time. I intended to exclusively breastfeed until my son reached his first birthday, but when I returned to school when he was 5 months, I found it increasingly difficult to maintain a milk supply for him. I made it to six months, and then introduced one bottle of formula daily (for when he was at the sitter's). My mother-in-law is a registered nurse and recently-retired nursing instructor, and she says that the greatest benefits come from the first six months of breast feeding, and if you make it that far, you've already done something phenomenal. My son gradually weaned himself from the breast over several months because he preferred to look around and see things while eating. He weaned entirely at 11 months. Personally, I'd say do what feels the best for your situation, regardless of what other people may think is best. Only you know what is best for you and your child. Trust your judgment.

I just went through this same thing! Except my daughter only had one top tooth for about 6 weeks, so the edges and corners of it just tore me up while she was nursing, she wasn't even biting me. It was awful! Since she got her second top tooth in it's balanced out and things are ok again.

But what I did from necessity was try and breastfeed in a different position, so that her teeth were in contact with another part of the breast. I learned to lay on my side in bed and nurse while she sat up in front of me. Just experiment with different angles to give the sore parts a rest so they can heal. It will get better soon!

I have read the other posts and agree with those who encourage you to keep nursing. I am currently nursing my 3rd son who is 25 months. I did want to add, that you could nurse only on the "good" side for a few days. Use lanolin cream and pump on the sore side until it heals. In my experience, this is a phase. A baby who loves the breast will stop biting if you take it away. Good luck and great job!!
D.

Yes, it is quite common for baby to bite mama when they get teeth. Often a sharp ouch, or no biting!....will stop them. I would try to continue to nurse for as long as possible, to prevent disease and keep immune system strong. If you say sharply no! ...then remove the breast, when the biting occurs, she/he will get the message.
B. S. RN CCM, former lactation consultant

I think she may not be getting a proper latch if she's biting and rubbing you that badly. If it's biting then stop the nursing session immediately any time she does it and come back to it in a few minutes. She will not like this. That's okay and really the point. If it's not that and it's too painful, don't feel bad giving it up at this point; you've lasted longer than a lot of moms. Try to stick it out though, because you can't give cow's milk at this point and it would add one more transitional step (formula) to the process of weaning. If your supply is sufficient that you can pump effectively that might be another option for you. Pump and put it in a sippy cup or a bottle while your breasts heal or as part of the transition to cow's milk in a cup.

how long has she been biting, have you tried to pop her mouth(I hate to say that,lol) when she bites? When my son did that I poped his mouth (not hard obvioulsy) a few times and he seemed to get the point that it hurt mama and stopped for the most part or he grew out of it quick. I also took his mouth away from nursing when he bit maybe that helped out. I have nursed 3 children and only had that problem with him so I do know your pain. Or it could be she is tellign you that she is done nursing by screwing around when she should be nursing.

When she bites you, immediately delatch her and say, "NO BITE! HURT MOMMY!" Then don't nurse her again until next time, or at least take a break for a few minutes. Definitely keep nursing her until at least 12 months, though--there's nothing in this world better for a baby than its mother's milk.

i would just pop my daughter off, lay her (gently) on her back on the carpet and say "no bite" and walk away for about a minute. she only bit me a few times. keep on nursing her for as long as you can, even past a year. it is so good for them, and will help hkeep her healthy throughout the winter. congrats on ten months.

I remember this pain well! I extended nursed five kids. What I did was nurse and endure the pain, but when she wasn't nursing I doctored it with some cream (lanolin cream) that my midwife gave me. I also kept a finger handy to thump her cheek, then disconnect her when she started biting! And I told her no, you don't bite mama. She learned not to bite me.

What you do will be up to you - but it is possible to push past the pain.

Hi J., I am an experienced nursing mom and can tell you that when they start biting, they are through feeding. They do not bite you when they are actively nursing. So when that occurs, break the latch, gently but firmly tell them "no biting, all done." Breastfeeding should not cause pain! Sometimes they think it is funny to bite mommy. Learn to recognize when your baby is done and take it away before she has a chance to bite you. Give the one breast a rest until it heals. It should be better in a day or two. Good luck and be proud of your decision to nurse! I am currently nursing our 3rd child, who is 18 months. She was a biter from early on but has learned that we don't bite mommy. I think it used to be her favorite game, but she learned...

Hi J.,

I have done extended nursing (son until 2, daughter 18 months) with my kids. They did bite me a few times. Thankfully I received some good advice and would remove my babies from the breast immediately after they bit and firmly said "ouch", "no". I was also told to lighly tap the cheek which I would also do as well. It just took a few times of this and they learned. In the meantime, use some lanolin cream or some olive oil to soothe your nipples.

Will she take a bottle at all? If she will, I would suggest that you express your milk and place it in a bottle for her. The longer she can keep getting breast milk, the better her immunities will be. Have you tried Masse? It's a cream to help with nipple pain during breastfeeding.