Baby biting when breast feeding

becky_sleaf

My little girl has got her bottom two teeth just coming through & she is now starting to bite me when I breast feed her. :eek:

I've told her no very firmly & taken her off when she does this but she's still doing it.

It's awful as she's only six & a half months & she really gets upset when I tell her off. Her little lip wobbles & then she really screams...Talk about feel guilty!

But there's no way I want this to carry on! Any ideas!?

Thanks,
Becky

BernadetteN

This is really common and I've had 3 out of 4 biters. I just got ready with my fingers to make a quick exit, just reapeated it constantly and the problem never lasted very long. Not really much help I know but I'm sure there will be others with a bit omre advice.

pandora205

I think you are doing brilliantly - keep it up!

I breast fed mine for ages (until nearly 2) and 'got through' this problem just the way you are doing. The only advice I have to add is that after you have said a sharp no to look away, as eye contact is very reinforcing. Then a smile and 'that's better' when sensible feeding resumes.

Try not to be too upset if your baby cries - Children do when they're told off. It doesn't mean you are getting it wrong.

onlyroz

A biting baby caused me to stop breastfeeding at 7 months, I'm afraid. When he had the bottom teeth it was OK - it was when the top ones came through that it really started to hurt.

The advice I was given was to put the baby down on the floor if they bite you - and then they'll hopefully get the message that it's not acceptable to bite and if they carry on then they won't be getting any food.

My advice would be to persevere for a bit longer, and to try the suggestions here - but if you do have to stop then don't beat yourself up about it.

Have you tried pumping? That might work for you, but the pumps can often aggravate the nipples, and it's quite hard work.

Another "trick" I found was that if I wore one of those nipple cup thingies over one breast then I'd often produce quite a lot of milk out of it while feeding from the other. Over the course of the day I'd manage to produce about a bottle's worth of milk, and as long as the bottle + nipple cup were sterile then I saw no problems with feeding the milk to the baby.

Alleycat

When dd had just her bottom teeth through and bit, I used to do what another poster has suggested and use my finger to release her from the nipple. When she got her top teeth and was a bit older, I would gently hold her nose as I found that the finger removal of nipple wasn't working. She used to get cross because she couldn't breath and suckle and so realised that it was in her interest not to bite!!

Just wish she would now realise that when I tell her off or punish her with teh naughty corner etc that it would really be better if she just got on and did what I wanted her to do!!

alwaysonthego_2

Perserverance is the key! Just take your boob away from her and then look away and then give it back. It is natural for a baby with new teeth to bite but they get use to not doing it. I have been BF both my girls until they were 2.5 yrs old. Good luck!

tsstss7

My little boy has started doing this to in the last month too. I just take him off as it usually only happens when he has had enough milk and is starting to get fidgety (but still wanting to suck for some reason). The bites have got less so I guess he must be getting the message! ;0)

hayleyc_2

I have a 9 month old and we've been through this too. I found that he only tends to do it when he's not really that hungry. I also found that he only really did it just after teething, perhaps before he was really used to having teeth and just testing them out. Now he's 9 months and has 4 teeth he hasn't bittten me for quite a while. If he bites then that's the end of the feed. He's only really hurt a few times in which case I have put him down straight away and said no. Not sure how much effect this had as he just laughed!

starbump

hayleyc wrote: »

I have a 9 month old and we've been through this too. I found that he only tends to do it when he's not really that hungry. I also found that he only really did it just after teething, perhaps before he was really used to having teeth and just testing them out. Now he's 9 months and has 4 teeth he hasn't bittten me for quite a while. If he bites then that's the end of the feed. He's only really hurt a few times in which case I have put him down straight away and said no. Not sure how much effect this had as he just laughed!

My baby is 12 months and was similar. She did try biting when her teeth first started coming through. She always knew it was naughty and smiled. However, she only did it a handful of times - I always told her "no" and "naughty", took her off and made sure I only fed her when she was hungry (stopped the "comfort feeds" for a while till she caught on). Can't remember how long it took but it wasn't that long. We are long since back to feeding whenever, including short comfort nibbles, etc.

Ishtar

I was bitten by DD only twice during the year that I fed her....both times I'm afraid I instinctively pulled her towards me, pushing her face into my breast and consequently preventing her from feeding . I reinforced this with a firm 'no'.

I guess this must have worked as she only did it twice!! (Not suggesting it's the right way...but it worked for me!)

D.

Gingham_Ribbon

Make sure you're using whatever pain relief is appropriate for her, have your finger ready to slide into her mouth as soon as she does it and then stop for a minute. And make sure she's not asking for milk when really what she wants is something to chew. Both mine did it and to be honest, I have a 17 month old who's teething and still wants milk to ease the discomfort. (Only we have a once a day rule now so he's chewing his fingers instead!)