Judy, do you have any tips for biting? My baby keeps biting me when we nurse. She even laughs when I scold her.
It can be difficult when your baby bites you while you are nursing. The best thing to do is to take her off of your breast immediately and tell her in a stern voice “That hurts mommy” or “No biting” or something similar. Then wait one or two minutes before letting her nurse again. If she bites again, take her off the breast and repeat. You can even lengthen the amount of time that you keep her off. Your baby will quickly learn that nursing is not the time for biting and she will stop. Even though she may be too young to understand the words you are using, she will understand the tone of your voice and your body language and she will quickly learn that when she bites, she doesn’t get to nurse! Please write in and let us know how it goes!
Has your baby bitten you while nursing? What did you do? Please share your advice and tips with our readers!
My dd only ever bit me a couple of times. She learned really quickly just by me scolding her. My ds on the other hand bites me constantly. The poor little guy got a little smack in the middle of the night when he bit me and woke me out of a dead sleep. It was just a gut response but I felt terrible for doing it. I’ve gotten to the point that I just take him off and put him down when he does it. I know he is teething right now. He’s been working on his upper front teeth for weeks so I blame that. Luckily he has never drawn blood but my dd did the first time she bit me. I wish I had better advice but what Judy said usually will work unless you have a stubborn one like mine.
Amy
I have to strongly disagree about scolding.As with all unwanted child behaviour, saying or doing nothing is better.I’m a mother of 3 children of whom I breastfed.My first experience of biting with DS put me off greatly, I would tell him off and shout and he would cry and bite again.It was one of the reasons we gave up 2 weeks after this happened at 10 and a half months.It wasn’t until I has DD1 when I trained as a breastfeeding peer supporter.We did a whole session on older babies and nursing habits.I learned that babies find breastfeeding very hard work and when they are teething the very action of breastfeeding can cause sore gum’s.When I think back it was when he had a lot of teeth coming through.When DD1 starting biting I did as was recommended and that was not to flinch,scream or react.Just take the baby off and put her down.Give her some pain relief, read her a story or play with her.If she wants to nurse, let her.If she does it again, put her down and leave her again.I used to point to my teeth when she bite me and put on teething gel on to her sore gum’s before trying to nurse again.It worked and DD2 has learned to point to my teeth when she is in pain whilst feeding.
Aly Hodge’s last blog post..Choclate Butter Biscuits
Thanks for your reply Aly. I agree that screaming or flinching is not good when getting bitten. I usually recommend using a firm voice to say “that hurts mommy” or something like that – but if you have had success without using any words – that is great too. I am eager to find what works for different moms. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. — Judy
I have had problems with this and being firm has helped. My girl responds to eye contact more than words though! I swear she can see in my eyes that she has hurt me. I also pay close attention when I’m feeding because she tends to bite at the end. By being attentive I can slip my nipple out of her mouth before she bites me and we are both happy! I’m not a fan of teething gels because I’ve heard some babies swallow the gel and it can numb the back of their throat, causing them to choke. I have had success with the natural teething tablets I found at whole foods.
I use to use cooking vanilla..My children only did this once or twice…Trust me it works..My first and last child got their first tooth at 4 months…They tried to use me as a teether, but I used a dab of cooking vanilla..This did not stop them from nursing..Just caught them off guard. I had no problems out of my middle when he go his first tooth at 8 months..It works..:-) Thanks for letting me share this..Erica
I use homeopathic granules during the day, teething gel only needs a tiny amount put on the finger to soothe the gum.I only use this when her cheeks are red as this is mostly likely time that she’ll bite.I think if it was a hazard it wouldn’t be sold, certainly here in the U.K. Here we have such tight laws when it comes to children’s medicine.I guess it’s what works for you.
Aly Hodge’s last blog post..Choclate Butter Biscuits
What a great post. Considering the way I’ve felt lately, I really needed this. It’s so reassuring to know that I’m not alone and really appreciate everyone’s comments and suggestions. Thanks so much for pointing me to this post.
Kristi, Live and Love…Out Loud
@TweetingMama
.-= Kristi´s last blog ..From Breastfeeding Bliss To Breastfeeding Bitterness =-.