Attached to Baby

My 10 month-old just got her first tooth and is having way too much fun trying to bite my nipple off.

Does anybody have any tried and true methods for dealing with this? BTW, yelping has not helped-- she actually seems to think it's funny even though I can't help it.

Have you taken her off the breast when she tries to bite you?  I would try and get Brady off the breast when he did that because I didn't want that pattern to continue (OUCH!).  If he would latch on and bite again, I just kept taking him off.  HTH!

Wow congrats on the tooth! late teethers are the best! BUT biting is so painful! yes yelping does not work-- it makes them do it harder, I think! I have tried to say no but that does really work on a baby. The thing that worked for us it so say OW and then put her down or put the breast away. YES that makes them very angry but she will realize fast that if she bites then mama puts the breast away. You could also tell her "no, don't bite mama-- biting hurts" everytime she does bites but try to do it without the scream-- this way she thinks it is not a big deal (yeah right!) and gets bored doing it.

Here is alink to Dr sears http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/t029900.asp

I have tried all these techinques and they all work very well. DS rarely even bites now.

HTH

Thanks for the replies!

I'm doing what you guys suggested and so far so good. It's so hard not to gasp or something, but I'm taking her off and saying "no" and "ow" and telling her it hurts. She keeps watching me with a mischievious twinkle to see what I'm going to do-- it would be cute if it didn't hurt so bad!

I'm off to check that Dr. Sears page...

Thanks again!

Some moms also find it helpful to start putting langsino (I can't spell) lanoline on to protect from the skin cracking. My ds #2 was a big bitter and would actually break the skin. I had to use lanoline for a month or so to get over the bitting.

I am glad the other things are helping.
Beth

Thanks Beth! I've actually looked down expecting to see blood, but she hasn't broken the skin-- yet! I imagine I'm in for trouble when she gets a top tooth in!

I may have been a tad bit eager in saying that the suggestions were working, but after putting her off 2-3 times in a row--she didn't bite again (that session).

Hopefully, she'll catch on quick!

Quinn doesnt have teeth yet (yay) but when Jack would bite, I would say ow and take him off.  Then after a minute or two passed i'd let him latch on again.  If he bit again, I'd take him off and say ow.  Then after like 5 mons I'd let him latch on again.  if he bit a third time (this happened 2x) I took him off and skipped that nursing session.  Now granted he was an only child so I kind of had the luxury of doing willy nilly with him.

My DD also would have a mischievous smile when I exclaimed "ow" after she bit me.  I think, though, there are 3 reasons/occasions when she bites:

1) She seems to bite when she's teething. 
2) If I take her off and she bites again, she's usually finished w/ that nursing session.
3) She's wanting another letdown.  I usually switch breasts then.

She's been biting off and on for a few months now.  I guess I need to check out that link as well.

I was thinking about you as I nursed today. I remembered Anders would bit at the end of the session when he was really done, but maybe still hanging on. So after my let down I would keep my finger really close to his mouth so if I felt my ds going to bite I would get my finger in there really quick to break the suction.

How is it going?
Beth

She hasn't bit me today--yet, so that's a good sign!

She was biting as soon as she would latch on. I could even tell by the look in her eye. I had to take her off several times last night, but hopefully it'll pass.

I'm going to keep a finger close for a while and hopefully she'll learn to not bite before more teeth come in!

emsstacey wrote:

She hasn't bit me today--yet, so that's a good sign! She was biting as soon as she would latch on. I could even tell by the look in her eye. I had to take her off several times last night, but hopefully it'll pass. I'm going to keep a finger close for a while and hopefully she'll learn to not bite before more teeth come in!

Yay!  Glad to hear the good news Mama!  I bet you are feeling a lot better today   I hope things continue to improve for you both.

Ouch....we've dealt with this, too.

Taking the baby from the breast will normally make an impression. As you remove her, you can tell her 'no biting!'. This usually worked well for us. It may take a few days, but she should begin to understand that a bite=snack bar closed. :D

I'd get a nursing necklace if you don't have one....I found also that distraction kept Braeden from biting me (until he broke my necklace....*sigh*). And it also kept his hands from mashing and pinching and twiddling (which drives me MAD!).

Good luck!

Amy

I have gone an entire day with no biting! I'm so excited!

She does pet and twiddle still, but I think that'll be harder to break!

DD is working on a new tooth and she always backslides a bit when teething, she just can't help herself I guess.  It looks like she went and broke the skin on my right nipple yesterday   Still tender today.  I'm guessing the best course is to not do anything different?  (dance like nobody's watching and nurse like it doesn't hurt? LOL)  Advice or commiseration welcome.

Yikes! This is so painful! My dd is also 10 months, but mine got her teeth 6 months ago. Anyway, she  went through a stage of biting too. I did what everyone else recommended and just took her off immediately. The stage was short-lived. Maybe only a few days. If I remember correctly. We haven't had a problem with it since. You might also try some teething gel before nursing too, so that she doesn't have that desire to bite down to relieve the pressure. Good luck! I hope she continues not to do it for you.