If you EBF and your LO has teeth
wonkatalia
member
How do you do it???? Megan got her bottom two front teeth about two weeks ago and since then the biting has become BRUTAL! I can't handle it. One day she bit me and turned her head away at the same time. I freaked! She gets pumped milk during the day while I'm at work so I've just switched to pumping during the day on the weekends too. I hate pumping and would love to keep nursing her but I don't know what to do about the biting!
And I think telling her "No" when she bites is making her not want to nurse at all! Last night, she would suck for a minute, then start biting and after she did that a few times and I told her "no" each time, she would look like she was about to latch, then just cry! It broke my heart! I think she thinks I'm saying "No, don't nurse". Help!
Re: If you EBF and your LO has teeth
I tried "no" along with stopping nursing and putting DD in her crib for a few minutes, we nursed in her room. It did not help. DD had the same reaction that your DD had she would cry and then not want to nurse.
Unfortunately nothing I did worked for us, I ended up pumping bottles for her which in the end resulted in me not producing enough milk for her and now I am nearly dried up along with a few other things such as being on antibiotics that I had to pump and dump with.
I made it until just about 2 weeks ago without ever having to give formula, now formula is all she gets. I would definitely like to hear what others have to say because I would like to prevent this with future children.
DD has her two bottom front teeth, and she had been biting on and off for a couple of weeks, but it did get bad on Tuesday. She was biting 30 seconds into every nursing session, so I felt horrible telling her no and ending the feeding since she had barely eaten anything. I spent Wednesday pumping for her because I was so frustrated and she had drawn blood Tuesday. But she didn't seem to want the bottle either most times, so we figured she was having teething pain and didn't want to suck on anything. Maybe her biting was a pain response...
Wednesday night after some Tylenol and into Thursday (no meds) she did fine. I am not sure what we did that worked...if it was just the teething pain subsided or she finally understood what "no biting" meant.
At my LC's suggestion, I told her "no biting" when she bit (and am using the same phrase when she bites my fingers) and then put her down across the room for a few minutes. And I didn't try again until I was really sure she was hungry.
When I posted this question on the BF board someone posted this link: https://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html
It looks really helpful, but by the time I saw it, the problem had pretty much resolved itself.
I know it is frustrating and painful. I hope something here helps.
Big brother and sister are excited to meet the new baby! It's a GIRL!
~ G ~ 10/2008
~ E ~ 7/2010
Charlotte Ella 07.16.10
Emmeline Grace 03.27.13
My DS got his first bottom tooth two weeks ago and his second bottom tooth a week ago. He has bitten me once everyday since his teeth came in. When he bites it is at the end of his feeding, after about 10-15 minutes of feeding. I say ouch and stop feeding. I'm nervous for when his top teeth come in too. They will really hurt.
There is nothing worse than getting bit by your LO. Those little gums itch, they are inflamed and swollen and we all know they hurt at times and for babies, sometimes the only relief is to chomp down on something. And that something tends to be our nipple(s). It hurts like hell! I posed this question to a friend of mine who EBF both of her children until age one and she said to give a stern "no biting mommy". At the same time, unlatch your LO from the breast. Yes they are going to fuss and yes they are going to give you a look of bewilderment with those bright eyes, but ladies, it worked. Even if they get mad and refuse to latch, they will get over it and finish nursing. They're hungry! My JC cut teeth at 4 mos old - 2 teeth at the same time. Then by the time he was 7 mos he had 4 teeth. One day he bit me so hard I thought my nipple would fall off! I was practically in tears and swore he would never nurse again. I was sore for days afterwards! But amazingly, just like with sipping through a straw, they figure it out and stop biting. I nursed JC until 1 - he has 8 teeth. Risky, I know! He would nurse, unlatch, babble to me...smile up at me while nursing....laugh while nursing and relatch. It was comical to see!
So do not give up and keep nursing. Pumping is great, I did it everyday on my lunch break but I read somewhere that they should latch at often as possible because your breast milk changes to meet their needs and they get older. And it truly does keep your supply up.