Talk to me (more) about biting while nursing please

jilicious

I'm trying, I really am. This morning I tried keeping quiet when she bit, but she just kept biting harder and harder each time. Then I tried diverting by giving her a teether to bite. She'd do it but then push it away and want to nurse.... where she'd bite down again after a few moments. I continued with the teether until it made her so mad she started crying and refusing the breast altogether. So I switched sides and after a few hard nips she continued without biting.

Is this typical? I keep reading that not making a commotion about it will make her stop but it didn't, it made it worse. I tried diverting but that made her mad. How long does this biting stage last?

She has had her two teeth for months, since October so it's not like she's trying out her new chompers. And quite frankly if it's due to teething pain, and then her new teeth come in, is she going to want to test those puppies out on me too?? AAAH.

I just do not know what to do. 

AbJams

DD bit me 3 times. Once hard enough to break the skin. Each time she did it, I yelped and pulled her off because it was just my reflexive reaction. Honestly, I think my yelping scared her so much she stopped doing it.

anabell0920

You need to unlatch her and tell her firmly " biting hurts mommy" and then let her try again. If she does it again unlatch tell her again and put her down. She will learn that biting means she doesn't get to nurse. So only try again after a few minutes like 15-30.

missjade21

If the staying calm isn't working, I would try the other way. When DD bit me (granted, not like what you're talking) I jumped and yelped instinctively. When she did it again, I said "that hurts mama" and latched her back on. When she did it again, I said "that hurts mama" and put her on the floor to play. She's never done it again. But I'm not sure if this will work for you because it sounds like your DD is way more interested in biting than mine is. Sorry

CMMC23

anabell0920:

You need to unlatch her and tell her firmly " biting hurts mommy" and then let her try again. If she does it again unlatch tell her again and put her down. She will learn that biting means she doesn't get to nurse. So only try again after a few minutes like 15-30.

This is exactly what we did! He got one warning and then it was off the breast for 15 minutes or so. For a correct latch Lo's bottom teeth should be covered by their tongue anyway. So we went with the theory that if he is biting he wasn't intent on eating. He thought it was a game the first couple says and would actually smile after biting. It took maybe a week at most and it's been smooth sailing since.

jilicious

CMMC23:

anabell0920:

You need to unlatch her and tell her firmly " biting hurts mommy" and then let her try again. If she does it again unlatch tell her again and put her down. She will learn that biting means she doesn't get to nurse. So only try again after a few minutes like 15-30.

This is exactly what we did! He got one warning and then it was off the breast for 15 minutes or so. For a correct latch Lo's bottom teeth should be covered by their tongue anyway. So we went with the theory that if he is biting he wasn't intent on eating. He thought it was a game the first couple says and would actually smile after biting. It took maybe a week at most and it's been smooth sailing since.

But what if she keeps doing it? Like, just keep setting her down for 15 minutes? This could take all afternoon! 

PrimReaper

DD will still nip once in a while and I always yelp and pull her back.  If she does it twice in one nursing session, it's over.  I figure, if she's biting, she's not interested in nursing.  She knows how to nurse and if she's not doing that, then she's probably not interested.

jilicious

She hasn't had BM in five hours. She ate solids at 12:30pm and it's now 4:30pm. I tried to nurse her at 3pm and she was very halfhearted about it, and then bit me so I pulled her off and gave it ten minutes. She bit me again so we all went for a walk. I just tried now and she drew blood. I just don't know what to do because five hours is a long time.

I think I'm done. Now for a post about how to wean. 

dodgerfantobe

I'm sorry you're still struggling with the biting. It may be a good idea to wait until she is good and hungry (my DD can go quite a while without BF, in fact she rarely cries/asks to nurse anymore), maybe she will bite less if she really wants to eat.  I definitely got bruised, red and had a little blood a couple times. I guess I was too chicken to stop, and she was much younger, 8 months old or so. I definitely didn't want to be anxious about feeding her, didn't want it to be a battle every time. If it continued to be so, I probably would have gotten more serious about stopping. It's too hard to dread feeding your child.

 Good luck, and whatever you do, you will make it the best for both of you.

missjade21

Five hours seems like a long time, but once I had to go to the ER and didn't want to bring DD with me and she didn't eat for 7. DH said she was barely fussy. This was about a month ago maybe? Generally she's still nursing about 5 times a day so it was really strange to me that she went that long without a problem. Maybe cut back to just a couple sessions a day and see how she does? Then she's still getting breastmilk but you're not getting bit. Of course, do what you think is best for both of you and I admire you for continuing like you have... I'm not sure I would have put up with that much biting. GL!

anabell0920

Dylan has gone longer than 5 hours during the day and think about the babies that sttn. Honestly it sounds like a nursing strike and she might bs biting because she's refusing to nurse. Is she biting at the end of a session or the beginning? My friend went through a nursing strike and her LO would bite also. https://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.html

jilicious

anabell0920:

Dylan has gone longer than 5 hours during the day and think about the babies that sttn. Honestly it sounds like a nursing strike and she might bs biting because she's refusing to nurse. Is she biting at the end of a session or the beginning? My friend went through a nursing strike and her LO would bite also. https://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.html

She bites throughout the nursing session. She'll, on good sessions, have a nice long middle with no bites but there are bites in the beginning, bites in the middle throughout, and bites and the end that make me stop the session altogether.

I pulled her off after the blood came and then pumped. It's bottles of BM for the next month, then cow's milk. I've made up my mind. I can't do this anymore. I don't want to dread nursing. I have only three full days a week with her and I don't want them ruined with anxiety and tears (on both our parts). 

I know it could be a nursing strike but she's nursed for shorter and shorter durations over the past few weeks (like 20 minutes down to 10 at the best), and the biting has increased whereas the desire to actually nurse has decreased. So I'm going with my gut and we're weaning from the boob, and in a month from BM altogether.

bakedlaurabean

Maybe she really is just done? Go with Your gut, mama. After responding to your other post, DS has now started biting again. I hope he stops or we might be weaning a few weeks early too!