Need some encouragement (BF and teeth!)

march2008

I'm having a heck of a time BFing DD with her new front teeth. She's bitten me a couple of times, but mainly it feels like her teeth are rubbing my skin raw. It's a little better if I change positions up, but I'm really discouraged and wondering how long until it's going to get better.

I had a very hard time BFing DD for the first 6 weeks or so. I had cracked, bleeding nipples less than 24 hours after she was born and severe engorgement several days after she was born and she wasn't able to latch at all. I had a fantastic LC who helped me resolve all of that and then I've had all of these months of pain-free nursing, which has been awesome. I really want to make this work. I don't want to give up by any means. I think I just need some encouragement from anyone who can spare any for me. Thank you!

MrsCodeMonkey

I got bitten 3 times today, so I feel for you. My dad said that I should switch to bottles if she keeps it up. I don't plan on giving up this easily. I take her off right away and say no biting. I try to look serious, but half the time she laughs, so perhaps my stern tone is not coming across. I have also noticed that she does it when she's hyper, so I try to calm her down first in a quiet dim room and try again. Good luck! They're bound to figure out we're not teethers. 

jcsumm0

Definitely keep changing positions until you find a good one.  I found that DD's teeth bothered me for a while when they first came in, but eventually it worked itself out.  In The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, it says if they get a chipped tooth, you can file it with an emery board, so if you think her teeth are especially sharp, you could try filing them, I guess.

You are probably already doing this, but for soreness I always express some milk on my nips after a feeding, let them air dry, then apply lanolin.  And I would sleep topless to give them air all night long.  If they are raw you can even put neosporin or polysporin on.

Like I said, DD's top teeth made me mildly sore for a week or so but then it got better.  You are doing a great job and this too will pass!!

kas80

If LO bites, take them off say no/ouch and end the nursing session.  It worked very rapidly for Caroline doing that.  I think I saw the tip on the LLL forums.

For rubbing/raw ness you can do a lot of the same things you did for cracked nipples.  Air dry/put breastmilk on it/saltwater soak/etc.  If you notice any open wounds put neosporin on to try to avoid infection.

It gets better- I promise :-) They adjust with the new foreign objects in their mouth and your nipples will toughen up a bit.

nirern626

I had a similar problem with Rylee.  While she was adjusting to her bottom teeth, she was rubbing me raw with them, and started biting.  She did seem to think the biting was funny, and only did it when she wasn't really nursing so much as playing, or when she was sleepy and got lazy.  When she bit me while playing, I would unlatch her, set her away from me and say, "no" in a firm voice.  Then I would cover up, and that seemed pretty serious to her lol.  It only took a few times of that for her to stop.  It still happens occasionally, but it's pretty rare.

As for the raw/sensitive feeling, that didn't take long.  I want to say, maybe a week, then she corrected her latch.  Now, I can actually see her tongue covering her bottom teeth while she nurses.  She doesn't have top teeth yet, so I'm nervous, but we will see.  

You're doing a great job!  This too shall pass lol. 

rattlecanqueen

kas80:

If LO bites, take them off say no/ouch and end the nursing session.  It worked very rapidly for Caroline doing that.  I think I saw the tip on the LLL forums.

For rubbing/raw ness you can do a lot of the same things you did for cracked nipples.  Air dry/put breastmilk on it/saltwater soak/etc.  If you notice any open wounds put neosporin on to try to avoid infection.

It gets better- I promise :-) They adjust with the new foreign objects in their mouth and your nipples will toughen up a bit.

This!  S drew blood/sliced one, and it was awful for about a week.  When he clamped down, I was in such shock/pain I reflexively swatted his hip (not hard, more like patting him repeatedly and sucking the breath back in he knocked outta me.).  He started laughing like we we're playing.  I took him off and looked him in the eyes and very sternly and said "No, you may not bite me."  He got teary eyed and went back to nursing.  Anytime he would even get a little chompy, I take him off.  Knock on wood it hasn't happened in a few weeks.  HTH! 

march2008

It's way more than mildly sore, so I'm wondering if her latch is now all messed up. Her bottom teeth don't bother me. Her tongue covers them. It feels like her top teeth are literally shaving my skin off. It makes my toes curl. I wonder if seeing a LC again would help. 

Birdies08

march2008:

It's way more than mildly sore, so I'm wondering if her latch is now all messed up. Her bottom teeth don't bother me. Her tongue covers them. It feels like her top teeth are literally shaving my skin off. It makes my toes curl. I wonder if seeing a LC again would help. 

I bet it would! I'm sure they have good advice.

My LO doesn't have any teeth yet, but she has gummed me a few times. Ouch! What's worked for me (I think I read it on Kelly Mom) was to push my breast further in her mouth, forcing her to pull off.

March, I know that doesn't help your problem, but I thought I'd throw it into the biting discussion. Good luck with the LC  

kas80

march2008:

It's way more than mildly sore, so I'm wondering if her latch is now all messed up. Her bottom teeth don't bother me. Her tongue covers them. It feels like her top teeth are literally shaving my skin off. It makes my toes curl. I wonder if seeing a LC again would help. 

Ouch!  You could try what I did with Caroline when her latch got all screwy due to her first teeth coming in.  Go back to the glider, with support pillow and reteach your LO how to latch.  Don't let them on until they open wide,  immediately pull out their lips so they are fully flanged, etc.  We also went back to the LC. 

LexGator

DD is getting four top teeth in right now, and it has led to pretty regular biting. I tense up when she is going to latch on. The same thing happened when the bottom teeth came in, but then she adjusted to having teeth, and it stopped. So, I'm hoping for the same this time around. I don't have any physical side effects (cracking, bleeding), but it hurts.

I bet a LC could help! 

march2008

I think her latch might be too shallow now b/c I have little red marks right around the base of the nipples from where I *think* her teeth are clamping down on me. I have no idea how to fix it. She opens her mouth really wide before I let her latch on, but maybe she's adjusting her latch after that?? I don't know. I left a voice mail with my old LC this morning to see if she can offer me any advice.