ouch!! And Ouch again!

[Amy&Daniel]

Hi

This morning, Daniel bit me. Hard. With his two little teeth. On my nipple. It hurt, and there was blood!! Admittedly, not a lot, maybe one drop. But I then had a tooth shaped mark on my nipple!!

He started biting me a few weeks ago when he didn't have teeth. It didn't hurt as much. Still unpleasant though. So I've tried a number of strategies to stop him:

1. Shout at him (it is difficult to do anything else).

2. Tap him (not hard). I didn't really mean to do that, it just happened - if someone bites your nipple, your first reaction is to hit them back!! Didn't seem to bother Daniel.

3. Flick his ear - as suggested by another mum. It made him cry. Not ideal.

4. calmly (well, ish) put him down on the floor and walk away for 2 mins. He thought that was great as it meant he could play. (This was what the health visitor suggested).

5. Only feed him when he is starving. He tends not to mess about when he's really hungry.

None of these are really working. I have been getting more and more nervous about feeding him and after this morning, I feel like giving up breastfeeding all together, which seems a shame.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to stop him doing it?

Thanks

Amy

[Kirsty&Felix]

I've had the same problem. Felix started to bite me really hard too with the two bottom teeth. I tried ignoring it hoping he would stop. One day he bit me so hard I shouted no at him. I'm not proud of it and felt really bad after. However he didn't bite me again until the top two started coming. Now the top two are through he's stopped again. He bit me very slighty earlier though because he was overtired and I said no in a gruff voice and he just laughed.

I thought about giving up breastfeeding too so I don't blame you for thinking that too. It really hurts and if Felix hadn't have stopped I think I would have. I think being bitten is a very good reason to stop. I hope your Daniel stops soon I know what it's like.

[Diane]

HI Girls, just wondered how you had got on with the biting. I am going through the same thing with my 6 month old boy (Isak) who has 2 bottom teeth. I physically had to check my nipple was still attached, it was so so so painful I really thought he had bit it off. I shouted with the shock of it then said "NO" to him in a stern voice, he cried and then I cried cos I was so upset I had made him cry. I am not enjoying BF at all now and would love to stop but Isak will not take a bottle. Feeling a bit trapped by the whole thing. He seems so hungry all the time now, I feel like I am BF'ing so much - so invarriably I am being bit quite a bit during the day.

PS Popping him down and walking away didn't work for me either as advised by my HV

[Amy&Daniel]

Since the last post, the biting seemed to stop. I was really pleased with myself and thought that my stern NO had done the trick.

Then, a couple of days ago, he bit me again, although not as hard.

So actually, I think it is to do with teething. I think he is just so sore that he has a terrible urge to bite.

I'm determined to keep on breast feeding, because for the most part, it has been great and it is so much easier than faffing about with bottles.

So I'm attacking it with several methods:

1. I only feed him if he seems hungry (rather than because it is 3pm and I think he's probably going to want feeding). This does involve more crying, but it is a small price to pay to have a nipple still attached.

2. If he does bite me, I say NO very loudly, I put him down and I leave the room for 2 minutes (mostly to allow me to calm down and nurse my sore nipple). And I do this even if it is just a little nip rather than a full on bite.

3. Feeding is then terminated. Again, much crying involved. It does seem mean, but I've told myself that he is probably crying because he is teething rather than because he is hungry and that is why he bit me in the first place.

4. Beefing up the solids. I'm trying to fill him up as much as possible on the solids so that we are breastfeeding less and hopefully it then becomes less of a problem. I did give him a bit of beefburger for lunch. He loved it!

I really hope that I don't end up giving up breastfeeding because of this, because when it works, it is great. The other afternoon, we spent the whole afternoon in bed together, having a feed and then sleeping a bit and then feeding some more and so on. You'd never be able to do that with bottle feeding and it is such a bonding experience.

Best of luck with persuading Isak to stop. Let me know if you think of any other methods - I'll try most things.

Oh and, you shouldn't be upset about making him cry - he bit you for christ's sake!!

Oh and finally... I spoke to some primary school teacher friends of mine last week. They suggested biting him back... luckily, they don't teach in Ilkley :)

[clare]

Hi there

Never even thought about BF with teeth before!

I've just passed the 1 month BF point & it's not easy!

Saying that just started expressing this weekend & it is such a fuss with all the sterilising & baby having to wait for the bottle to be warmed. He's used to it on tap!

Just curious how long you are intending to BF for? They say 6months exclusively dont they? Do some mothers then swop to formula or just continue to express & for how long?

[Amy&Daniel]

I've just passed the 1 month BF point & it's not easy!

You're right, it's not easy! Especially at the beginning. It can be very wearing and tiring because of the extra strain it puts on your body and because it means only you can feed your baby.

However, for me, the thought of getting up in the night and sterilising bottles was enough to keep me going with it! And after the first 6 weeks, it got a lot easier - I got more sleep (during the night) and the feeds were more predictable and not as frequent.

Now, Daniel is nearly 7 months, and I'd really miss it.



Just curious how long you are intending to BF for? They say 6months exclusively dont they? Do some mothers then swop to formula or just continue to express & for how long?

I'm probably going to breastfeed until I go back to work or Daniel gets sick of it or the biting gets too bad - whichever comes first. I don't want to be feeding him when he's walking - doesn't seem right to me.

From 6 months, we've used formula instead of expressed milk when my partner feeds him. If I had my time again, I would have started doing that from 6 weeks - the odd bottle of formula isn't going to make that much difference. Although, stupidly, I do like the fact that he only had my milk for 6 months. Feels like some kind of achievement - totally daft! Does anyone else feel like that?

A

[loulouh1973]

Hi all, I've just read this thread and it's made me feel a lot better. Evie started biting me this weekend for the first time, and OMG it hurt! I did the same as some of you and hit her! Not hard, just a little tap, but then I got so upset that I'd done that. It must have been the shock of it. I also got upset at the thought of giving up breastfeeding as I've found it so easy, and wanted to continue for a few months more. If she does it again, I'll try a few of your tips. Another tip I've had is to slide your index finger in the mouth as they're feeding. Obviously, this stops the milk coming, so they they won't be happy, but they should learn that if they bite, the milk stops.
Also, Evie's still not great at taking bottles, but we're trying again, and we've got 4 different types of cup to try.
Wish me luck! Hopefully see some of you tomorrow!
Lx

[marie]

My 10 month old has not teeth but I stiil let out a scream :eek: when he clamps down. This has no effect on him though, he actually finds it quite funny. I feed with my finger (knuckle) at the ready to put in his mouth in case that little innocent jaw clamps down. Roll on August I say when he can have cows milk as a drink!!

[tinkertoes]

Hi there

Never even thought about BF with teeth before!

I've just passed the 1 month BF point & it's not easy!

Saying that just started expressing this weekend & it is such a fuss with all the sterilising & baby having to wait for the bottle to be warmed. He's used to it on tap!

Just curious how long you are intending to BF for? They say 6months exclusively dont they? Do some mothers then swop to formula or just continue to express & for how long?

Hang on in there if you can - it's worth it! I really didnt get on with breastfeeding - from about 2 weeks till about 6 or 7 weeks I found it frustrating and generally uncomfortable - and then at some point it started to improve. I imagined feeding him until maybe 3 or 4 months. But since then it's become the most natural thing in the world to do and I really enjoy the time when I'm feeding him - like Amy says - it's a special bond and I feel lucky to have been able to keep going.

6 months pass suprisingly quickly! Jacob is 7 months now and still fully breastfed, and I'll just keep going really till it feels like the right time to stop. We're doing baby led weaning - so his milk feeds will reduce slowly over time I guess.. But oh my goodness expressing regularly is such a pain! I do it every night for his last feed the following day which his Dad gives him - not sure that I would do it this way next time - though it is great for my other half to get some time feeding him too. Since J turned 6 months I've done a couple of formula feeds but have never introduced one regularly as I was worried that my milk supply wouldnt adjust so easily if J's demands changed and that would gradually lead to more and more formula feeds.