8 Month Old Biting While Nursing - Apollo,PA

I almost weaned my first daughter when she was 5 months old because she was biting! We got through it though, and I nursed her for 14 months. I never used formula for 4 kids--you can do this!

Many babies do bite at the end of a nursing session--and just as you are seeing--it is a game to them. He really doesn't understand that he is hurting you. It isn't until babies are about 14-15 months old that they start to understand that what you want might be different from what they want. If it is fun for them, they think it is fun for everyone--and seeing mommy yelp is obviously fun for your son.

So you need to be proactive. Watch him closely as he nurses, and when he starts to slow down, take him off for a burp. Then move right to playing with him. If he's still hungry he'll let you know, but if he's just about full, he should be fine.

With my DD it was her top teeth that were rubbing, so be prepared for that. She wasn't actively biting. I needed to work with some experienced moms (love the La Leche League group in Lehigh County!) to learn how to position her on the breast so that she wouldn't scrape.

Good luck!

My son was 9 months old when he started biting me. I notcied it was when he was finished. It then started anytime i fed him. I told him it hurt and didnt feed him thinking he would get the pciture. Well after two weeks of this happening everytime i tried to feed him, I figured it was his way of telling me he was weaning himself. So watch when your son bites you. It might be his way of saying he isnt hungry or if he has been nursing he is finished.

Well what worked for me was yelling and then putting him on the floor when my son bit me. It took a couple times but eventually he related the 2. When he bites you yell no loudly enough to startle him then lay him on the floor and don't talk to him for a couple minutes. It may seem mean but soon he will realize that mommy gets upset when he does this and he should stop. Good luck!!

My 7 month did this to me too! I would say in a firm really loud voice "Ouch, NO that hurts mommy!!!!" {she would get upset that I was getting upset and start to cry} - and look at her with a frown and shake your head. Don't let them linger at the breast once the swallowing has tappered off. It will stop - they understand when you say OUCH! Now at 13 months all is still going well nursing - it's just a short phase all little ones go through {I think} :] Good luck. XOXOXO

Dear M. A:

I never had this problem with my son while I was breastfeeding. I had a look around the web and went to Le Leche League found this link that might be helpful.
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBMarApr99p36.html This link deals specifically with biting while Breastfeeding.
Here is there main page link, they have lots of info and even a forum as well as people you can send questions to http://www.llli.org/
I wish I could be more help than this but as I said, I never experienced it and my Son was a breastmilk baby until he was 3. Past about 1 year I pumped and used a bottle as well as using the breastmilk in his cereal etc.
I hope that you find these helpful.
Keep up the great work, you are a good Mom.
God Bless,

J. T.

Is it the bottom tooth or top tooth? Because with the bottom tooth, if he is latched on correctly the tongue would be over his tooth and shouldn't allow him to bite during nursing. My son got his first teeth at about 7 months, the bottom two teeth and when he was latched on correctly he was fine, but he seemed to bite at the end of the nursing session, when he was pulling off. I learned to get him off before the end of his nursing so he didn't have a chance to bite when I knew he was finished. I would try to tell him no, as calmly as I could, because when they bite, it really hurts. He would sometimes laugh like it was funny, but I tried not to laugh at him and just remove him from the breast. After a couple weeks it wasn't a problem anymore and he's thirteen months now, has six teeth and is still nursing fine and we seldom have any biting problems. Good luck!

My son did this around 8 months, too, when his front teeth came in (he also had two bottom teeth). For us, it only lasted about a week. Like you, I could tell when he was about to do it. I made sure to end the nursing session when he was finished, and not let him linger there long enough to bite me. For us, the more attention I paid to the biting, the more he wanted to do it. It was a game to him. When he bit very hard and hung on, I pulled him into me so he couldn't breath easily, and he let go (sounds harsh, but this is what is recommended when they really clamp on and you can't get a finger in to release them). Thankfully that only happened once. He got tired of the biting very soon and stopped. He's 13 months now, and has only bitten maybe twice since then, and he has almost all his teeth--including the molars. Kellymom.com is a good resource if you continue to have problems.

Good luck!

S.