Advice on Biting Problem While Breastfeeding

It seems as if you have already recieved this advice, but I'll throw it out there anyway. My daughter did the same thing and it makes me cringe to think about it... it was incredible painful. I would flick her cheek when she did it. The key was to do it immediately while she was biting me. I didn't do it really hard or anything just hard enough to give her the idea that it wasn't okay. She soon enough that it wasn't okay to bite. I sincerely hope it ends soon for you though because I know it isn't fun. Good luck.
A.

You've heard it from others, I see, but I'll say it too. I flicked my son's cheek as soon as he bites me. He's 13 months old and still occassionally bites. He's only got 3 teeth, but it still hurts really bad! To tell you the truth, he wasn't all that bothered by the flick, it was more my tone and scolding him, that upset him. He'd bite me, I'd say, "Ow! Marley, no bite!" and I'd flick him at the same time. And sometimes he'd laugh at me, other times he'd feel bad and start crying (he realized that he'd hurt me and felt bad about it, then I'd have to comfort him and explain that it hurt Mama, and that I wasn't angry with him, but that he couldn't do that anymore. And people say babies don't understand a lot of talk, but my son understood what I was saying.) Anyways, so when he'd laugh at me and the flicking didn't work, I would say "Marley, Stop biting Mama! That hurts. If you do it again, no more nursing!" Then he'd usually bite again a few minutes later. I'd pull him off and he wasn't allowed to nurse anymore (I usually gave in again after about 10 minutes) But he would be hysterical that I took it away. I'd explain why I did it and the next time I let him nurse, he wouldn't bite, and was actually very gentle. So, that's my advice. (Sorry, I'm long winded, I know!) Hope it helps though!

You may want to remove him for your breast when he is done eating, and not give him the chance to get "playful." Otherwise another alternative it to flick his cheek when he bites, he will associate the biting and the small amount of pain he will feel and not want to repeat the action.

after my daughter got her first couple of teeth, around the same age, she would do the same thing... mainly at the end or beginning of a feeding... i did my best to not respond out loud so she wouldnt get the idea that it was fun... and i would remove her from the breast at the same time. and though it is super painful and shocking... after about a week, she didnt ever do it again... she is one now. i decided that she was just testing out her teeth and wasnt hungry anymore when she was doing that to me. i was nursing shy though for a while after. :) good luck.

I'm glad I'm not the only mom having this issue!! My son is doing the same thing. Normally I'll break his suction/teething and tell him "Don't bite that hurts mommy". Yes I know he can't fully understand my words but he realizes that when he bites he doesn't get the food he wants. I hope this helps. It's helping so far for me. Take care and good luck!

With my three boys, I would take them off the breast at the first chomp and say very sternly "no bite." If it was the beginning of the feeding, I would pump the rest of my milk and give it in a bottle.

This worked beautifully with two of my three boys. They quickly learned that the breast was taken away immediately (and not given back until the next feeding) and decided they didn't like that. My third little guy was just a chomper. After he drew blood the third time, I weaned him. (I think this was around 8 months.)

Let him know thats not ok. With me, it always startled me so I let out a "ouch" scream and that scared them too. Eventually they stopped. I nursed my 5 kids anywhere from 9 months to 14 months. Just stopped with #5 and my last, it was hard!

There is a lot of information about biting during breastfeeding on the LaLeche League website: http://www.lalecheleague.org.
One of their biggest recommendations is to remove the baby from the breast once "active" feeding has ended and the baby has stopped actively sucking. This is NOT stopping breastfeeding early, but rather ending each feeding when the baby gives signs that s/he is about to be done anyway. I highly recommend cheking out the LaLeche League site!

Scream.. worked for me.

I breast fed all four of my children and my daughter is currently nursing her first. When a baby chomps down we just said OUCH! loudly and jumped a little. This is usually enough that after the first handful of times a baby will stop. There are some who still want to bear down, and if you still want to nurse, a flick to the cheek while saying OUCH! will generally take care of it.

We had this problem too, I would cry and threaten to quit that moment, called some friends..they said hang in there it's just a phase. The advice I got was to poke their cheek, quit the feeding as soon as they bite so they get the message, and poke or flick their nose. I had to try all three methods at different times, but she probably only did it for two months off and on before stopping altogether. Hang in there!!