Baby Chomping During Breastfeeding

The first (and only) time my daughter bit me I earned a mom of the year award by dropping her. She only fell into my lap, but it scared her enough to never do it again. It was an accident, but a happy one.

T.,
Congrats on nursing twins!! And for wanting to continue!

At 6mos of age, it does seem likely that the biting is due to teething.
Some tips I found helpful when dealing with this issue with my babies:
Tip 1: Hyland's Teething Tablets: These are homeopathic. You can buy them at Target, HEB or Randall's. I'm sure other stores carry them as well. The instructions on the back specifically say to dissolve *one tablet at a time under the baby's tongue" -- this is key. It dissolves quickly.
I started with 2-3tablets and slowly worked my way up to 5 tabs with my #1 when she was cutting teeth. From the day the first one erupted to the last one seeming fully erupted was a total of 10mos. These were a life-saver!
I will say that although these worked well for both my kids, they worked much much better for my #1. My #2's body just didn't respond the same way.

I've been told there is a liquid form of teething pain killer, but I have not looked for it. A perk of a liquid would be no dissolving, etc.
I recommend "pain-killer" over "mouth number". The gels that numb the mouth can affect the suck/swallow reflex.

Tip 2: If he is biting at the beginning of a feeding, then give him the Hyland's and then maybe something hard/cold to chew on like a frozen bagel, or a frozen wet rag. You could put frozen fruit in one of those mesh self-feeders. Perhaps rubbing firmly on his gums with your finger might help -- whatever works to help alleviate his discomfort before latching on.

Tip 3: If it's at the end of the nursing, then (try to) watch him for cues that he might be done...swallowing less, fidgeting more, etc.

Tip 4: Take him off and calmly, but firmly, say "no teeth" or "no biting". Don't nurse him for a bit and then try again. Babies don't necessarily know "no" at 6mos, but if you say "no teeth" each time you take him off and *not* nurse him, he will quickly associate the two as something unpleasant that happens when he bites.

Tip 5: Contact your local La Leche League group for more tips from moms. Many moms have had this, or similar, challenges. If nothing else, you could call a local Leader and ask her if she has any additional tips - it's FREE. Here is a link to the Houston Metro LLL page:
http://www.lllhouston.org/

I hope that some of this helps and that you successfully continue to nurse!

K., mama to
Catherine, 5.5y
Samuel, 2.5y
Baby due 9/15

After reading some of the other replies you've received, I wanted to add that both my kids nursed until they were about 2.5yrs. I only planned on nursing for 1 year with #1, but after getting to that point, decided to continue for a bit longer. My daughter had all of her teeth by 18mos. My son started teething around 7mos and didn't get his 2yr molars in until just a few months ago. I have loads of friends and acquaintances that nurse through this phase. You are not alone! And IMO, teething by itself is not a reason to quit nursing.

My daughter has not started biting yet, but the advice I got for when she does: do not try to pull them off, instead push them into your breast, they will have to release the bite because they can't breathe and it will teach them not to do it again. Good luck! And YAY to you for breastfeeding twins! Awesome!!!

I second all that Kelly H said. I had really good luck using the teething tablets along with some of the other techniques. It is always so refreshing to see someone dedicated enough to nurse twins!

When my son bit, it was due to teething. He would most often do it at the very end of a feeding. So, I would just pay close attention to his jaw position toward the end of a feeding and just take him off the breast when his swallowing slowed down. If he cried like he was still hungry, I would let him nurse again. But, we would repeat this process until he was done nursing. They have to break the latch in order to bite, so paying attention to his jaw position should help.

This is a frequent question. Keep in mind that for your baby to be breastfeeding their tongue has to be over their lower teeth. When you feel teeth (or hard gums), one thing you do is bring their face into the breast, towards you, just for a second. The baby will have to let go to get a breath. Just a time or two and the baby will not try again.

Good luck!

Mine did this right before they were about to get a tooth. Is he teething? After the tooth came in he would stop. They both only did it for a few days then they would stop. I wouldn't give up nursing because it is probably just a phase unless you are ready to stop.

My son did this as well when he was about 4 months old. My lactation consultant told me to say "no biting-it hurts" & remove him from the breast & put him down in in his crib or on the floor for a few minutes. After a few times of doing this, he quit biting. He's now 20 months old & I'm still nursing him with a mouth full of teeth. :-)

Good luck,
S. S.

Break out the bottles. At 12 months he'll be breaking skin.

It sounds like he wants more than milk,I went through this and I would take him off for a while and try a few minutes later. It he did it again he came off, after awhile it stopped.Been there so I know what you mean.

Hi T.
I would just put this one on the bottle- he is too young to understand "no" and most likely does not even know what he is doing. Try the bottle for him.
good luck and blessings

My daughter did this too. Firmly say "no biting" and put him on the ground for a minute ignoring his cries. Try nit to react much more than that or it may become a game to him. good luck!

Both of my kids did this, but only a handful of times. I would tell them "no biting" in a very firm voice and end the feeding for a few minutes, putting them down on the floor. They didn't like being ignored and didn't like not having the milk, so it stopped pretty quickly with both of them.