Here I am, breastfeeding my 5th baby and I can't get him to stop biting me while he nurses. I didn't have this problem with my other four. My first three didn't even have teeth right away. He already has 2 teeth on top and three on the bottom. He bites while nursing and bites my shoulders. I've tried everything that I can think of. He is seven months old. Anyone have any tips?? Thanks so much!
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at 7 months old, he will learn very quickly not to bite if you take him off the boob immediately after he bites. Tell him "no" and put him down and don't feed him. Try again in 5-10 minutes and see what he does. If he's truly hungry, then he may learn quickly that when he bites, he doesn't get fed.
This usually takes only 2 days to adapt behavior.
1st bite, sternly say "No Biting!", place baby down and keep off breast for 5 minutes, even if baby wants to come back
2nd (same time frame) bite, sternly say "No Biting!", place baby down and keep off breast for 30 minutes, even if baby wants to come back
3rd bite within the same time frame, bite, sternly say "No Biting!", place baby down and keep off breast 3 hours, even if baby wants to come back.
Baby will learn very quickly!! You must be consistent, must also do it all with a stern face - no smiling, laughing, screaming or funny noises.
Use language. Next time he bites, pull him off and gently tell him "No biting. That hurts Mommy." Wait a little while before putting him back on. If he does it again, say "I guess you must be finished because you bit me again." Then wait longer (20-30 min) before trying it again. It worked for me!
Nursing only when we's really hungry and with few distractions. Take him off when he bites and end the feeding. These things heped me when my daughter bit me. This passed within a week or so. Less biting with the above tips, but maybe it was just a phase anyway :) Good luck
You don't mention what you have tried, so here is what I did. As soon as she bit, I stopped nursing and sharply said no. If she continued, I lightly nudged her mouth/cheek with my forefinger and said no. It took a bit, but she quit.
I agree with the other answers. Another solution I've heard before is trying to figure out if he is communicating with the bites. Like is he only biting at the end when he's full but ready to play? If so, then you'd take him off once he stops actively eating then distract him. I forget other examples but you might think of one based on when he's biting, what you're doing at the time, what's going on around you, etc.
I feel your pain, quite literally! My son bit a couple of times hard enough to draw blood! I tried a few things, but what worked was immediately taking him off, putting him down, crossing my arms and turning my back on him. Telling him no didn't work, but the combination with the body language worked like a charm. It clearly communicated that I was unhappy with the behavior, in a way that he could understand better than language. I couldn't resist a crying baby for three hours...previous poster is stonger than I am :)
