My 7 mo-old doesn't have any teeth yet - but his gums are hard and he's been biting me/chewing my nipple when he nurses. I say "ouch" and "no" and his eyes get big and he stops, but is still doing it every other time or so. I know his teeth are coming in so he chews on everything and my husband says he chews on the nipple after his bottle is done... hmm. I'm thinking there is a correlation here? Should I tell him to not let him do that? We've been just letting him chew on things since it makes him happy - he also chews on his binky. I don't know how I'm going to survive when his teeth do come in! Any other mommas experience this? Sometimes I notice it's almost like he's done eating and then just gets bored and then starts to "chew" or bite. Ahhh! I want to nurse him as long as possible. Thanks in advance :)
Just say no we don't bite momma, remove him from the breast for a few minutes.. he won't starve, but remember babies learn this age by correlation.. and by cause and affect..
I set mine down on the floor and walked away for a few moments before continuing the feeding. I don't think they understand "no", so you need to teach that there's no milk if they bite. I feel mine was able to learn from this. I have also discovered that mine only bites when she really doesn't want to be nursing (because of illness or when they start to change things up but you're still offering feedings that are going to go away due to introduction of solids).
YOWEE!
When my kids starting biting, I put my finger in the corner of their mouths to de-latch them, said 'No' firmly, then put them down somewhere and walked away. Sounds mean, but they got the message right away. Biting=no more nursing.
:)
best to ask a lactation consultant at the hospital, they are great and can pin point the cause. my son used to do this when he was a newborn becasue he got "traumatized" when they sucked fluids out of his throath with the bulb right after being pulled away from me (during birth). I had to to some "tongue-walking" exercises with my finger, but he was real small. I'd totally ask the professionals!
I would try not to let him bite on the bottle nipples. My 11 month old has only bit me a few times. Normally saying no and taking him off for a second helps. They are still to young to understand. I definetly disagree with a previous post of pulling him off and making him wait 10 minutes, 25 minutes, or until the next feeding time to nurse. Thats just cruel making a hungry baby starve!
The previous messages are the pieces of advice I'd offer - saying no and putting them down a little - mainly to let them figure out the biting isn't going to get the exciting rise they want. I went through this with my daughter a few times - each phase was only a few days but ouch, a hard one!
Take the bite as a sign that he's done eating. As soon as he bites, remove him from the breast. Make sure your husband does the same thing as the bottle. If he really wants more, wait at least 15 minutes. I did this with my boys, and it seemed to help.
Hi--
Both my boys did this, too. I would say "No! Don't bite Mommy Ouch--it hurts Mommy!" in a stern voice and take him off the breast. I wouldn't give that side back, but put him on the other side. Or I'd just withhold the breast for a minute or two. They both stopped pretty quickly. It still happened once in a while after that, but almost always they would stop themselves and give me an apologetic look. I nursed both way into toddlerhood, so don't worry about having to stop. It will work out. It might be good if you don't let him chew on his bottle as well--although I can't say that with certainty because neither of mine ever took a bottle. But it would make sense to keep him from associating his teething bites with drinking.
Good luck!
J.
