I knew it would happen eventually and this morning it finally did. LO BIT me when she was nursing. I shrieked and pulled her off. She laughed. I put her back to the breast and she drank a little more and then bit me AGAIN. I firmly told her NO and finished the nursing session. She laughed again. HEEEELP? What was most effective for you to stop biting??
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Oh no!!!! I used to pinch my DD's nose and say NO biting!!!!
Really not looking forward to getting bitten again.... -
I'm sorry. I'm a terrible friend. I read this and snorted. You have to understand though, I've never been on the BF train long enough for this phenomenon to happen to me.
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@NaturallyCathy: Oh gee, thanks a lot!!! I know a lot of people who have quit when teeth came in and I really want to make it to a year so I'm trying to soldier on.
@chopsuey119: Little miss will definitely get her nose pinched next time! Thanks for the tip.
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Honestly, I stopped breastfeeding not long after the biting. It really took the enjoyment out of BF for me.
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Mrs. Train did a blog post about this a while ago. I'm really really not looking forward to that- although, of course, I hope I get to that stage at all...
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Shrieking and cutting it off worked for us. But I have heard good success from La Leche peeps that they push the baby into them (essentially covering the nose) and the baby will unlatch to breath. Obviously if they don't unlatch let them breath.
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@MamaMoose: Mine was supply issue due to breast reduction surgery - was and still is a problem. Right now I'm more of a comfort device more than anything. She'll wean pretty soon.
Still... I'm sorry, but picturing M laughing at your torture just makes me laugh! She's so precious and that's just too funny.
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@NaturallyCathy: we'll see if you're still calling her precious after four hours in a car with her!
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@MamaMoose: I bet if I can handle both kids having a screaming fit in my tiny PT Cruiser with no air conditioning for two hours that I can handle miss M in an air conditioned car for four.
Talk about Memorial Day Weekend hell.
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I heard pushing baby's nose into your breast to block the airway teaches them not to bite. I always just shrieked and jumped or said no. It's hard to remain calm when it happens. Luckily, it was just a phase. He did it off and on for like a week or two and hasn't done it since. I think he was just testing out the new feeling of having teeth. Hopefully he doesn't start back up when the top teeth come in. Hopefully it's just a phase for your LO!
ETA: Oh and I figured out most of the time he bit me at the end when he was done nursing. So when I knew he was done, I would unlatch him before he could bite me!
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E would laugh if I shrieked or told him no... and then promptly bight again. I started pushing him into my breast, and he still laughed, but he didn't bite then for the rest of the session. His biting phase really only lasted about a week.
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@MamaMoose: Biting is the worst! My LO first did it when she was teething around 10 months, and then the behavior resurfaced again around 16 months, but that time it was purposeful.
When she was teething, I pulled her off, said "Ouch! NO BITE!" in a loud, firm voice and put her down on the ground. If she was upset (because she was still hungry), I would offer again in a few minutes. Most of the time it was near the end of a nursing session and she wasn't actually hungry anymore.
The purposeful biting was way more difficult, both emotionally and physically. For about a week or two I would be so tense that nursing was no longer enjoyable for me, and probably not super comforting to Cora either. I would keep my hand cupped around my breast and I would watch her jaw change from the sucking motion to the bite motion and I would jam my finger in her mouth, say "No bite. That HURTS mommy! ALL DONE" and then the nursing session was over even if she asked for more. Once or twice, mostly if I wasn't paying close enough attention, if she bit me, I flicked her on the cheek and gave her the same verbal cues. Totally not my preferred method of communicating with her, but it certainly got the message across.
She's 18 months now, still nursing, and she's moved on from biting. If you can stick it out, it's worth it in the end. It's totally anxiety inducing though. There were a handful of times that she wanted to nurse and I was nearly in tears for fear of being bitten again. Sympathies mama, sympathies.
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Sorry this is happening! My DS bit me a few times as well. The first time, I screamed and he totally freaked out, and then went on a nursing strike for like 2 days. That was stressful. He would do it periodically as he got older, but I started looking for cues and unlatching when I saw those. Same as @mrskc: he would bite when he was done or getting bored. I also got a lot better at withstanding the pain without yelling. Thankfully he never broke skin. Hope it gets better!
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