Breastfeeding Baby W/ Teeth??? Could Serious Damage Occur???

Hi G.,

You post made me chuckle a bit...only because a few weeks ago I was healing from my own battle scar. I nursed my son for the first year. He got his first teeth at four months old and he probably had six teeth by six months of age. My daughter who is just shy of five months old, got her first teeth by three months of age. And yes both children bit me. My son found my reaction hilarious and would then bite me on purpose to see me jump. Our pediatrician gave me some tips that after a few tries seemed to work pretty well. First, as hard as it may be, try not to react. Sometimes babies find your response entertaining and bite just to get a reaction, like my son. Then he said to simply place my finger in the corner of my baby's mouth, between his gums and the breast. This gently pulls him off and stops the flow of milk. As you do this you are supposed to say, "no", firmly, but gently. Then I was told to try feeding him again after a small break, like 30 seconds or so. After several times of this, my son seemed to "get it", if he bites, he won't get the milk.

My daughter's biting seemed to be bit more aggressive, I think she was using me as a teething ring. A few weeks ago she did draw blood. And although it wasn't fun, we lived through it. Afterward my nipple felt a bit raw, similar to how it feel those first weeks of nursing, but it healed very quickly and it stayed intact :) . I used the same technique I used with my son, except I usually took a longer break after telling her no. And a few times we just stopped, I put her down and tried again a few minutes later. It took her a bit longer to "get it", but the biting incidents have stopped and I no longer nurse with my finger on stand by ready to stick it in her mouth.

I understand your worry, but if it's otherwise working for you, I would encourage you to keep nursing. Biting is behavior that can be modified. Good luck!

I'm breastfeeding my 15 month old with two top teeth and breastfed my DD (5) until she was one with teeth. My DS bites occasionally but not badly. He understands that he gets to sit on the floor if he bites. It took a couple of rounds of "no" and putting him down, but the only bites I've had in the last month have been by accident (occasionally on falling asleep and when his sister scares him by jumping into the room while yelling--working on that, too). He has never broken my skin. I would guess that your baby enjoys nursing enough that she isn't going to try to do anything that will make it stop. You probably will get a few bites, but probably not many and probably nothing serious. If it is a problem, you will want to reevaluate but I wouldn't quit on the "what ifs" alone. Blessings to you!

I've been bitten a few times by my three year old when she was younger. She bit only once or twice when she was awake, almost like an experiment to see what would happen. ;) I was able to help her realize it was not okay by telling her no, it hurts & stopping the nursing session.

A few times she would bite down as she drifted off to sleep, so I got good at keeping my finger ready to break the suction. The worst bite occured during the night, when we both fell asleep as she was nursing. When she bit, my reflex was to pull away, which caused some slight damage to my nipple, breaking the skin a bit. It wasn't bad, but was too painful to nurse for a couple of days; I had to hand express a few times a day. Not fun, but definitely no lasting damage.

None of the bites were so bad that they would stop me nursing. Infact, the former biter is still nursing part time at age three, as is her little sister. My four month old hasn't gotten any teeth yet, but I'm sure we'll have a few bites when she does; it'll suck, but I'm sure we'll persevere.

Good luck & many wishes for bite-free boobies! :)

i am so proud of you for asking before stopping my daughter is bout to be one in a week and iam still breastfeeding her a got bit a few times but they never bite you hard enough to pull off your nipple so do not believe that. whenever she bites just slide your finger in between her gums to break free and tell her NO and take your breast away. she will quickly understand that biting is not a game and she will stop. i learned this from my breastfeeding class and books and from experience. good luck.

I'm currently nursing baby number 6. When they start to bite, say "NO" and put them down. It doesn't take long for little piranhas to figure out that biting = no mom.

My son weaned himself on his first birthday. He had teeth for usre by then. I have never ever heard of needing plastic surgery for bitten nipples. Your nipples are not going to be bitten off. That sounds like someone who never breastfed.

Keep on going with it and try to keep her awake so she doesn't bite on accident. I had a few nips, but there was never damage, and I wouldn't change it for the world! Once you wean and pump, your milk will run out pretty quickly, or at least that's what I've experienced and heard from others. You can do it.

Also, if you need to talk to a lactation consultant, I highly recommend Kay at the Nesting Place in Grapevine. Just call her and see if she recommends anything in particular. She's certified and very helpful. I think she's on here every once in a while too.

Oh my I do not miss those days!! My daughter would actually cause me to bleed! I hated it I would cry before I would even feed her and then vow after words that I was done nursing!! Well I kept on because the next time I fed her nothing would happen. In the end I survived with no permanent damage. One thing I did was apply Lansinoh it not only helped heal my nipples but it also protected them a bit. And they only normally bite when they are done or about to let go. Just take a deep breath and like anohter mom said stop feeding her tell her no and that is it. It is a just a phase! Good luck!! And I feel your pain!!

Yes you can breastfeed with teeth. I was troubled by this with our first baby but babies are smart. When you start to feel baby bearing down/getting ready to bite say "NO" in a stern voice and take baby off. She will learn that she can't nurse and bite. I breastfed all four of our kids until they were 12-14 months old and all had 8 teeth by then.

I nursed my babies regularly until two, (and for awhile thereafter) and I still have both nipples, no scars. :) Either pinch their nose (forces them to break the seal for air) or do the hair pulling (one piece of hair) every time - consistently, and take the breast. A baby who is actively nursing does not bite, and they give it up pretty quick when they realize that they lose their dinner for 30 minutes or so if they do it.

Keep in mind - her tongue should be between your nipple and her bottom teeth if she's latched properly. When you feel that latch go, you may want to take her off then.

S.

If the baby is latched on correctly damage will not occur. If she bites you simply break the latch and start again. If you have more concerns contact your la leche league or the WIC office and ask to speak to a lactation consultant who can work with you one on one. La Leche league rarely-if ever charges and the WIC office does not. Both organizations can send someone out to work with you and your baby on different positions etc that will help discourage biting.
I nursed babies with teeth and yes they did bite once or twice, but it wasn't that bad after the initial shock and they quickly learned not to do that.

I'm a mother of ten - seven biological, three adopted, and I nursed all my bios. I learned a really good trick for biting babies. Once I began to feel their teeth start to bite, I took a small strand of their hair in my fingers and began to pull, smiling the whole time. The harder they bit, the harder I pulled. When they began to let up on the bite, I began to let up equally on their hair. I didn't have to fuss or stop nursing, they just learned when they bit, it hurt their head! It worked great!

I haven't read all the responses yet but I'm still nursing my 18 month old and he has 16 teeth! He never bites me anymore. We went through a phase where he did - they all do. I think they don't know any better and are just experiencing life, trying new things. If she does bite, just say no in a stern voice we don't bite and put her down immediately, end the nursing session. She'll quickly learn. This is something everyone goes through and if you nip it in the bud (no pun intended) you can get through it no problem. Congrats on going so long! Keep up the good work, it keeps getting better. You are giving your baby a wonderful gift. Yeah!!

I have nursed all 3 of my girls until they were about 1. What I would do when they bit me was tell them a firm no and quit feeding them. They would get the hang it after the 2nd time.

Good Luck!

My sons have both started cutting teeth at four-months and neither of them have ever bit me hard enough to wound me. My sister-in-law has early teethers and she's never been injured either. I think you'd definitely be able to break the latch before you got hurt. I'd say the worse-case-scenario is that your baby would bite you, break the skin, and leave a wound that would make it difficult to nurse on that side until it healed (difficult but not impossible). That's all I've ever heard of happening and I've known breastfeeding women all my life. If the biting phase gets intense, you could always pump for an extra feeding or two till she cuts her teeth. I think as long as you stay on top of it and teach your daughter not to do it by giving a firm "no" and ending the feeding, you should be fine. I know these decisions are hard to make though, so I just wish you comfort and peace-of-mind.

G.!

I've nursed two!
My first did pretty good, only a bite a couple of times.'
My second was a shark from 5 WEEKS OLD, WHEN HE GOT HIS FIRST TOOTH (no lie, can you believe that? I didn't even know that was possible)!!!!!!!

I came from a family of nursers and my aunt, who had 4 kids, is a nurse practitioner. Finally, after bleeding several times, pain, and frustration (by this time my son was prob 7 mos and would giggle when I would holler after a bite, thinking it was a game), I asked my aunt what to do. She gave me some GREAT ADVICE!!!!!!

When the baby bites, don't just let out your first instict of a yelp and then do nothing or very little afterwards. INSTEAD, LET OUT A VERY LOUD YELL AND MAYBE SHAKE YOURSELF OR SOMETHING KIND OF SILLY LIKE THAT TO DRAMATIZE THE SITUATION AND STARTLE THE CHILD A BIT TO GET HIS/HER ATTENTION! THEN, PULL THE BABY OFF AND "LUNCH" IS OVER. THIS GETS THE POINT ACCROSS THAT WHAT WAS DONE WAS NOT GOOD. I was not even a week and the habit was broke and he had done it for 6 mos.!

As for your question about pumping and not latching anymore, well that depends on how long you still want to nurse. When the baby latches on, your body releases a natural hormone that stimulates milk production and assists let down. This hormone is not usually released with a pump, thus eventually sooner or later lessening your production. Furthermores, pumps are never as effecient at extracting milk as the baby so the pump will get out less milk than what is even there, making your body believe that the demand is less, thus making the supply less as well and it is a down-ward spiral. ONLY PUMPING WILL LESSON YOUR SUPPLY DRAMATICLY but if you don't plan to nurse much longer, it is a good option over simply quiting soon and cold turkey.
BTW, have you EVER heard of a baby biting a nipple off of a nursing mother? Just curious because I have never heard of it and you may be worrying about something that is VERY VERY unlikely here! Why worry about a very un-likely event!

Good luck, with whatever you choose!

T.