How Do I Stop My 6 Month Old from Biting??

Although I am not yet at that stage, I asked my mom for advice on this same subject. She said that if they bite while on the breast to pull them off (as long as they are not still biting--you don't want to cause damage to the breast), say No, put them back to the breast, if they bite again pull them off and that is the end of the feeding session. You can resume feeding after a bit (we don't want to starve the poor kid)and repeat if the biting continues. After a couple of times she says the baby will learn not to bite. Hope this helps.

I had great advice from my doctor with my first son (his wife was a La Leche League Leader and all three of his kids were breastfed). He told me when the baby bit to hold the back of his head and push him into the breast until his nose was smothered in the breast. This forces the baby to let go in order to breathe and keeps you from pulling back and causing any damage to the breast tissue and for most kids the feeling of not beaing bale to breathe for a second or two is very unpleasant and it stops the biting. That said with babies #1, #2 and #3 it worked very well, however with #4 she would simply blow a raspberry on my breast and laugh. WIth her I had to yell loudly to get her to do anything but laugh about it, at 10 months she isn't biting anymore unless she is bored in which case I just don't let her nurse.

H.

L.,

Biting hurts. I would immediately unlatch your baby from your breast, say NO biting hurts and put them on the floor away from you. Wait a min. and the try again. You need to repeat this process until your baby sees what they are doing wrong. It worked for me-

Take care,

Molly

Dear L.,
Both my kids chomped on me too and it HURTS!
But, they don't know it's hurting you.
What I did was take the breast away EVERYTIME they bit and give them a frozen teething ring. I kept one close by at every feeding. They got it figured out pretty quickly that if they wanted to bite, they could, but there would be no milk. The other advantage to giving them a frozen chewie was that it numbed their gums so they were less likely to try to bite when I offered to feed them again in a few minutes. It worked for me.
Some kids quit biting and others don't. You are not horrible for having to find an alternative such as breast milk in a bottle or even formula if your baby won't stop hurting you. You sure as heck don't want to have to get your nipple sewn back on.
Best of luck!

Ok bare with me here..this is sort of strange but I have been reading "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" and the pediatrician author compares babies/toddlers to chimps. So you have to speak to them in their language. Sort of taking it out of context but if you get a chance o check the book out it is interesting and some of the techniques are very effective.
He recommends growling when your baby bites, just like a mama chimp would. I know I know, what?!? But trust me, try it a few times and see what happens.. I had miraculous results. They just stop and look at you and don;t bite.
Weird, I know.
Godd luck and let mek now if it works.

I nick named my son "Fang" for the same reason. I would swiftly remove him from my breast and in the same motion put him down on the floor while saying "NO Bite!" in a firm, slightly loud tone of voice. And then I would wait silently about 2 minutes before I picked him back up. Then I'd say "No Bite!" as he started to nurse again.
The WORST thing you can do is yell "Ouch!" the baby thinks it's a funny sound and will try to make you do it again - especially if your voice tends to go up a few octaves when you're hurt - like most of us girls.
This also works for when Baby bites Daddy or someone else.
He is learning cause & effect and that he can do things that have a reaction - like shaking a rattle or beeping a toy car horn. We are his toys too! ;)

You need to just keep at that. Remember a 6 month old does not learn like adults or even a toddler. You just need to keep doing it. He'll get it eventually. My son kept biting me and even smiled and giggled when I unlatched him. He did however get frustrated when I unlatched him when he was really hungry. If your son is just sucking for comfort or to play around you could try giving him a pacifier instead. I did that a little too. I nursed my son until he was 2 years old. Good luck.

Remember, he has to loosen his latch if he is about to bite - When you feel the change in his latch, slip your finger in and unlatch him and tell him No Biting. If he does manage to surprise you and bite anyway, unlatch him and put him down for a few minutes. Then pick him up and try again. I think this is what quickly convinced my son that it wasn't worth it.

I also noticed that my both my son and my daughter, at that age, tended to bite when they were no longer hungry and just had not really gotten around to stopping. So pay attention at the end of the feeding, if you feel that he's no longer drinking and is likely to bite out of boredom, go ahead and say "All Done!" and unlatch him.

Had the same problem with my daughter. When it happens I say "no, that hurts mommy" remove her from the breast and hide it (pull my shirt down) for about a minute. after a few times of doing that she got it. I still occasionally get bit but usually only if something makes her laugh. We have a new kitten that she loves so he's not allowed anywhere near us when she's nursing or I get bit.

Well,
Each time you immediately stick you finger in his mouth to de-latch and say "No, biting hurts mommy!"
discontinue nursing for a few minutes if he proceeds and then try again, repeating as necessary.
Good for you for sticking with it, I know it's hard but they do learn and the behavior will pass I promise. I still night time nurse my 2 1/2 yr old and she started biting around the same time.
It becomes difficult for them when they begin teething and have the need to bite down, but he will eventually get the message that biting and nursing don't go together.
-M.

They dont want to hurt you. I quick sharp scream often does the trick. Especially when it is in addition to quickly unlatching.

My son is 9 months and doesn't breast feed but does bite. I found that he is doing it because his gums are hurting from teething. What I have done and it works sometimes and sometimes not, it that if he bites my finger I put his finger in my mouth and apply a little pressure and tell him ouch. I have also put my 2 fingers over his mouth and said 'NO BITTING' ouch in a very firm voice and then walked away from him. But when his teeth and gums aren't bothering him, he's fine. So in a way, it is his way of telling me that he's fustrated cause his gums hurt. Not sure if this will be helpful or not. But I thought I'd share with you.

T.

Does your child nurse for a while before biting? It could be that your milk flow is slowing down and he is trying to get more. When my 2 kids started biting, it was around this time. I would then say "no" or "ow" and switch to the other side. Good luck!

Simply saying "no" didn't work with my kids (I nursed until 12 months). My son would even laugh! I had to yelp in pain, disengage them and yank my shirt down. That got their attention! It took a few times, but the biting did stop. Thankfully neither of them ever drew blood.

My Mother always said that when a baby starts biting is the time to stop nursing. You could always pump and feed him breast milk ina bottle.

No mother should have to get bitten. it is painful and takes away from the pleasure of nursing. Just find a good breast pump and you are set.

Good luck -

Blessings,
B.

My son did this for a short while, but eventually stopped. I don't know if it was anything I did, or if he just finally stopped. I just would stop nursing for a minute, say no, and then try again. He will most likely stop, so don't give up nursing just yet!

Kids love to bite and if he's never experienced it, probably doesn't know it hurts. Don't really know how you get across to a 6 month old that biting hurts. I'm in no way suggesting that you bite a 6 month old, but truly don't know how to make a baby that young understand. Sorry and good luck!

Both my babies tried biting...I think it's natural to want to use those strange new devices in their mouths ! Your natural startle reaction and "Ouch!!", followed by removing him from the breast and holding him away from your warm body for a minute will probably be enough for him to get the message. You may have to put him down if that doesn't work. Your response to the biting must be IMMEDIATE so he connects the action with the reaction. It's not punishment, it's just communication. If you are letting him suck again right after he bites, he has no way of knowing it is wrong. You may have to refresh his memory from time to time with the same response, because the temptation may return as he gets more teeth, but even a painful bite now and then is worth the rewards to your son.

I had the same problem and my pediatrician said when she bites instead of pulling her away which can cause bleeding, push her into my breast, she won't be able to breathe and will let go. After doing this once or twice the biting stopped. Good luck!