She's Biting Me!

Hey S.,

It sounds like you're on the right track, and the situation should improve. Here are a couple of links to some more help.

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBbiting.html

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html

You could always call a local LLL leader as well. They can give you some free, over the phone help, or give you information about the meeting closest to you, which is also free.

Good luck,

Limor

My son did that and I screamed and he refused to nurse. I had to gently tell him it was ok to nurse but no bite. I was told to do exactly what you are doing; calmly remove nipple tell them no, wait alittle bit and keep trying. That should do the trick with some patience. I breastfeed past 12 months. I would wean only as a last resort. Best wishes. PS: I breastfeed all 5 of my children, each one alittle long time. J.

I was going to say exactly what Erica did, when she bites, pull her into your breast so she has to choose between breathing and biting, she will let go right away, then you say 'NO BITING' very firmly, and be done nursing for that session.

She is NOT weaning, please dont let anyone tell you that.... too many people wean early when thier baby bites, or goes on a nursing strike, its not weaning, its normal development so please don't let anyone convince you to stop.... there is no reason to.

Both my boys bit, both right around 9mos old, and it was related to teething. My oldest only took once of pulling into my breast and he stopped. My youngest was (and is!) more stubborn and I had to do it 3 times with him, and he stopped. :)

If you are really nervous about hte biting, keep your pinkie finger poised at the corner of her mouth. If you feel her starting to clamp down, stick your finger in her mouth and it will stop her from biting... as your finger will be wedged between her gums. But the pulling her to your breast will send a message, and she will stop.

please continue to nurse her! :D im so glad you are motivated to do that - its so awesome, and hopefully you are lucky like me, and somewhere around a year, you will lose more weight just from the breastfeeding - i did! :D
i assure you that this is just a phase, an experiment.
my son did this VERY RARELY.
the first time he did it, he had fallen asleep, and i think he jerked or something in his sleep and it surprised me, and i jumped, which woke him....
he tried it once or twice on purpose, and i just matter of factly removed him and ended the feeding. i put him down and gave him toys to play with.
this reaction might surprise your daughter, and she might very well be upset that her feeding is over... but it shouldnt take too long and she will figure out that the ONLY reaction she receives is a prompt end to the nursing session :D
its really hard not to react, it hurts, but do your best to look away, or hold it in, and just put her down.
:D
good luck, it can be done thats for sure.
if you need to, contact a la leche league group near you! they will help a TON!

My two oldest both went through this phase and outgrew it...or I wouldn't have nursed them to 15 months like I did. You're doing the exact right thing and I think it'll stop soon. Don't change a thing!

Best of luck!

S.
www.uggamugga.com

Hi S.,
My first daughter bit me so hard she drew blood, I was so startled I screamed and pulled her away. She never did bite again, I think because it scared her. I couldn't feed comfortably on that side for over a week. She was 9 months as well, and we did start the cup, it went very well. My son however started biting continuously at 7 months, I felt it was because I didn't have enough supply. Because he didn't start biting until he had been on for a bit. I had to start him on the bottle he was too young for a cup. He was quite satisfied with the bottle so I believe he was just agravated that the supply wasn't fast enough for him, or I just couldn't keep up. I really enjoyed nursing but the change was necessary for him. Good luck with whatever you decide. We still cuddled afterward with the bottle and a book. :o)

My son is doing the same thing. He's 6 mos. old and I've decided to teach him the word "no". When he bites, I say firmly, "No bite" and sometimes I do a little cheek flick at the same time. It doesn't hurt him. He usually smiles, but he looks at me long enough to realize that I'm trying to tell him something. I'm also teaching him the word "no" when it comes to pulling on necklaces and glasses. I'm hoping it will translate to other areas so he will listen whenever I have to tell him "no." Hope that helps. I figure, it's a short, one-syllable word and it should be easy enough for a little one to catch on.

Ah, biting. It does get better, at least for me it did. I'm at almost 2 1/2 so you can imagine the set of teeth I'm dealing with.

I did as you did when he'd bite. I'd say "no biting", turn him around in my lap, and sit there for 30 sec - 1 min, then we'd try again. He wanted the milk more than he wanted to bite, and I discovered it was more related to teething for us. When a new tooth was working its way out, I'd get a few bites here and there for a few days and then it would stop.

Stay strong and aim for a year! That was my goal too and now I'm 1 1/2 years past it.

My first son bit because he was bottle fed pumped milk at daycare, and he loved to teethe on his bottle nipples. Does your daughter get bottles? Can you stop her from teething on them? He bit me to signal he was done. It did help not to give him a funny reaction, but a lot of nursing websites will tell you to stop (as in 'this is a punishment') when they bite, but if they're already done, that's a moot point! Anyway--my son bit, but I did get used to it, and we tried using more bottles. As it was, he was taking in most of his milk at daycare anyway. We hit one year and QUIT on his birthday. :) He and I were both ready, though.

It does get better! I remember that age, I think it was the only time we ever had any nipping issues too. For my daughter, it was always teething related. But what I found worked was gently pushing her face into your breast when she clamps down as she will have to choose between breathing, and biting! After doing that a few times she will associate biting with not being able to breathe. That is my theory anyway : )

Also, try to watch for signs that she may be done eating. Most biting occurs at the end of the feed when they are done, or if they aren't really hungry, etc. Try to keep your finger close by and ready to unlatch if she looks like she is about to bite. If you think it is teething related you could try giving her some tylenol or motrin about 30 minutes before feeding her and see if that helps. There are also teething tablets and baby orajel.

I hope this phase passes quickly for you. It did for me and I am still nursing my 21 month old daughter! (who hasn't bit me since she was under 12 months old). Good luck!

OUCH! I exclusively breastfed my daughter and am still nursing her at 13 months. She did go through a biting phase also. When she bit, I would just say NO BITING! and then the session was done. Keep your pinkie ready to break the latch. My girl would get a mischievious look on her face right before biting. Get out your lanolin to help heal up any bites. It will pass if you stay consistent with telling her NO! right away. It is not a sign that it is time to wean. My baby bit several times, then quit and hasn't bit me for probably 6 months. GOOD LUCK!!!

Hello S.,

I went through a similar experiece and you are doing the right thing. Eventually she will catch on and it won't happen as often. I think after I stopped her every time she bit, the only time I had to worry was when she fell asleep while nursing and then I learned to stop her as soon as her eyes stayed closed for a certain period of time. Good luck!

Angie

I vaguely recall having luck with this method, which is effective yet quite counterintuitive: while cradling the back of her head while she nurses, if she does start to clamp down on your nipple, gently press her by the back of the head closer to you and say, "no biting". Look very serious and do not react. I do very much recall getting bit each and every time after I put orajel on my daughter's gums while she was nursing/teething. Good luck. It hurts, doesn't it???

When my daughter bit me while nursing, I would gently pull the nipple from her mouth and stop nursing (just like your doing) - I would also say to her "Ouch that hurt mommy" and I would put her down. She bit a few times, but caught on pretty fast that I would put her down if she did.