[nikki44]

DD3 is 7 months and has her bottom two teeth half way through. Recently when she's feeding I have started to feel her nipping me a little bit while she feeds. She seems still to be using her normal feeding action but because her sharp little teeth are there it's just a little bit ouchy. Not painful yet but I can only imagine it would get worse when more come.

She has also bitten me a couple of times but i wonder if that is since I've been trying a bottle or cup recently and she has just been biting down on those rather than trying to suck.

I really want to keep feeding (I only fed my other two for a few months each) but I also want it to be as good as it has been rather then getting more uncomfortable. Can't even imagine how it will feel when her top ones pop through too. Ouch!

Does it get better when their teeth are more fully through? Or is it just something you adjust to over time and get used to?

[Shirley Sue]

I am wondering if she bites intentionally? If it is her bottom teeth I'm guessing so....

When my dd started doing it (on purpose- she smiled when she did it ) I simply took her off the breast, said nothing (as I didn't want to turn it into a game or give attention to it) and placed her on the ground. After a minute or so I would start feeding her again. She rarely bit when I returned her to the breast. But when she did I just repeated the process. She soon learnt that her food disappeared if she bit lol.

[greenthumbs]

Does it get better when their teeth are more fully through? Or is it just something you adjust to over time and get used to?

Both

I think I asked a similar question a few months ago. It was tough at first, but I think it only took a few weeks to settle down and feel better. My little man has 8 teeth now, and I rarely feel them.

[Lil Chickens]

If it's bottom teeth (and they are in the middle) then she is moving her tongue out of the way to do it.

Are you sure it is a bite though - I found with DS that as he has got new teeth his feeding action has changed just enough to rub his tooth or gum on my nipple for a few days. Once the tooth has broken through it has sorted itself out. I found that a little bit of Lansinoh on the spot he was rubbing worked wonders too.

I can't remember that at all when DD was feeding (and I have fed both to just over 12 months). She bit once before she had teeth though. I took her straight off and she never did it again.

[Liz75]

My baby got his first teeth at 4 months and started biting. Not just a nip but a full on bite. The first time I was so shocked I screamed and scared him plus my toddler, I had bite marks on my breast.

This was the worst thing you can do. He ended up refusing breast for a week after that! I did seek help from a lactation consultant and she advised you take baby off and put down and they should grow out of it when they realize the food stops.

For me this did not work, we ended up starting solids early as the LC thought if I gave him a bottle he would never go back to the breast, so try and stop a bottle in the meantime, they can bite a bottle and get milk.

[SqueakInCanada]

When DD's top 2 teeth came through, it was like they were dragging across my nipples and I got grazes. It was quite painful for about a week or so, then just disappeared. Now she has 8 teeth, with the next ones coming through and I don't notice them at all when she's feeding.

What I found helped while it was happening was the old milk on the nipple, then air drying trick; using some lansinoh again, and trying DD in slightly different positions. Also making sure she had a good latch.

Good luck, I hope it passes soon for you.

[HollyOllyOxenfre...]

DS will leave litte marks when he's getting sleepy on the breast and his teeth drag, or when his position isn't quite right. He's not biting, they just rest in an odd spot. I can generally readjust him and it's all good.

He has bitten me hard twice - once just after his first two teeth had come through and I think he was just working out what to do with them, and another time right as he emptied one side - it hurt like hell and drew blood. Took him off with a firm NO and gave him no breast for a couple of minutes, and haven't had any real problems since.

Good luck OP, it's not fun when they bite!

[nikki44]

Thanks so much for all your replies. At both overnight feeds last night she went for the full on bite instead of latching on. I managed not to scream but did remark quite loudly how much I didn't like it! She kept doing it.

When my dd started doing it (on purpose- she smiled when she did it ) I simply took her off the breast, said nothing (as I didn't want to turn it into a game or give attention to it) and placed her on the ground. After a minute or so I would start feeding her again. She rarely bit when I returned her to the breast. But when she did I just repeated the process. She soon learnt that her food disappeared if she bit lol.

Good advice, next time I will just say nothing, stay calm and do exactly this.

If it's bottom teeth (and they are in the middle) then she is moving her tongue out of the way to do it.

Apart from the obvious biting, there is also just the general nippy feeling when she feeds, but mainly on one side. She must be moving her tongue, when she does this I'll try to move her latch a little next time.

try and stop a bottle in the meantime, they can bite a bottle and get milk

Good point, I had suspected that might be encouraging the biting motion as that's exactly what she does to a bottle. I've decided to ditch the idea and go straight to cup when I need it.

Thanks ladies, you have given me hope that it can and will improve. Some of you have been through it worse than I have it seems. Bite marks on breast and drawing blood? The things we do for our babies!

[Bunsen]

Also the teeth will blunt a little once they have broken through. Babies also need time to adjust to having teeth, must feel odd for them to feed with these new things in their mouths - especially if they have sore gums too.

DS would clamp down with a mouth full of teeth so he could keep the nipple in his mouth while having a good look around him (one of the reasons quiet, undistracting feeding rooms are a good thing ) I would end up with deep teeth marks but by that it was mostly uncomfortable rather than painful - if he did try a cheeky bite putting him on the floor did work.