[mum201]

ok so I exclusively bf my ds who i suspect is just starting to teeth. he chomps away on anything he can get into his mouth. for the past two days though he has been chomping on my nipples with his gums. i have read in some other threads re older babies you say 'no' and put them down and resume later. i have tried this but i think he is too young to understand. any ideas ladies? has this happened to anyone else?

[tenar]

Stressful, isn't it.

My strategy has mostly been to try to only feed when I know she's really hungry, so she's focussing on sucking rather than chomping. Sometimes I used to stick a finger in DD's mouth to see if she would suck it or bite it, if the latter I'd hold off on the feed for a bit and give her something to chew on.

Good luck! For both my daughters this phase only lasted a couple of weeks (with DD2 it has come back recently, but again I don't think it'll last long, it's just that she's cutting a bunch of teeth at the moment).

[auldlangsyne]

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This post has been edited by auldlangsyne: 21/06/2012, 11:51 AM

[SqueakInCanada]

Hi there,
My DD went through a phase like this as well, it wasn't too bad whilst she didn't have teeth, but it continued for a few days after those first two teeth arrived and it was a painful few days.
I did the "no" thing as well and finished the feed, but like you I don't know if she really understood. What I found is that DD would do it at the end of a feed if she wasn't really hungry and it was more playing, or if I was trying to feed her to sleep but she wasn't hungry. So she was happy to get down and play when I said "no" so it's wasn't that much of a disincentive iykwim.

What worked for us was, like tenar, to ensure that I only fed when she was truly hungry, and to keep a very close eye on her. I've read that it is physically impossible for the babies to bite when they are actively sucking, so I'd watch her closely when she stopped actively sucking, and if I saw her jaw tense, I'd remove her from the breast (using a finger to break the suction if needed). I'd offer again and if she was still hungry she'd keep eating, but if not the feed would be over.
I think I only needed to keep doing this for a week or so (the biting stopped after a few days, but I was a bit anxious for a while afterwards!).

Another thing to try might be offering a damp/cool washcloth or cool teething ring to bite on before a feed; or just after a feed when the active sucking has stopped, as that might help with the teething pain.

There was also a really good kellymom article I read on biting/teething when breastfeeding that helped me, but for some reason it's not loading for me at the moment (not sure if it's me or their website). But google gives this link which might work for you:
http://kellymom.com/parenting/parenting-faq/teething/

All the best, hope this phase passes quickly for you!

[lucky 2]

Something is wrong with the kellymom site, I was looking for the Distractible Baby page, OP it may not be related to teething or biting. Babies often peak in distractibility at this age.
All the best.
http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=kellymom+...198724,2bad34d3

[mum201]

Thanks ladies. Glad to know it's just a phase for some and will try your suggestions. Poor boobies!