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Infant feeding

BFing with teeth

11 replies

Peaceloveandjammydodgers · 31/08/2015 09:38

DS is 8mo and has five teeth (two bottom centre, one top centre, two top either side).
I have worked really bloody hard to breastfeed him; I was expressing from two weeks to three months before I was finally able to totally breastfeed him. He has a bottle of formula at bedtime simply so that DH can take over and give me a break. He's never had an issue going from breast to bottle.
Now that his top centre teeth are coming in, he is unintentionally grazing against my nipple and biting, which means I have to keep interrupting him, and it really hurts! I'm going to go to the breastfeeding cafe next Monday for advice but I'm starting to think it's time to give up breastfeeding altogether. This isn't what I want to do, partly due to the expense of formula, partly because I feel I've worked too hard to get to this point only to give up now. I don't want to express again - that nearly killed me with stress.
Any advice? Anyone been in the same situation?

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MrsAukerman · 31/08/2015 10:29

Unlatch, relatch better, repeat until he learns. If he intentionally bites I end the nursing session and put him in the cot for 10 mins regardless of crying. I also find he bites when he doesn't really want milk that much like when I'm desperately trying to feed him to sleep

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shoopshoopsong · 31/08/2015 10:32

For me this only happened occasionally when he was getting used to how to feed with his mouth shape having changed. Horrible at the time but was very brief and worth persisting through. As MrsA said, if he bites, gently put him down step away for a minute and then try again. Good luck I hope it's just a quick phase

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noblegiraffe · 31/08/2015 11:07

Press him into you so he needs to delatch to breathe, definitely don't pull him off!

Biting gets a firm NO and putting baby on the floor. They soon stop!

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Pandasandmonkeys · 31/08/2015 18:34

As Mrs A said. Worked with both of my biters. Ds was particularly bitey and actually drew blood more than once. It took him two weeks of being put on the floor/in the cot at every bite to finally stop it completely and I fed him til 13 months with no further problems. Dd fought on much faster and so far I've only had to put her down twice and no more biting for ages. She's 9 mo now.
Good luck! They soon learn that biting = no boob!

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Pandasandmonkeys · 31/08/2015 18:35

Caught on!

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Peaceloveandjammydodgers · 31/08/2015 19:52

Thanks all.
I must not be explaining myself properly because this is the same advice the HV gave me. He isn't deliberately biting me - he did that when he got his bottom teeth, but I took him off each time and he quickly learnt not to do it. This is more that his teeth are in the way and they're grazing against my nipples, and being razor sharp, it is very painful. I think I need help with positioning.

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ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 31/08/2015 19:57

If his teeth are grazing your nipple as he feeds itnsounds like maybe he is being lazy and not opening his mouth properly?

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Acorncat · 31/08/2015 20:07

I had this problem, it was temporary - albeit everytime new teeth came in. It resolved itself once the teeth were in and he got used to them. He still does it now but only when he's half asleep and not latched on properly. I can only feed lying down now, seems to be less teeth issues that way.

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shoopshoopsong · 31/08/2015 23:02

It does feel different when they have more teeth but shouldn't be grazing you. Perhaps he has changed his latch as his mouth is changing. Hard to tell from typing do you have a local breastfeeding group or advisor you could get to check his latch?

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sleepyelectricsheep · 31/08/2015 23:14

I BF DS till he was 4 and am currently BFing toddler DD. I've never had an issue with teeth, other than a brief spell of deliberate biting from DS which was quickly sorted.

I suspect this means it's a solvable problem. You need to investigate it and ask the experts

Please don't expect professional advice from HVs on breastfeeding, however, unless they have been specially trained in BFing. HVs are not BFing experts and do not need to keep up with the latest knowledge on it. Their advice is often basically their opinion / homespun nonsense rather than science based. GPs are also often woefully ignorant of current thinking on BFing.

You need to speak to a BFing counsellor or other support specifically for BFing such as La Leche League or a local support group.

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sleepyelectricsheep · 31/08/2015 23:20
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