Biting Babies!

[Mollipops]

Hi everyone...I had this problem with my dd when she was about 8mo. Luckily I had read about it and rather than yelling "ouch!" (easier said than done!) I yelled "No!" (not gently!) and took her off (little finger in the corner of her mouth), put her down and walked out the room. Yes she cried, but she never did it again either! If she went to nip I would only have to issue a quiet but stern warning "no" and she would get the idea. Bite it and you lose it! I ended up feeding her til she was about 14mo.

The thing is, babies physically can't feed and bite at the same time, as the way they attach means their lips cover the teeth. So new teeth doesn't have to mean the end of breastfeeding.

Watch closely towards the end of a feed as this is the most common time to nip! If they start to come off a little, take them off the breast before they get a chance to bite! Mums reaction to this can be hilarious for bub, and it can end up being a neat game for them, even if it started as innocent! If they learn that you mean business and biting will not be tolerated even once, they will figure out that it isn't worth missing a feed for a bit of "fun"!

[Anibani]

My experience is very similar to that of Mollipops - a firm NO! and taking my dd off the breast using a finger in the corner of her mouth definitely did the trick. She only ever bit me 2 or 3 times before he got the message, and since then I've had no further problems. dd is now 14 and a half months old and we're both still enjoying the bf experience.