Nipple chomping

[mamadoc]

please help my friend (she doesn't have internet access).

She has an 18 week old DD and has had horrible colic and her own health problems to contend with but bf was going well until recently when her DD started chomping on her nipple at the end of a feed.

Apparently once she's had enough she clamps her gums very hard on the nipple and then pulls her head away causing lots of pain. She does this every feed and it is really doing damage. My friend tries to use her finger to release gently but usually isn't quick enough. She says it feels like the last straw and she is considering giving up bf.

I had no idea what to suggest but was hoping you wise mums might

[yaddayah]

bump for you for evening crowd

[bookthief]

Gently but firmly push her head into the breast which should make her let go. I tried this when ds got teeth at 12 weeks and started biting - it really worked!

I do sympathise, I got very tense towards the end of feeds but he stopped doing it after a week or so.

[sleepbabysleep]

Mine started doing this a few weeks ago and occasionally still does, I just stop the feed immediately and sit him up to burp. Not sure there´s anything else you can do..

[BalletMum]

Ditto the push dd into breast so that she has to let go. I say a firm no and wait a few minutes before letting her continue the feed if I feel she needs any more....I also tell her that Mummies nipples are not playdough....!!!

[mamadoc]

Thanks guys will pass it on.

[2Happy]

Just a word of caution: pushing baby into the breast can scare them, and babies have been known to be funny about bfeeding after a scare as they associate the two. It didn't work for ds1 either for a different reason - he breathed out when I pulled him in and made a farty noise against my breast, which he thought was sooo hilarious he then bit constantly afterwards to try and get me to push him in so he could fart-noise again (he was a little older though).

I would go for persevering with unlatching her - maybe your friend needs to have her unlatching finger ready during the feed! If she's messing around, she's not feeding, so she's not hungry. If she is hungry, she'll soon learn that biting is not the way to get milk. Plus, I know she's young, but ds1 bit when he was teething at 5m... Also when there was distraction - try feeding the baby in a quiet room.

[laura032004]

Wetting her little finger will make it quicker and easier to slip in to unlatch. I gently push DS2 in to the breast, and unlatch at the same time.

Lansinoh will help minor soreness caused by this.

Would second the opinion that if they're doing this, they've probably had enough milk. It is a signal from DS2 to me that he's had enough and wants to play!

[Poohbah]

I gently held DS closer to my body and I think that is what is meant by pushing baby into breast and it does work!