my biting 13 month old boy...any tips?

[llareggub]

I really don't want to stop breastfeeding now, but the biting is getting to be a real issue for me.

Our normal morning weekday routine is to cuddle up in bed for the morning feed, then we get up, get dressed and off to work I go. I work full-time so I really cherish this time at the beginning of the day. I feed him before bed and at weekends he normally "asks" for a feed at random times through the day.

But, just recently he has started biting and pulling at my nipple. He did this at 9 months and it was nearly the end of breastfeeding then, but he stopped biting as soon as he started. This has been going on for a while now and he now has teeth. Oh, and he giggles after doing it.

Any tips, thoughts? If I decide to stop, how?!

[moondog]

You take him off, bellow 'NO!', put your boobs away and get up.
It will shock (and maybe even frighten him0 but he will learn.

[tiktok]

Oh, blimey, moondog, surely actual 'bellowing' is optional!

llaraggub, substitute a calm and firm 'no' for moonie's bellow, won't you

You don't need to get up and walk away, either, and you don't need to frighten him...in fact, frightened babies sometimes decide to go on nursing strike after a bellow

[llareggub]

My little man just pinched me at the same time as biting me. Was in too much pain to be calm and firm, or bellow! Resorted to a strangled "ow" instead.

This made him giggle and he pulled at my nipple instead. I really hope this is a phase.

When will he lose interest do you think? How do children stop breastfeeding?

Thanks for the tips moondog and tiktok.

[moondog]

Well I am afraid to say that bellowing was my natural reaction when my nipple was nearly removed.....

[NineBabiesDancing]

When my DD started to bite me, I applied teething gel to her gums 5 minutes before offering a feed and if she still bite me. I broke the seal of her mouth on my nipple with a finger and placed her gently on the floor at my feet. I tried my best to remain silent, as I had also heard about the potential link between shouting and nursing strikes.

Seemed to wear off fairly quickly, after a few days. She seemed to quickly link biting to the end of a nursing session.