11mo biting - time to stop breastfeeding?

[sunnyfields25]

Hi

I'm feeling quite lost with this feeding situation and hoping someone might be able to offer some advice.

In the past few weeks 11mo DS has become increasingly fussy at milk feeds. We've dropped down to just two a day (morning and night) but he's still biting me and then getting upset. It's weird, it's almost as if he wants the milk but doesn't want to breastfeed.

It's become unpleasant for both of us - I now dread feeding him because of the pain, I'm tense all the way through and he ends up upset.

The thought of stopping is upsetting because I don't feel ready and I had such a struggle to make it work in the first place (tongue tie and a lot of pain). This isn't how I thought our breastfeeding journey would end

I'm struggling to figure out what the alternatives would be though... A bit too young to replace with cow's milk (and I'm not sure he'd take that anyway), and can't just leave him without milk altogether. That only leaves us with formula, which he has had now and again but we haven't tried it in ages and given how fussy he's become I don't have high hopes. It also seems bizarre to be trying to get him to take a bottle just a month before he's supposed to stop having bottles altogether!

My head's spinning, so any advice hugely appreciated.

[PalePinkSwan]

Try the Kelly mom or la Leche league websites and search for nursing manners - they both have advice about discouraging biting

[sunnyfields25]

Hi @PalePinkSwan, yes I've been looking at those websites over the past couple of weeks but unfortunately none of the approaches seem to be working. If anything it's getting worse.

[CLB1234]

I had the exact same thing, I persevered (difficult I know) until DD was 2 weeks shy of her first birthday then switched her to cows milk. The only thing we had to do was leave the milk out for a few mins so it wasn't fridge cold but other than that she doesn't seem to have had any ill effects from starting cows milk slightly early (she's nearly 2 now). Maybe drop feeds down to one a day if they're eating enough in the day so you can get to their first birthday

[PalePinkSwan]

Can you express and give him that in bottles? That would keep your supply going while he gets through this phase. Mine bites/chews when he’s got new teeth coming in, so it never lasts for long.

[CloudCaptain]

He's just getting a tooth. When he bites, immediately u latch and place him away from you (somewhere safe). Say no biting firmly and refuse to engage. They soon get the message. Pick him up and try again. If they're properly hungry they soon get the message.

[WakeUpSlow]

Paying loads of attention to dd worked for me when we went through this. I'd rub her back while feeding and praise her for not biting in a constant soothing chatter. I also pulled her in closer so she had to concentrate on feeding more. I'd got into the habit of being on my phone while bf and doing this got us through the biting phase!

[1nina]

I had the same with my little boy... The pain in excruciating!! I wasn't ready to pack up either so I used to just take him straight off if he bit me, he used to get upset and I would say 'no biting' I then let him latch back on. He only did it a few times then he seemed to realise?! I hope this helps, good luck x

[sunnyfields25]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the suggestions. For the past few days I've been feeding DS alone, in our bedroom without the usual distractions of background TV noise, DH walking around or me using my phone. The biting hasn't stopped completely but it has definitely reduced. So I think giving him my full attention when feeding might be the way to go. Hopefully it will keep improving!

[WakeUpSlow]

Glad it's improved. Feeding with bitten boobs is agonising.