OUCH how do I stop 9 month DS from biting my nipples!!!???

[ILikeYourSleeves]

He has just started to do this in the last few days, I think perhaps due to teething (?) as he got his 1st tooth 2 weeks ago and his second one has just broken through today. It is so sore though and he does it now and then, he will clench it with his teeth and then turn his head while it's still clenched aararrgggghhhhh. I take him off the nipple and say a firm 'NO' but he then just smiles and gives a little giggle as he thinks mummy is being funny and I then need to turn my head away as I'm trying not to laugh!

I don't know what to do or how to react- tonight he has done the same during the bedtime feed so I eventually put him to bed fully awake with half a feed and now he is wailing!!!

HELP!

[MrsJamin]

Eek my 7 MO DS bites too - mainly when he's teething or he's bored 'cause he's finished a feed. I put on bonjela before a feed, which really helps, also just keep a really close eye on how he's feeding as you might start to watch a pattern which leads up to him biting you. For example I know that my DS brings his hands up to his eyes to rub them from tiredness which is combined with a bite - so when I see he's about to do it, I try to put my finger in his mouth to break the latch. This kellymom.com article may also help

[ten10]

This won't help, but I would just say I have lots of sympathy,

My DS bit me so hard at approx 7mths (when two front teeth came through) that it drew blood and it took what seemed like ages to pry his jaws apart enough so the he didn't take the nipple off. sooooo painful

It was enough to make me give up breast feeding, and switch to bottles (luckily I was down to just one breast feed a day).

but if you can find something that works and means you can carry on the well done you and you have my respect for keeping going

[takingitasitcomes]

I haven't had to try it yet, but I have been told by a midwife (whose previous tips to me have all proved reliably useful) that one way to stop the biter is to pull the baby into your breast even closer as they bite. It sounds counter-intuitive, I know, but you have to do it quickly and hard so that it feels unpleasant for the baby. If you pull their face into your breast hard, they feel they can't breath, so they let go their latch in order to pull away. That's her theory - as I said - I haven't had to try it yet... but I hope it might be helpful.

Good luck!

[Getthekettleon]

When my daughter bite me I screamed so hard that she got such a shock she didn't do it for a long time after that. She did start again when she was a bit older and I got mystitis as a result. I just got used to the odd bite unfortunately.
Would you try just taking him off and walking away for a while if he bites. He may learn that the biting means you put him down and stop feeding and be less likely to do it again?

[boobyguru]

Baby,s tend to bite during a breastfeed for a number of resons. often at around 7-9 mths it can be because either they want instant gratification (don,t want to wait for the let down)in which case try stimulating this with a bit of nipple tweeking or thay are telling us they don,t really want that feed right now.you can try putting babe down on the floor with a firm no.Or squashing the baby,s face into the breast tissue this will certainly make them let go.

[Dawnie6577]

I haven't experienced this, but you have my every sympathy! It made me giggle when you said that you have to turn away after you've told your son off after he has giggled (exactly what my 9 month old does when I tell him off for pulling hair/pinching skin).

My DS has no teeth yet, but does the whole clenching shut over the nipple and that hurts without teeth! All I can say is I am very lucky he doesn't have teeth yet. I can't offer any advice whatsoever, but reading your post made me wince out loud. Eeek.

[Mummyfor3]

Pulling DS in close to me to (momentarily) obstruct his nostrils with ginormous boobie worked for me and cured him of biting habit (2 teeth on 16 week old baby [shpck] !?). In order to breath he had to let go and it was obviously unpleasant enough to teach him to not do it. This also avoids agony of trying to pull off clamped on baby, ouch!!

[ILikeYourSleeves]

Thanks for your replies, and thanks to MrsJamin for the interesting article

I listened to him wail for a few minutes when I wrote my post then went back upstairs to the wee lamb. I resumed feeding and he sooked properly and fell asleep within 10 mins with no biting. Thinking about it all, I wonder if I am giving him his bedtime feed too near his dinner (dinner 5pm, bed feed 630pm ish) so he isn't hungry and therefore just larking about. I will try to space this out a bit more and see if that helps as he has never bitten me at his morning feed. Hmmmmm....