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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Breastfeeding with teeth!

9 replies

JessieEssex · 13/02/2011 13:47

My 25wo DD has just sprouted two bottom teeth. She was ebf until I started weaning a couple of weeks ago, and I intend to keep breastfeeding for the foreseeable future. However, almost everyone, when told about her new teeth, has said 'ooh, you'll be stopping breastfeeding then!' Is it really that bad? Is she likely to nip me? If so, what do I do?! I love bf and have had mostly an easy time with it, so I don't want to run into problems now. My MIL told me it was 'weird' to breastfeed a baby with teeth and said that anyone who does is only doing it 'for themselves' as babies don't need it after 6 months. Sigh....

OP posts:
Georgimama · 13/02/2011 13:50

She may nip a couple of times, but you can teach her "manners" about it if she does by breaking her latch and saying "no biting". She will get the message. I BF DS until he was nearly 2, with only a couple of accidental nips. He quickly learned if he nipped, the feed stopped.

You can safely ignore your MIL on the subject of BFing.

moaningminniewhingesagain · 13/02/2011 13:53

DS didn't get any teeth til about 13mo, then got 3 or 4 within two weeks. He still breastfeeds, is 2 now.

I didn't notice any difference when he got the teeth really, he still nipped very occasional both before and after getting teeth, and a bite from hard gums hurts just as much in my expert Wink opinion.

Not wierd, Babies need milk. If you stopped BF now she would have to go on to FF - why would you want to do that if feeding is going well and you and DD are both happy? What a lot of work and ££ for nothing. Less than nothing, as BF is still more beneficial than FF for both of you.

I hadn't planned to feed this long, but by 6mo ish it had got so much easier that I couldn't see any good reason to change. So I didn't. I'm not the least bit lentil weavery either Grin

ReshapeWhileDamp · 13/02/2011 15:19

Bottom teeth are fine - covered by the tongue while feeding! DS1 nipped me a few times with his top teeth, mind. He sort of grew out of it.

I had this a lot when DS1 got his teeth. More so when I was feeding him as a toddler and he clearly had a mouthful of them! Don't ask me why people think babies magically cease to need breastmilk as soon as they have a tooth or two...

pearlgirl · 13/02/2011 15:47

No need to stop for either reason. Ds4 has just got his 4 front top teeth over the last 3 weeks and has caught me with them a couple of times - I've gently taken him off and let him relatch. As for feeding after six months your baby still needs milk and if it is going well for you why change?

mrsravelstein · 13/02/2011 15:53

ds2 used to nip me all the time - fed him to 14 months. dd is now 12 months and has finally got 4 teeth in last few weeks, have had a few ouches but only when she first latches on, never mid feed.

BuckBuckMcFate · 13/02/2011 15:54

DS2 had 4 top and 4 bottom teeth by 6 weeks old and I never had any problems.

DD had 2 top and 2 bottom at 4 months and I did have to break the latch, prise my nipple from her clamped mouth and firmly tell her No! a few times. She carried on feeding til she was nearly 2.

DS3 is 12 weeks old and was born with a tooth!

Bonkers advice from MIL!

crazyhairlady · 13/02/2011 16:04

as others said no need to stop, how you would be bf for yourself suddenly just because baby got teeth is beyond my understanding!

both ds1 and ds2 got teeth at 3 months and i fed ds1 to a year old. ds2 is getting two bottom teeth at moment had a couple of clamp downs, feels like he stopped feeding and is using me like a teething ring. i found if i push him in to the breast he has to come off as he can't breathe, obviously only do for a second, i say "no" then we get back to feeding if he still needs and he doesn't do again.

Original poster
JessieEssex · 13/02/2011 16:17

Thanks all, good to know it's unlikely to cause any problems. I just love bf, dd is currently dozing on my lap with milky chops while I eat chocolate hobnobs. What could be better?! And don't worry, I ignore all 'advice' from MIL, she is lovely but a bit nuts. We had an argument once, after I was explaining that women have a legal right to bf in public, and she said 'what about my legal right not to be put off my lunch?' She says very proudly that in her day, no-one breastfed. As if that's a good thing...

OP posts:
moajab · 13/02/2011 18:12

When my DS got his first teeth and bit me I used to pinch his nose until he came off. This is not as cruel as it sounds - he always came off smiling, but he soon got the message. I am still feeding him now aged 2 with nearly a full set of teeth.

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