BF'ing and teeth - how to cope?

[Roobietherednosedreindeer]

Ds has had teeth from a freakishly early age. He is now 7.5 months and has 7 teeth - 3 on the bottom and 4 on the top. Bf'ing is turning into an absolute nightmare as his (very sharp) teeth are constantly rubbing on my nipples causing them to crack and bleed horribly. I'm expressing and bottle feeding at the moment as they are in such a state but when I try again they will be back to their original hideous state after a couple of feeds - this is the pattern at the moment.
Any tips? His latch seems to be OK and he is not biting as such it's just the rub - I've tried endless different positions.

no tips really, just bumping for you.

My ds's teeth do rub a bit, but aren't anywhere near what you describe. Did you try taking him off when it was particularly bad? I suppose that might encourage him to latch on slightly differently (maybe?).

Or perhaps there is something that can be done to toughen the nipples up (in the same vein as surgical spirit on the feet prior to hiking ?) I can put up with the discomfort of the rubbing it's just the damage it wreaks - the slightest touch seems to cause a split.

surgical spirit

are the cracks on your actual nipple (as opposed to the areola)? If so, is the damage done more as he comes off than when's he's latched on?

I do get them around the base of the nipple (although admittedly caused when he yanks off suddenly when distracted or when we make a hash of latching on in the first place ... another problem!) but also get broken skin from tooth rub on the aureola. I can feel his teeth when he is feeding.

Hello, my DS has 4 teeth and I could only feel them when they first came through
Not sure what to suggest sorry

In theory if a baby is latched properly then teeth should not be felt. However I think this is not always the case in the early months of teething as babies get used to their teeth. My Ds also got a lot of teeth at once and started biting when they came in. The first thing I did was start concentrating on him when he was feeding (no more reading or tv for the mo! ) This is because I noticed that he more often bit me as he was finishing a feed, either as he was coming off the boob or just having a playful chew at the end of the feed. I got very good at quickly unlatching him when he got that look that he was about to sink his teeth in!

There are lots of other things you can do to help stop your LO from using you as a teething toy! Some mums find gently pressing their baby into their boob works (makes them let go) as does gently pinching their nose. Some say no firmly and that works (although I found that ds just found that funny & laughed, as did shouting, gasping or showing any kind of pain-type noise). What worked for me if ds bit me was simply unlatchin him straight away and putting him on the floor and ignoring him for no more than a minute (if that). I then picked him up and offered the boob again to make sure he had had his fill (which he usually had). He soon learnt that biting meant no boob, no mum & no cuddling, basically no comfort at all so stopped doing it altogether. He hasn't bit me for quite some time as he now has all his front teeth & so is used to them being there so please do not worry they do stop with a bit of perseverence!

This link gives some excellent tips: kellymom - biting