Breastfeeding through nipple trauma

[Christybee]

Hello, my 10 month old is breastfed and has never had a bottle. He has 8 teeth and this hasn’t been a problem, he is now getting canines (I know it’s early). Recently he bit me at the base of the nipple on my dominant breast. It’s down to the fat and about 2mm wide. He currently feeds to sleep and no other method has been successful, at the moment he is waking every 90 minutes for a feed and has now caused a blister on the opposite nipple from chewing. My eldest teethed canines for 6 weeks and I don’t know how much longer I can go on for. Any other methods of getting him to sleep cause purple screaming and wake his brother who is also teething second molars. I’m a single mum, at my wits end and desperate to continue breastfeeding. Any advice on either getting a breastfed baby to sleep without a feed or feeding with nipple trauma would be greatly appreciated! I’m getting through Lanolin, ibuprofen and tea tree oil like nobody’s business.

Ouch . Biting when teething is one of the many reasons I’d love to stop bfing if only DD would let me.

I unlatch immediately if DD bites/chews and relatch or put her down (depending on whether or not she meant to do it - sometimes it’s just because of a bad latch).

On stopping bfing to sleep, I started unlatching DD and putting in cot when awake but drowsy at first, and then when that didn’t work moved on to using Lucy Wolfe’s book, where advice is to feed at a different time and room to sleep (e.g. feed downstairs before bath/bed) in order to break the association; also unlatching if it looked like she was dozing off.

And then a fairly rigid bedtime routine (same books, lighting etc each night), and sitting in the dark by the bed using distraction techniques to stop her crying long enough to doze off (in our case that’s singing or reciting a story; a lot of it is about learning their sleepy noises so you know when to stop talking!).

The book also suggests daytime feeding routines which are supposed to improve the chances of success.

Mine no longer feeds to sleep for naps either, but that means unless I walk her in the sling/buggy, she won’t nap for me (but she’ll nap In the cot for DP).

A 10 month old definitely doesn't need feeding every 90 minutes. No wonder your nipples are ruined! I always went cold turkey with overnight feeds, I think feeding sometimes when you go to them and not others is just confusing for the baby. So no feeds overnight, offer water instead. There will be some crying but he should soon realise there's no milk at night.

Thank you both so much for the advice. I always start out with the mindset I’m not going to feed to sleep that night then the exhaustion takes over and I give in. It hasn’t been a problem up until now but his teeth are waking him up so instead of once or twice it’s been constant

You poor thing that sounds awful! I had a painful fissure when DS1 was a baby (not as bad as yours!) and nipple shields were my savior. Might be worth a try.

Ouch poor you!

I know this might sound bonkers but I think it's worth talking to DS about it.

From being a young baby if DD's latch was uncomfortable I would say 'stop; you're hurting mummy' and then take her straight off the boob. It got to the point, at about 8m I think, that if I said 'stop' she would unlatch herself before I had to.

Once she started getting teeth I would have to ask her to unlatch a lot as she adjusted her latch for the new teeth.

All that aside, your nipple needs recovery time and you really need to go a good few hours between feeds.

Rub a bit of breast milk on the wound as I think this helps it to heal.

Hydrogel nipple pads were so soothing for me, they're like a cool gel that stops everything hurting but a bit pricey.
And I went cold turkey for night feeds eventually but if you can't face it just do what you have to do for you and your nipples to get through this!

I don't know if you're still struggling with this op, I'm going through exactly the same with my 8 month old. He's got 6 teeth, 7 on the way and has bitten twice, the most recent has gone right through just like you say.

It's taking ages to heal and is eye wateringly painful, but what has helped me in the past is addressing called Jelonet. I saw it recommended on a thread here. You cut into little squares and it helps it to heal.
Best of luck

Ask your dr to prescribe circular wound dressings - they come with a gel layer and are super

Why are you desperate to continue? You've done well to get to 10 months, but baby doesnt need milk for that much longer. If it is causing you that much pain and isnt working out, theres no harm in stopping.