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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

How am I going to do this?

49 replies

turtledove23 · 04/12/2008 06:57

DS is 8 months and we are still BF despite him biting every time he's teething. He has had 4 teeth one after another in the last 5 weeks and I am exhausted from being up all night as a dummy and from the biting. Every time he stops biting we have a few days and then we're off again. He has another tooth coming through (number 7, ffs) and I just can't face it again. He won't take a bottle(just bites and pulls them as he does if you give him a dummy) chews beakers, and will take a tiny bit out of a cup, but it is a messy business and takes about an hour to get an ounce in. What do I do?

OP posts:

dasiychain · 04/12/2008 21:17

Have you tried breast milk in a cup, the strong adsa beakers that have the pull up spout are what we used for my son when he was teething. I have to say that my son bit me a few times every time when he did I stopped feeding him (even if he cried)then I would go back to feeding him ten or more minutes later, but I was lucky he got board of breastmilk at about 8months and by 9 he was on watered down cows milk from a cup and soild food which was messy but fun.
Hope you find some of this help full
Good luck

neenztwinz · 04/12/2008 23:43

How do you react when he bites? Try to make it clear that it is not acceptable. The Baby Whisperer book (from what I recall) says you should take him off the breast and say very firmly 'No, mummy doesn't like that' and then put him back on again.

My DD started to chomp down on my breast and pull her head away with the nipple still in her mouth (she had no teeth then tho) - I did the baby whisperer thing and she doesn;t do it now - don't know if it is coincidence tho.

Are you giving ebm or formula in the bottle? My DD refused to take a bottle but she will drink follow-on milk out of a bottle now. Hipp Organic FWIW! Can you get your DH to get up in the night and try a bottle. If you are not there he may be more likely to drink out of the bottle esp if he really is hungry. Hope it works out for you.

Original poster

turtledove23 · 05/12/2008 06:00

Thanks all. He used to take a bottle. Now wont no matter who gives it. EBM or formula. We have battled the biting for two months now and have used every technique. It comes back with each new tooth unfortunately. Last night I got 3 hours sleep and this morning I am in floods of tears wishing I had someone to talk to. I can't keep this up much longer. I reslly hate the idea of giving up BF but I can't be a human dummy anymore.

OP posts:

BlueCowNowIsLowing · 05/12/2008 07:15

You poor thing - IT HURTS when they do this.
Agree with the ideas of taking your ds off when he bites, and putting him back a few mins later (actually, not even a few mins, that seems like a lifetime).

Sorry it's going on and on with each tooth.

BlueCowNowIsLowing · 05/12/2008 07:24

and phone the NCT breastfeeding line - 0300 330 0771 - I'm sure they can help.

Original poster

turtledove23 · 05/12/2008 08:02

He has been up since 430 and is refusing to sleep. He just wants to be on me and I can't take it anymore. I have to sleep!

OP posts:

neenztwinz · 05/12/2008 09:26

Maybe you just have to leave him to cry - is your DH there, or anyone who can take him for a few hours? It will not do him any harm to cry for a while. Get someone to take him out in the pram? It is better for you to sleep and get refreshed.

notnewbutshy · 05/12/2008 09:42

Sorry if you have tried this but I have found ashton and parsons teathing powders great.

I know that dosent help with the bf but maybe if you gave him a powder before a feed?

notnewbutshy · 05/12/2008 09:42

oops, forgot to namechange back!

Umlellala · 05/12/2008 09:51

So the poor little mite is crying from teething pain but you should just leave him to cry?

Agree it wouldbe good if someoneelse could cuddle him whileyou rest. Sounds very very hard though, make sure you give yourself some TLC when you can (!)

Got all this to come with bf ds only4 mths... dd teethed for aaaaages. Itwas hard andconstant andwhy I said I wouldn't even begin to attempt sleep training this time.

Original poster

turtledove23 · 05/12/2008 10:59

Not leaving him to cry...he is in agony. I know that it will pass, but it just never seems to end. We have had all those teeth, cold, ear infection and now more teeth. I am not surviving well. DH away for week and doesn't help much anyway. Sorry if I'm being self-indulgent, but am truly at a loss for what to do.

OP posts:

Catilla · 05/12/2008 11:03

When you say he's in agony - have you given him painkillers, and something to chew on that isn't you? Teether? Muslin?

Original poster

turtledove23 · 05/12/2008 12:57

He's had nurofen then paracetemol, teething rings, cold flannels, gels, liquids, powders... every thing going.

OP posts:

laundrylover · 05/12/2008 13:07

Have you tried nipple shields?

weeglenny · 05/12/2008 13:30

The other thing that you could perhaps try (which seemed to work with my DS),is when he starts to bite or pull,bring his head in closer to your breast so that he has to let go of his grip on your nipple a bit.

I'm sure I read about that technique, but for the life of me can't remember where...

NoPresentsInVictorianSqualor · 05/12/2008 13:35

Is he even hungry?
I had this problem recently and after starting a thread noticed he only does it when not particularly hungry.
It was like I was trying to pacify him by feeding and he was trying to let me know that wasn't what he wanted.
Also, I stopped putting the nipple in his mouth, at this age he can reach for, and find the nipple, and if he is hungry, he will, so putting the nipple just out of reach and him reaching for it showed me he was definitely hungry.

Umlellala · 05/12/2008 15:02

Sorry turtledove, didn't mean to make you feel more crap. my post wasn't aIMED at you but neenztwinz who suggested "Maybe you just have to leave him to cry - is your DH there, or anyone who can take him for a few hours? It will not do him any harm to cry for a while"

Agree that he might cry anyway, but it would be nice for someone to be there cuddling him (as you are I know) while he does... poor thing. poor you.

you cant give medised anymore can you?

IAteMakkaPakka · 05/12/2008 15:07

Calgel rubbed on all of the gums before feeding helped me, and I know you're not supposed to but i genuinely couldn't help but yell out whenever DS bit me. I just stopped each feed at that ppoint, for a few minutes anyway, but I agree it's a comfort thing. DS is 16 months and still feeds much more when teething (although he virtually never bites these days).

Loads of sympathy and just to say if you are determined to keep BFing then cling to the fact that you will get a break from the biting in a day or two, and if you decide to stop then that's fair enough and nothing to feel guilty about

Do try one of the helplines, maybe La Leche because they're very big on feeding older babies and therefore might have more suggestions re a problem like this

NoPresentsInVictorianSqualor · 05/12/2008 17:05

You can give medised. I have some for DS (also around 8 months) I mentioned it on a thread the other day and someone checked for me.

Original poster

turtledove23 · 05/12/2008 18:06

Medised has v strange effect on DS. Makes him really hyper. Was told that dr may prescribe phenergan if the sleeping gets too bad. Is this true? We do get a break with the biting occasionally. On the few days inbetween teeth he sleeps through and doesn't bite and eats solid food. When he's teething he does none of these things. He also bit his own finger really badly. Don't think he has any idea he is biting.
To top it all off, he is trying to walk at 3 am. He walks round the cot or tries to walk round bed and then plays the "let go" game.

OP posts:

Original poster

turtledove23 · 05/12/2008 18:06

Have tried Calpol night too

OP posts:

LilMatchGirlInVictorianSqualor · 05/12/2008 20:46

Re the walking around do you use a grobag? DS has one and it stopped him moving around cos he can't get up in it!

kathryn2804 · 05/12/2008 23:53

Why aren't you supposed to scream if he bites you really hard? I did and mine never bit me again. It worked brilliantly!! It didn't put him off feeding or anything. I think they're intelligent enough to know why you shouted!!

Hope the teething gets beeter soon. It is horrendous!!

Original poster

turtledove23 · 06/12/2008 06:48

Yup, is in Grobag. Doesn't stop him. Slows him down, but doesn't stop him. Last night, however, he didn't bite and slept 7-1, fed without biting then went til 6.

OP posts:

neenztwinz · 06/12/2008 18:08

Umlellala, I didn't mean leave him to cry alone - I said 'can someone take him for a few hours' - I thought it was pretty obvious that I meant to 'cuddle' him while he cried, or take him for a walk while the OP slept. What I meant was just cos he is crying does he have to be put to the breast? Just cos he is srying does the OP have to be there - couldn;t someone else be there while she slept.

I know what I would do if I was that exhausted and that is get some sleep.

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