DS won't stop biting!! Should I give up?

[Flossam]

He's been biting for several weeks now. I take him off and so no and don't look at him, if I do he grins at me. He'll go back on and do exactly the same thing. It seems to happen when I am emptying, like he is trying to squeeze more out. I am worried about my supply. He's not got any teeth yet, should I just put up and shut up or think about stopping?

When DS bit me, I used to nurse with one hand right by his chin. If he bit me (he did it when he was teething - and growled at the same time - eek!), I gently but firmly opened his mouth. I tried pulling him into my breast to block his nose so he opened his mouth, but it made him bite harder

Is your DS teething? Can you try giving him a cold teething ring to bite on before you feed him or putting some teething gel on his gums first so he just gets on with nursing?

It felt like DS did this for ages (not sure how long it was really - was on and off, I suppose when his teeth bothered him). He's teething again now, and he hasn't bitten me for months.

HTH xxxxxxxxx

YOu can try bringing him in close to you when he bites....to sort of suffocate him, it goes against what you feel to do, ie pull him off but he will stop if he can't breathe, and if you are consistent with it he will stop.

Poor you! you have my sympathies, my dd periodically bites/pulls back and generally treats me rather too roughly... I know its tough but don't give up you're doing a great job!
Not much advice to offer, it sounds like you're doing everything right, maybe try the other side if one is particularly light - I've heard that biting etc can be a way of increasing the flow, mind you also might just be a teething thing!

I haven't experienced this (didn't bf long enough!) but this is what stopped my mum when she was bfing me. I truly wouldn't "put up and shut up", tho.

How old is he Flossam? My ds3 used to do this and also grin at me as if he was very clever. I used to scream and push him away (doesn't sound very maternal!) but generally, it wasn't too bad and we kept going until he was 14 months when I stopped anyway (ie not because of the biting). Are you close to wanting to give up anyway or do you want to continue?

Flossam, how quickly do you put him back on when he bites? I've read that if they're biting they're not actually hungry so don't put him back on till the next feed. If you're worried about supply then feed more frequently rather than feeding for a long time at each feed IYKWIM.

Hi there. He is 5 months. I love feeding him minus the biting but am quite stressed at the mo so wonder if this is affecting my supply, and am also set to return to work for 12.5 hr shifts in a couple of months so unsure if i'll be able to continue. Feel very guilty that i have had to start weaning him, although he seems to be enjoying it all!!!

CM it depends. sometimes i don't put him back on at all, last night for example, he did it several times, coming off crying again, so gave him some formula, he downed 100mls in record speed, bless his heart.

If you think ds is biting because he has run out of milk, maybe you could try cutting out one breastfeed and giving formula instead. If you are stressed and you think your supply is affected, you could try cutting out the last feed of the day say. Then maybe ds would not bite at the other breast feeds. It might tie in quite well with you going back to work too. I continued to breast feed my youngest two, just 2 feeds a day, until they were 12 and 14 months old respectively.

I might try that lonelymum. I could also try to express a bit at the usual feed time to get a bit of a supply, and to stimulate them enough to make milk still. I can try anyway! Maybe when things settle down I can go fully back to breast.

He might discover he CAN bite on a bottle though - it may be that it won't solve the problem.

Thats possibly true too HM. I gave him a bottle this afternoon instead of me, I had enough to settle him this evening with no biting, so I'll just see how it goes.