Please help - teeth rubbing, don't want to stop bfing :(,

[DitaVonCheese]

I could really do with some help. DD is 11 months and has six teeth (four on top and two on the bottom). They've been fine so far, apart from when she bit me the other night but I've noticed today and yesterday that it's been slightly painful when she latches on. This evening she's been very upset - think it might be teething (sixth tooth has only just come through) and has taken ages to settle. We are still feeding to sleep, but tonight she kept scraping me as I tried to put her down, then she'd wake up and want to latch on again. Both nipples now very sore and I'm dreading the next feed (she's just woken up again and DH is currently trying to settle her, but generally only boob will do).

I've read a few posts saying that the latch will adjust, but how long does this take? I'm worried she'll rip me to shreds in the meantime.

It doesn't help that she treats me as an all-night buffet - would night weaning help, and how on earth do I do that? She is still a boob monster at 11 months.

I've put on some Lansinoh but not sure what else to do. Neither of us are ready to stop bfing

Not sure if I can be much help, but whenever my DS was hurting me due to lazy-itis I used to unlatch him and then relatch him correctly. It didn't take long for him to get the message. I sometimes had to do this 4 or 5 times in a feed. I would tell him why, as well so that he got the message (they understand a lot more than you realise IMO)

FWIW when he bit me he got unlatched immediately, told NO and put firmly on the floor. That didn't last either !

Re the night weaning - it's a toughie, personally I wouldn't bother whilst she's teething as it's the best settling weapon in your armory IMO. Get the message across to her about her latch first - the hopefully the nights should sort themselves ?

(And don't forget she has to learn to adjust her latch around all these whopping great big teeth - it's not deliberate )

Thanks puffy. I know it isn't deliberate, poor mite Just worried we're going to get to a point where I'm crying through feeds and be forced to wean before we're ready. It doesn't feel too bad while she's actually feeding - I think it's just when she latches on and when she's falling asleep.

We are still night feeding because I'm too tired/lazy to find another way of settling her! May try putting her back in her cot more though (at the moment she starts in her cot, then comes into bed with us when she wakes up). I was really pleased that I finally stopped wearing pads at night a week ago, but it does mean that she just helps herself and I think she's probably rubbing me while we both sleep.

I used nipple sheilds when dd1 was at the same stage. I only needed them for a few weeks and then it settled down.The other thing that helped was changing position and lying down or sort rugby ball hold with her supported on a cushion beside me. This meant her teeth weren't always rubbing on the same spot.

Which teeth as rubbing worst?

Not sure CharChar - they feel sore all over tbh but it's only really been a problem since her top teeth got bigger.

Might have a look into nipple shields, rambling, ta.

With DS this lasted a couple of weeks I think. It was agony, but we are through it now and he's got all his front teeth so we won't have the problem again.

I almost went back to newborn feeding, pulled him right in close to me rather than letting him latch himself and made sure he got a big mouthful of boob.
The feeds you do in the day, can you rotate her angle of attack so to speak, so that it isn't the same bit of nipple getting rubbed each time?

I would try and get her sleeping in her cot more as well - since 12 months we've had a few episodes of DS waking up in the night wanting to play and if he was used to staying in our bed it would be a nightmare!

Hang in there, it will pass!

Much sympathies, have had it myself with DD and it sucks. Just a thought, once you get her in position, lower her a bit more than usual. It will mean she has to tip her head back a bit further to latch and hopefully will take a bit of pressure off. Also encourage her to open wide by modelling for her and saying 'big mouth' or whatever. DD picked that up quite quickly. It is short-lived and it will pass but I know how it feels at the time. Keep up the Lansinoh and grit your teeth. HTH a little

Maybe also try wearing a top at night for now that she can't get into. That way you'll be able to control a latch a bit better.

Thank you (and at Ali ).

I've just been having a look on Kellymom and wondering whether it's actually a hormonal thing. AF hasn't returned yet but I've had the random feeling recently that it's just about to, so perhaps that's it. I will try adjusting the latch in the meantime - thanks for the tips - and yes, back to a sleep bra for now I think!

Thanks

DS did this whilst getting used to his new teeth, you have my sympathy - it hurts!
It did settle down quite quickly, no more than a few days I think and the scrapes healed remarkably quickly (24-48 hours).
I found this helpful.
We didn't co-sleep though, so he didn't have quite as much chance to do damage whilst I wasn't aware.
I agree with puffy about bf being a great pacifier for teething - have just been through nearly a week of 1st molar misery and I reckon it would have been much worse had I not had bf to comfort him.
Good luck, hope she gets used to her new teeth soon

Thanks again for the replies. Three days later, my first period since 2007 has arrived, and the pain has magically disappeared

That will explain it then! Glad you're sorted, it has been lovely feeding DS the last couple of months (he's 13 months). It gets nicer the older he gets I'm finding.