Any tips on brestfeeding a baby with teeth?

I have strictly breastfed my baby for almost 7 months now(i have started cereal and veggies, she hates them:). but now she has her first tooth coming in, i always said i would wean once the teeth started showing up but i really want to keep going till she's atleast 12 months. any advice?

Any tips on brestfeeding a baby with teeth?
Keep on going. My son has 3 front teeth and rarely bites, usually only if he's startled and pulls off without unlatching first. The best thing is to make sure that if and when she bites you, you say "ouch" or "no" or "no biting" very loudly and sternly and take the nipple away from her. she'll cry the first few times, but after she's settled explain that if she bites, she loses the breast. It may not seem like she understands you, but she does. Then let her start nursing again once she's calm. If it's a bad bite, you may want to go to the other breast for that feeding, but don't skip the bitten breast completely, as you could get engorged or breast infection or thrush etc.





I've also heard but haven't tried it out that babies who bite frequently while nursing are experiencing gum pain and to try some hylands teething tablets or a little bit of tylenol before feedings to numb the pain. I would hesitate on the tylenol except before bed but it's a suggestion you can ask your pediatrician if it becomes a problem.





Good luck and way to go on your commitment to keep nursing your baby!
Reply:You can purchase nipple protectors at your local baby supply store ( Babies R Us) and try lanolin cream to sooth after feeding. The nipple protectors are kind of hard to get use to, but they work real well after you get adjusted to them.
Reply:My daughter started biting my nipples, I couldn't take it. It was suggested I be firm and say "no" with her, being firm and being sure to show an angry facial gesture. It did prove helpful.It also taught me to discipline her.


La Leche League may be helpful.
Reply:I screamed (unintentionally) the first time my dau bit me. It scared her soooo bad. She didn't bite me any more though. Well, until she was about 2, but by then it was intentional because she was being a booger. Two year olds are so much fun :)
Reply:One thing I noticed was that my son's teeth didn't bug me until he had some on the top and bottom. Then it got harder for him to keep them out of the way. Usually, babies don't bite or scrape the breast on purpose the first couple of times. I had to work on latching again with my son, to teach him to open really wide again as he had gotten a little lazy over the months of nursing! I will echo what others have said: take the baby off the breast, tell him/her "no" and then let him/her nurse again. It may take a while, but they get it. I also learned to anticpate when my son was about to bite (like when he wasn't trying to get any milk). Just a note about one poster's advice: I would caution you against using a nipple shield. They tend to reduce the amount of milk flow, and since your child is still primarily on breastmilk, that could be harmful.
Reply:Don't worry about teeth. My daughter got her first tooth at 4 months, so yours at 7 months should be able to pick up on this. Any time from now on when your baby starts to bite down you take your nipple away and wait awhile before you give it back. Stick to your guns, it's not going to be convenient but let him learn now, as opposed to when he has a mouth full of teeth, that biting means no more!





Now when my daughter started teething heavily 3 months later with her premolars I got bit _one_ time. I yelled really loud because it scared me more than anything, but my yelling scared her. Once she realized I was ok, she thought it was funny and started to bite me again to make me yell... I pinched her cheek. Ok, but keep in mind, I didn't pinch her hard enough to _really_ hurt her, but I pinched enough that she didn't want to be pinched again, you got me? She tried one more time, got one more pinch and that was that, never had another problem.



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