Biting

[M and N's Mom]

I am writing this for my cousin who is not on the computer much.  Her DS is 6.5 months, has 2 teeth so far (might be teething again) and is biting her when she is BFing.  Any techniques I can recommend for her?  I don't want her to give up BF but she is frustrated.  Thanks.

[LyndaManus]

Not there yet, but I am scared about it enough that I have already asked lots of people

When the lo bites, push their face in to the boob to smother them a little bit (some people suggest yelling ouch while doing this).  They won't enjoy the smothering and will learn their lesson quick.  Instinct tells the mother to pull away but this is the last thing you want to do.

Some have also suggested having your finger right next to the lo's mouth to be ready to break the latch.  I have also heard that you can normally tell by looking at them that they are transitioning their moth from a suck to a bite position and can get them off before it is an issue.  One mom mentioned that her lo gets a little twinkle in his eye before going to bite.

Hope that helps!

[Samuel's mum]

Yup, don't pull away. The pushing into boob thing is handy if they aren't letting go of their latch - it just gets them to break off quickly, it isn't scary for them.

This link below has a good 'summary' of the main advice.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html

The main thing is timing as a baby can't effectively nurse for milk and bite at the same time so biting occurs at the beginning and end of sessions or on a break. You can normally see a position change in the jaw (and occasionally a baby might look at you with a little twinkle in their eye!. Sam used to 'gum' me pre-teeth and I could definitely tell when he was thinking about it!!!). Keep a little finger ready to break latch quickly.

Some people talk about shouting a firm 'no' but that seems to backfire more often than not - either inducing a nursing strike through fear OR baby thinks 'Wow! What was that exciting noise and how do I do it again!!'.

If baby is uncomfortable from teething that could account for biting down so consider teething remedies - herbal options or other pain relief. Offer a clean cold wet washcloth to bite down as a substitute.

If teeth are very new it sometimes takes a few days for baby to get used to feeding with them and adjust latch. Don't be shy about breaking latch if it doesn't feel right and readjust.

Hope that helps.

You sound like a useful cousin to have around!!!

[M and N's Mom]

Thank you.  My DS doesn't have teeth yet (and my DD rarely bit) so I'll keep this in mind for myself too