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This post is one of the reasons I actually came up with the idea for this blog. For two weeks my baby and I cried, barely slept, and were in a constant battle over biting while nursing. He had bitten me a few times before, but never so consistently or painfully. So, I sat down and googled the same thing over and over again. “How to get your breastfed baby to stop biting your nipple?”. I convinced myself that if I did it enough times eventually something new would pop up. I was so disappointed with what I found because none of it was actually helpful at all. The top recommendations were to switch to bottle feeding if they were too young to wean, to wean them from breastmilk if they weren’t too young, or to simply put them down and firmly say no to teach them it wasn’t allowed. While my son, I suppose, was technically old to wean, about 75% of his diet came from nursing. He was (and still is) VERY attached to breastfeeding. He also never took a bottle and refused every time I offered. So those reasons eliminated bottle feeding and weaning as options for us, which left us with telling him no. I tried. I really tried. Anytime he’d bite me I’d put him down and say no in a whole variety of tones and levels of sternness, but no matter what I did he thought it was hilarious. It was a disaster. For almost two weeks he was so hungry. He’d cry all the time, especially around bedtime, but then when I’d offer him milk he’d immediately bite me! It would take us over an hour to get a short feed in because he wouldn’t stop biting, and by the end we were both crying and upset, and man did my nipples hurt. The worst part was, even if he was absolutely starving and bawling his eyes out, he seemed almost like he couldn’t stop himself from biting me! It made me feel like a terrible mom since I wasn’t able to provide food for my son no matter how hard I tried, but I also was going to lose a nipple if I didn’t pull it out. I swore to myself that if I ever made it through this I’d do whatever I could to help other moms stop the agonizing pain that is your nursing biting you over and over. So here’s a list of what we came up with- including what was the game changer for us at the very end.
Things that actually worked for me:
Nursing when your baby is really tired:
I found that if he was half asleep (or fully asleep) he was significantly less likely to bite. This led to a lot of sleepless nights for me since he’d be so hungry he’d keep fussing in his sleep, but I would actually be able to get food into him. While this might not be the most enjoyable or a sustainable long term solution, if your kid is hungry and you don’t have other options, this works. Try to get as much milk into them as possible when they’re tired or sleeping so you don’t have to do it when they’re at their most awake and bite-y phase.
Helping them with teething pain:
The two weeks we struggled the most with this also happened to coincide with my son having the worst teething pain he’s had. Breastmilk is a natural painkiller that is supposed to help with that pain, but if you can’t get the milk into them without them biting, it can’t do much. So if you feel comfortable it might be helpful to put some sort of teething gel, ice, or whatever other teething relief you use on their gums a little bit before nursing. This wasn’t a game changer for us or anything, but it did seem to help a bit during the daytime feeds.
Trying to increase their solid food intake:
Try filling them up with other foods! While this was one thing that was suggested by other things I read, and it helped a bit, it wasn’t the solution we needed. My son just didn’t like eating all that much. That being said, it was one method we did our best to implement, just because he needed food and with how much he was biting he wasn’t getting it from me.
Taking care of your nipples:
This doesn’t stop them from biting, but it does make it easier to feed them. Get yourself a good nipple cream. It was actually during these two weeks that I fell in love with Earth Mamas organic nipple butter. I had heard raving reviews about it, but was given a different kind of nipple cream at my baby shower so never checked it out until my son’s biting phase. It helps tons! It was definitely better than any of the other kinds of nipple cream I had tried, it’s safe to have on while your baby nurses, and if I’m honest, I also started using it on his dry skin. It worked better than most creams and lotions I’d tried to get rid of his problem areas. If you need some good nipple relief check out earth mama organics here and use code SIDNEY2024 for 10% off!
The Hack: watching your babies tongue
I was struggling so much with feeding my baby and felt so hopeless, until I heard somebody say something along the lines of “well if his latch is good his tongue should cover his bottom teeth”. This got me thinking and I decided to take a peak. I used my index finger to move my breast aside a little next time I tried nursing and noticed I could see his little tongue underneath sucking for milk. Then, sure enough, a few seconds later he pulled his tongue quickly back into mouth and ouch my nipple was in agony. So I began watching, and every time his tongue would disappear I’d pull out my nipple. Sometimes I was too slow and would get bit, and sometimes I’m not even entirely positive he was trying to bite me and I’d feel so guilty. But then we’d try again, and again, and again. Within three days he had learned that every time he tried to bite I’d pull my boob out and he wouldn’t be able to eat. It was way more effective than saying no because he didn’t find it funny, and the repetition was way more consistent because I wasn’t getting bit so I wouldn’t need a break in between feeding. It wasn’t foolproof, but it helped soooo much. And in the end, I’m pretty sure that’s what stopped him from biting altogether. We’ve been nursing for about 5 months since then and in the time he’s only bit me once. It helped me turn nursing back into a loving and bonding experience that we both love, and I’m hoping if you give it a shot it can do the same for you. Just remember to keep an eye on your baby’s tongue (it’s easiest if you use your finger to move your breast, but not too much that it pops your nipple out of their mouth), don’t make too big of a deal of it except for a quiet but firm no, and be patient! You’re doing a great job as a mom and having this struggle with breastfeeding doesn’t change that.