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ShawnaB
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| Posted: Dec 07 2005 at 11:19pm | IP Logged
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Question...what do you do when your 5 mo old likes to chomp down while nursing? She has no teeth, but she grabs me with her gums like a vice...while looking up innocently at me with her big, bright eyes.
Ds and Dd both bit a time or 2 after they had teeth, and my strong reaction (Ouch!!, yank!) startled them so much that it did not become a habit. The were 9 or 10 months. Baby girl is so young that she is very oblivious that she is hurting me. But, I am becoming more uptight when she nurses, waiting for the pain, and she seems to be doing it more and more. Do I just grin and bear it, and wait it out? Any tricks?
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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MaryM
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Hi Shawna,
Ouch -  It is definitely something that can be worked with to teach her that isn't okay. It's helpful to realize that if a baby is biting they aren't nursing and if they are actually nursing they can't bite. The dynamics of the act of breastfeeding make it impossible to "bite" while actively breastfeeding - so what we have when babies bite is a situation where they are biting instead of breastfeeding. Biting most commonly occurs at the beginning of a feeding before a baby actually starts breastfeeding (examples: the baby who is resisting breastfeeding and reacts by biting, baby frustrated by low supply/slow milk ejection or does it to deal with strong flow, teething baby who's initial response to anything near mouth is to chomp) or at the end of a feeding (examples: baby who clamps down to signal the end of nursing - often due to slow flow of milk, jaw clamping when falling asleep, "funny" reaction from mom - just playing around). So it is helpful to first try to determine when this is happening and address it from there.
One thing you mentioned was that you were feeling more and more uptight about it and it seemed to be happening more frequently. A couple things struck me with that. It can be that babies enjoy the reaction they get from mom - like you said she doesn't understand it hurts you but it does make you react. For some babies that natural reaction startles or scares them and they cease the biting - for others it is an interesting interaction and they think they are kind of funny. Also I was wondering if by being worried about the possibility of biting and being tense that is changing how you are breastfeeding and holding her. Tension in the body can make you more prone to be holding her a little further away or moving more quickly if you sense she will bite. A baby who feels that they are going to "lose" the breast has a very strong reaction to keep it in - for some babies that means a rapid sucking in (like spaghetti) or for others it is a clamping/biting reaction.
Anyway, the very best compilation of information that I have seen on biting is from a past article in the La Leche League journal, NEW BEGINNINGS. The article - "If Your Baby Bites" discusses the dynamics of breastfeeding and how it makes it impossible for a baby to bite while actually actively breastfeeding, the common causes of biting, and ideas for things to do to change the baby's behavior and prevent biting.
I'd love to talk o you more about this - I also had one who was a biter and know that the behavior can be changed. Definitely better to address it now and not after she does have teeth! Wanted to get this posted but will watch this thread to talk to you more.
Note: There is a sentence in the article (middle of third paragraph)that was incorrectly typed in this webversion. It should read: "The upper teeth may leave an imprint on the areola that is harmless, but while a baby is actively sucking and swallowing, he can't clamp down on the breast tissue. (not "can")
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Mary G
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| Posted: Dec 08 2005 at 6:47am | IP Logged
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Shawna:
This is what John-Paul did all through his year-and-a-half of nursing -- including the oh-so-innocent smile when I would wince! Added to this, his favorite thing was to pull off any covering I might try to use to be modest  !
I would stop him nursing, by putting my finger into the corner of his mouth and kind of "prying" it open (gently of course). He'd stop, look at me, smile and nurse for a while and then do it again -- I think he enjoyed nursing so much he was afraid I would take it away!
Usually if I was uptight about something or moving a lot, was when he would CLAMP on most. If you try and sit very calmly and cuddle your baby's toes or hand, sometimes this helped too.
I wish I had better advice -- he's 3 now and still tries to nurse -- especially at Mass! 
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Mary K
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| Posted: Dec 08 2005 at 7:21am | IP Logged
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Hi,
Try pulling baby closer to you when she bites. This will make her open her mouth wide and stop biting.
Mary-NY
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MaryM
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| Posted: Dec 08 2005 at 10:55am | IP Logged
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Quote:
| Try pulling baby closer to you when she bites. This will make her open her mouth wide and stop biting. |
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This is a great trick for getting a baby to break the latch when they actually are in the middle of biting because if you block the nose passage with breast tissue they are automatic mouth openers in order to breath - but it isn't a preventive and doesn't usually work to teach a baby not to bite in the first place.
Quote:
| I think he enjoyed nursing so much he was afraid I would take it away! |
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Because this is usually very true of most babies it becomes a helpful tool to use to your advantage for discouraging biting. It is discussed in the linked article but one of the things that works best (often in conjunction another technique or two) is when a baby bites is to stop that nursing immediately with as little reaction as possible. Remove baby from breast, don't give her a reaction (don't talk to her, don't make eye contact). Put her down so you aren't holding her any longer. It's a really clear signal that when this happens (biting), nursing stops - natural consequences. They are probably going to be sad and fussy. After a minute or two go ahead and pick the baby up and resume nursing. After a few times the majority of babies do start to get the picture about the consequences of biting. If they aren't sad but rather are content and peaceful with you stopping the nursing - then likely the biting was truly more of that signal of "I'm done now, Mommy" and I just don't know how to tell you that appropriately.  In that case the important thing is to watch diligently for the cues that she is getting to the end of the feeding and you break the suction before it happens (the article talks about cues to look for). You can say things like "All done" and open your mouth wide - babies can learn to mimic actions pretty easily. Consistency will give her those tools to use and respond to. Praise, positive reinforcement for the times she comes off gently will satisfy that playful need - looking for a reaction from mom behavior if that is part of what's causing this.
And really look at the teething options from the article - numbing gums with cold, offering suitable teething alternatives right away when it happens, etc. in case that is a part of the biting origin as well. She definitely is the right age for that to be an issue.
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Rachel May
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I always gave them a little flick on the cheek and would firmly say no. When my last baby bit me, I didn't click her, but I did tell her no quite firmly. She never breastfed again.  I tried and tried to latch her on again using every trick I heard from LLL, but it traumatized her so much that once she realized what was happening she would arch her back and scream.
She was about 10 months and was very sensitive to "no" when she did other things seh shouldn't. I just wanted to mention this because if I had thought about it at the time, I would have tried Mary M.'s much more gentle approach.
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Angie Mc
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Thanks all for sharing your experience and excellent information. Nice job, Mary M.
Currently, I'm at the stage of pulling John Paul close to my chest when he clamps. He only clamped twice so far. Hopefully he will not persist. I'll keep you posted.
Best wishes, Shawna. I'll be interested to hear back about what works for you.
Love,
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ShawnaB
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| Posted: Dec 11 2005 at 10:51pm | IP Logged
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Thank you all for your kind help. MaryM, thank you for taking such time to give such a thorough explanation. It was very helpful! The LLL article was extremely helpful as well. I've spent the past several days trying to relax and tune it more to what is behind Jillian's clamping. I must admit, that with breastfeeding 2 babies, I am not as as conscious when nursing as maybe I was when I only had one baby. I'm fairly certain that Jillian is "playing", and exploring the nipple in a new way, as she is everything else in her world right now. Teeth are most likely near the gum surface, so I'm sure it feels good to bite too. The chomping is happening at the end of nursing, when her hunger is obviously satiated, and she's starting to "fidget". This is also when she begins to kneed me with her little hands like a kitty, or read over and pinch and grab her brother's head if I am tandem nursing.
My course of action has been to place my finger gently in her mouth to release her gums (thankfully there are no teeth yet!)and firmly but gently tell her no. She usually looks up at me and releases and then procedes with nursing. If she does it again, nursing is all done. We'll see how thing improve!
Thank you so much!
Shawna
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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~Rachel~
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| Posted: Dec 14 2005 at 10:25am | IP Logged
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I hope things are improving... my DD kept doing this for a while... and then outgrew it. It mysteriously co-incided with teeth coming in .
I did both the pull closer and finger trick, and she would always pull away and grin at me before going right back!
I also learned that sometimes the biting just meant she was finished!
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Topic: Biting while nursing? Help!
