Breastfeeding- I want to perservere but I'm in SO MUCH PAIN!!!!

[cutiemama]

Hi Girls, I've posted this question before but things got better for a while and now they're worse than ever and I'm almost ready to stop nursing. My 8.5 month old DD  will not stop biting my nipples with her very sharp 4 front teeth. My nipples are in so much pain all day long from the damage she's doing.

I've followed what seemed to be the most logical advice from my last post a few months ago, and as soon as she takes a bite, I pull her off, say NO firmly and then discontinue the BFing until the next feeding. Well, sorry girls, this is not working now :( All she does is burst into tears and try to crawl back in my lap for more!

I was so determined to make it to a year of BFing with this baby. PLEASE HELP! What can I do? My pain threshold is pretty high but definitely not this high. Her biting brings me to tears :(

[MissAngel173]

Keep Trying To Hold out for as long as you can!! good luck!!

[AHP84]

Bless your heart, I know how you feel!
I breastfed my son (he's 2 1/2 now) until he was almost nine months old, and stopped then for the same reason you're having. Like you, I was determined to make it to a year, but I couldn't take it. He was biting harder and harder with every passing week as he grew and his jaw muscle strength got stronger (with eating many solid foods at that point).
It's up to you, but I don't regret weaning my son when I did, and for my own benefit. Sorry, but eliminating my pain was more important to me than making it to a year for him, and when he was only breastfeeding twice a day at most anyway.
Eight months is nearly a year anyway. Do what you think is best--either way, your daughter will fare just fine. But your nipples, well...   :-)
Good luck!

[AnnieBrooke]

I would recommend breast shields, the soft clear kind, except I tried them with my ds and it made him feel he could bite harder.  LOL  Why not pump for a while, and give her the milk in a bottle or sippy cup?  At least this way you can feel good that you have supplied her with breast milk for a while longer, even if she is not sucking it out herself, and it will feel much better than what is happening now!  Good luck!

[cutiemama]

Thanks ladies. Annie, I have a feeling the nipple sheilds will make matters worse too. When I give her a bottle, she tugs at the nipple a ton, so the nipple sheilds will likely evoke the same reaction.

Everyone keeps telling me to just wean but if there was a solution, I would like to continue.

I donated my breastpump already and honestly, I don't know that at this stage I have the mindset to start pumping again so late in the game. I feel a bit guilty saying that but at almost 9 mos, it's either formula in a bottle or BFing for me.  

[ma2isiah]

When my son started biting, I did the same thing you are doing. Then one day the bit a chunk out of my nipple. I yelled no and layed him on the floor and left him alone in the room for about a minute or two to cry and he never did it again.  We were able to continue breastfeeding until he was 2. I don't know if that would work, but you could try. It was so painful and if you can't get her to stop, then you may have to quit. It is hard to nurse when in pain and you don't want to hate breastfeeding that will be bad for both of you. Good luck! and congratulations for nursing this long!

[AndiJ78]

I went through that with all my kids. T, my middle, was by far the worst! He got his first 2 teeh at 4 mos and was a biter from day one, even without teeth! I contemplated more than once weaning him as it hurt so bad. I only have the one funcitoning breast, so I didn't get a break. But I continued on because something deep down just would not let me stop. Perhaps it was guilt as I had nursed my 1st for 14 months and I didn't want the guilt of only nursing T for 7 months. Who knows, but I kept on going (BTW, my 1st bit me hard enough to break the skin and cause mastitis when he was 10 months. Big ouch!)

Anyway, it reallly is up to you, but I completely understand your desire to continue. I really had to watch for certain cues from my babies. If they started getting distracted, I pulled them off. I would pay very close attention to their suckling patterns, I could predict exactly when they would bit. If I saw it comeing, I would either re-engage them in nursing by offering a gentle stroke to their face, or simply break the latch and get them playing. That is when I would find them most likely to bite, not out a malice, but distraction or boredom.

I am currentl delaing with a little man who has cut his 3rd and 4th teeth in the last week. He is a nipper, but for the above mentioned reasons. I have to think that with three kids, I may finally have a grasp on this nipping thing ; ) I get flaky at times, don't watch or pay close attention and am rewarded with a nip! Again, watch for those cues. If you notice he is just suckling and not actively eating, keep an eye out. Babies need to suckle during the first year and I was not a binkyt user for my first two, but that was when I noticed them biting, when they were just suckling and not eating.

Anytime you need help, feel free to email.

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