Teething and nursing

Teething and nursing

What can I say about teething when a baby has its first two front teeth and she is nursing? I can say Ouch.

Mateo never really bit me when he was nursing but for the girls it is different! Oh ya everybody is different! Tell me about it!!!

My girls bite me when I am breastfeeding and I can tell you each time I jump and scream!So I did some research to make them stop. Here is what I found:

A baby can’t bite you when she is nursing! True… but they don’t nurse all the time! They take some breaks and it is at this time they bite! They try to chew on my nipple just as they chew on everything else to relieve their discomfort. Ya ya thank you I am not a teething toy… I am just mommy!

 Some babies bite also to get your attention. Oh oh that is so true! Mateo never really cared about it but Maeva and Miya for sure they bite for attention!! Last time I was reading something on my phone and Miya looked at me and saw that I wasn’t looking at her and she bit me! How do I know because when I looked at her she was smiling!!! So… ya it was my fault, I wasn’t focusing on her!!! So now when I feed her, I maintain eye contact, speak to her, and touch them while nursing. Since then she doesn’t bite too much! But I have to be careful!!

Maeva bites more when she is full and loses interest in nursing, toward the end of a feeding. So as soon as she is ready to stop the feeding, I take her off before she bites.

I also need to minimize distractions because they are both so distracted that they bite at this time! They are so curious these girls… If they hear Mateo, they turn their head with the nipple in their mouth! (actually it is funny to see how a nipple can stretch!!)

For some babies, like Mateo, they will never bite because they will remember the first time they bit! So the first time Mateo bit me, I screamed so loud that he got scared and he never did again but for some babies like Maeva and Miya it doesn’t work!

For them, it is a funny reaction! So they bite again and again to look at this funny reaction! I guess it can be funny if you think about! I bite and I’ve got a jump and a scream! Cool no?! Ok it is not cool for me but I can say it is funny for them! Maeva sometimes will bite (I can see it because the position of the mouth change) and before to bite, she will smile and squeze slowly kind of saying to me “look mommy I am going to bite you!!”. It is good like this because I can look at her with my angry face and say ‘No, if you bite me it is painful for me and you will be not eat anymore” And it worked because she stopped and nursed again. I am not sure she understands what I am saying but she understands the look on my face!!

They were also biting me at night just before going to bed. They were not hungry and not tired enough and/or they didn’t want to be feed at the same time! I also think it is because they were hearing Mateo and they wanted to see what was going on!!! Anyway, It has been a while now that I didn’t feed them together! I feed them before dinner so I don’t have to feed them before bed (I still do but as a pacifier!!)

After a few bites, I can guarantee you know when it is going to happen! So I am on my guard!!! They don’t bite at the beginning of the feed! They are too hungry for that! Or if it happens it is because they are not hungry yet!!

The first reaction I had when they bite me was too pull them off my breast but now instead I pull them in close to me! Their nose is pressed against my breast and they have to open their mouth so they can breathe. I can tell you it is better than pulling them off. I also slip my finger in between their gums or teeth to get them to open their mouth.

My new method is also to stop immediately the feeding when they bite. And I put them on the floor and tell them they hurt Mommy so no booby anymore and I wait 3 minutes and then I give them back! I can tell you it works! They are not happy when I put them on the floor but I am teaching them that if they want to nurse they can’t bite!

Voila teething and nursing is not so funny but you learn when it is going to happen so you can prevent it! Since then my girls don’t bite so much. But I have to be paying attention to see the clues to be sure they will not bite me!!