Biting baby
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Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
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URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=29212
Printed Date: 31 August 2025 at 9:31am
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Topic: Biting baby
Posted By: nztui
Subject: Biting baby
Date Posted: 07 October 2009 at 1:29pm
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Excuse the double posting, I put this in the feeding section but I think it's hard to find so putting it here as well...
My nearly 8month old daughter is teething and has started biting when she BFs, not fun! She is just getting her 2nd tooth through now and it's been much more painful for her than the first. If she's just woken up I can feed her ok as she is hungry and doesn't bite till the end which I can cope with as I can look out for that, but the evening feed when she's been up for a few hours she will just bite and smile and not actually start feeding. I have been taking her off immediately when she bites and saying NO and making my face look a bit stern but when I put her back on she just does it again. I really don't like her missing out on this feed longterm as we'll obviously have to keep playing catchup at night (and I'd like to dream of a sleepthrough at some point in the future!) Has anyone got any ideas for getting past the biting? I thought about nipple shields but wondered if that would cut down on the stimulation and make less milk. I'm unable to express anything worthwhile so BF is really the only option. Excuse the novel, just hoping someone has the magic answer! (haha, like there actually is such a thing with babies....) |
Replies:
Posted By: monikah
Date Posted: 07 October 2009 at 4:03pm
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my sister would just stop feeding and try again later, normally by this time her son was so hungry he wouldnt bite and when he started biting again she would take him off again. i know it sounds really horrible and they dont get enough food for a while but within a few days he stopped doing it. my boy had severe reflux and needed thickened fluids from birth so i cant help personally but i know a few ppl who have done this and it seems to work for them but it is up to you whether you want to keep taking food off bubs or deal with biting. its a tricky one ------------- 
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Posted By: angel4
Date Posted: 07 October 2009 at 4:55pm
henry started bit me for a couple days each time a new tooth came in. I would take him off the breast, put my finger on his mouth and say very seriously \don't bite mummy' and plop him on the floor (very roughly  ) then wait about a minute (he would generally scream upset by my tone and being put on the floor) then i would pick him up and say in a nice voice 'would you like some milk' (i tried to say it as if id completely forgotten he had bit me - a clean slate) then we would try again. If he bit me again the process would repeat itself.
I had decided if he bit me three times then that feed was over. However he never bit me more than twice. And within a day or two he had stopped biting. When a new tooth would come in he seemed to like testing it out and would try biting again but would stop very quickly. just a side note though - my son was 4months old when he got his first set of teeth so i honestly dont know how well it would work with an older child - but i assume it would work just fine - its pretty much a short form of timeout really |
Posted By: nztui
Date Posted: 07 October 2009 at 5:33pm
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Hmm, I think I'm doing the same thing as your sister Monikah, really because nothing else is working so it's all I can do! Frustrating...
Your method sounds really good Angel4, I do like the clean slate idea...sometimes I find it hard to be that forgiving when I am trying not to cry from the pain!!! Guess it's a perserverance thing though, they'll get the message eventually eh? |
Posted By: HippyMama
Date Posted: 07 October 2009 at 6:02pm
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When baby bites are there any cues she gives just beforehand? If you are able to notice these things and try to pre-empt the biting, I would suggest trying to 'correct' it by actually bringing her right in to the breast - she won't suffocate but she will let go of the nipple and it will save any further damage from pulling her off. ------------- Mama to two earth walkers & two angels. Remember, you are not managing an inconvenience; You are raising a human being. ~ Kittie Franz Next Slingbabies! Meet - Friday 4th May !! |
Posted By: Chickoin
Date Posted: 08 October 2009 at 12:59am
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I was lucky as Jody went through her biting phase before her teeth came. It still hurt though and I would get such a fright I would yelp which in turn gave her a fright and she would let go. I would then hold her back a bit from my nipple so she would be trying with all her might to get to it, just for a few seconds then put her back on. If she bit me again then that was the end of that feed.
I got sore nipples when she got her top teeth just from them rubbing as she fed. I tried nipple shields. DON'T DO IT!!! She got grumpy, then bit me REALLY hard! -------------   
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Posted By: nztui
Date Posted: 09 October 2009 at 1:59pm
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Yup, I'm trying to pre-empt the biting HippyMama. I think if she's not actually that hungry she will start feeding but then bite straight away so I have a finger on standby to put in when I feel her changing pressure in the jaw. I've tried bringing her into me when but she hasn't let go doing this, maybe I need to hold her longer?
The bites at the end of the feed she has stopped doing mostly so we are making progress, and I just need to be more relaxed about the times she feeds I guess. Gotcha loud and clear Chickoin, NO nipple shield! Ouch |