Painful nursing with a 6 month old! Tips?

[TxCat]

DD2 has been an awesome nurser so far - it's been so easy and pleasant that I'm aiming to go for a year now (original goal was at least 6 months). But lately we've had a little problem - she doesn't have teeth yet, but for the last 2-3 weeks she occasionally is mashing the nipple between her gums, like she is trying to bite down on it. Uncomfortable to say the least. What can I do to try and correct that behavior without messing up our nursing relationship, which is fabulous otherwise. With DD1, I never had this issue and we stopped nursing at 7-8 months, just before teeth came in.

[georgiegirl]

Does she tnd to chomp down when she's done or distracted? That would be my guess. If so, be very vigilant and keep a finger near the corner of her mouth to break the latch the second she chomps down. Sometimes biting or chomping can become a habit, so if you are able to prevent her from doing it, she will likely forget about it. Also, be sure to give her lots of safe stuff to chew on.

Ds2 was chomping on my nipple a few weeks ago, right before his bottom two teeth came through. Since the teeth have some through he hasn't chomped down fortunately.

[TxCat]

Does she tnd to chomp down when she's done or distracted? That would be my guess. If so, be very vigilant and keep a finger near the corner of her mouth to break the latch the second she chomps down. Sometimes biting or chomping can become a habit, so if you are able to prevent her from doing it, she will likely forget about it. Also, be sure to give her lots of safe stuff to chew on.

Ds2 was chomping on my nipple a few weeks ago, right before his bottom two teeth came through. Since the teeth have some through he hasn't chomped down fortunately.

It's usually towards the end of a session on the given side, and seems to happen more when she's tired. But, sometimes she'll still nurse for several minutes after the chomping.

So, break the latch as soon as she tries to bite, and then put her back on if I think she might still want to nurse?

[trales]

Say no and shove her face into your chest, DD1 learned very, very quickly not to chomp when I did that.

[georgiegirl]

It's usually towards the end of a session on the given side, and seems to happen more when she's tired. But, sometimes she'll still nurse for several minutes after the chomping.

So, break the latch as soon as she tries to bite, and then put her back on if I think she might still want to nurse?

You can put her back on if she seems like she wants to nurse more, but stay vigilant.

[Katigre]

Say no and shove her face into your chest, DD1 learned very, very quickly not to chomp when I did that.
Pulling them into your breast makes then open up wider and stops the bite. That's what I usually do if they chomp down.

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