How do I stop this biting?

[MSWR0319]

DS has had two bottom teeth for about a week. He's had the one tooth for about two weeks. The last three days, he has been biting HARD, when nursing. I don't know what to do to get him to stop. And if it doesn't stop soon, he's going to start getting a bottle of pumped milk. And in the fact that I'm on an MSPI diet and that I do't have enough frozen milk to even allow us to leave him with anyone for more than one feeding and I'm likely to start supplementing. So what are the tricks to get him to stop? I have been pulling him off and saying no. The thing is, he does it when one side is empty but before I realize it and switch him to the other side.

[Liziz]

The thing I've read (on Kellymom?) to do is shove his face into your breast as soon as he bites down. Your breast should cover his nose so he has to open his mouth to breathe. Rationale is that it makes him let go, and it's not pleasant, so he'll learn not to do it anymore.

DD did some biting around 6 months before she got teeth. I tried this and it worked great -- she stopped quickly.

DD also did some biting at 8.5 months as her first tooth was coming in. This didn't work then -- she thought it was a game, and figured out how to breathe through the sides of her mouth w/o unclamping her tooth from my nipple. Ow. Thankfully she just stopped on her own as soon as the tooth finished coming in.

So YMMV, but it's easy to try!

ETA: Oh wait....now I remember (maybe?) what got DD to stop biting the second time around. I think I blocked it from my memory b/c I felt bad about it, but I'll share....someone on another thread here said they lightly tapped their LO's nose when they bit, and it worked. Just enough that the baby wouldn't like it, but not actually hitting or anything. After DD started treating the face-shoved-into-the-boob as a game, I got desperate and did try this. Even though it was super light, DD did *not* like it. I also felt terrible...I'm in the "never hit your kids/no spankings" camp for sure. But DD hasn't bit since. So not sure if it was luck or that's what did it, but I'll throw it out there.

[123LuckyMom]

Shoving your breast in works sometimes. I do that and shout "ouch"-- mostly because I can't stop myself. I take the baby off the breast, hold her up, look in her face and say "no biting" in a stern voice. It doubt it has any effect on stopping the biting, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something, and it does let DD know that I'm not pleased. This phase is short. I remember crying with my son and thinking about giving up, but I went on to nurse until he was two. The biting will happen mostly when the baby is cutting a new tooth and wants to use you to massage his or her gums. The already cut teeth get in the way, and they're soooo sharp! Hang in there. This, too, shall pass!

[MSWR0319]

Thanks for the advice! I just tried nursing and the first thing he did was bite and pll away at the same time. Lovely! I tried pushing him into me and he stopped so we'll see what happens. All I know is this is getting worse. He is teething I think, so I hope this tooth comes through soon!

[MamaInMarch]

It does hurt badly! My DS only bit me twice but my DD is a barracuda! My two suggestions are to be very careful at the end and watch closely. That's a hard one for me because I am rarely paying that close of attention but you'll catch him before he bites if so. The other thing I do is when they get you, take them off immediately, say really sternly "no bite" and I set them gently on the floor and end the session. DD's biting is also teething related so I always give her a couple of teething tablets. Wait about 15 minutes, give a couple more teething tabs and offer the other side. I find that ending the nursing session is a pretty effective deterrent. And the teething tabs tend to prevent getting bitten on the other side.