Moms who nurse long term - I need a little encouragement.

[3lilreds in NC]

The Snort just bit me hard enough to draw blood - again - and I have to tell you that nursing is a lot less appealing when I have to be in excruciating pain. We were in his room, alone, so it's not like there were tons of distractions. I don't know what possessed the little bugger. I think maybe he was really thirsty/hungry; I'd given him lunch but didn't realize he had not really taken anything out of his cup.

 

I don't want to wean and can't really imagine doing so, but I HATE being chomped. Plus it's going to hurt like billy-oh for the next few days until it heals. How do I convince him not to do this anymore?

[dragons in the flower bed]

Well, first off, ouch! Yay to you, too, for being such a persistently loving mom.

 

I always reacted naturally when my kids bit me -- yelled with pain and plopped them on the floor, and took a minute alone before I'd nurse. My LLL leader had recommended that course of action. We only had one or two incidents per kid.

[Tracy in Ky]

When he bites you, yell like crazy and scare the willies out of him. He will associate really bad things with biting Mom.

 

I nursed dd until she was 2 years, 8 months, and ds until he was 2 years, 4 months. Biting was never a problem--I used the method above, which I had read about.

 

((Hugs))

[Mrs Mungo]

How old is he? I mean, I know he's one but 12 months and 18 months are quite a bit different. Generally, a tip that works great for biting is to pull them inward toward the breast, cutting off the air supply to their nose. They will open their mouth and release. They don't like this and often it is enough to curb biting. I would also put my kids down for a while. They cannot bite while they are actively nursing. Sometimes they are nursing due to boredom or some other reason. If he's teething offering something else to bite on might help, counterpressure feels good.

[sleepy]

He just turned one, right? At that age, a loud "Ouch!" and taking the br**st away for a minute or two should dissuade him from doing it again. It always worked for me, but mine never bit as hard as your little guy apparently does...

 

Boy, I sure hope he doesn't do that again! :grouphug:

[Jennifer in MI]

What have you been doing when he bites?

 

A biting baby is not a hungry baby!!! In order to nurse to get food, the tongue has to be over the bottom teeth making it impossible to bite. If that tongue pulls back to bite, he cannot suck effectively.

 

What is his reaction when he bites? My sister's baby used to bite and then laugh. He thought it was funny when she yelped in pain. She very nearly weaned him when he turned 10 months because of it.

 

She was just VERY persistent in watching that little tongue. Watch him when he nurses - you should be able to see the tongue stick out past the bottom lip. If it pulls back, pop him off!!! He's done!! When he did bite, she would put him down on the floor and walk away from him. This didn't really work for her (he would just laugh and laugh), but I know it works for a lot of moms.

 

:grouphug::grouphug: I know how much a bite that bleeds hurts! Only one of mine did that and it was in the middle of the night as he was sleeping. OUCH!! Do you have any Lansinoh? That really helps the healing go faster.

[Melora in NC]

I always reacted naturally when my kids bit me -- yelled with pain and plopped them on the floor, and took a minute alone before I'd nurse. My LLL leader had recommended that course of action. We only had one or two incidents per kid.

 

:iagree: That is how I handled biting too.

[Confuzzled]

I nursed all mine until about 2 1/2.

 

Like the other posters, I screamed "Ouch!" very loudly, writhed in pain, and stopped nursing for a few minutes. I think it happened maybe twice, at the most, with each of them.

 

Kris

[Desert Rat]

Yep, that's what I did too. Putting them down really did the trick.

[LisaKinVA]

What is his reaction when he bites? My sister's baby used to bite and then laugh. He thought it was funny when she yelped in pain. She very nearly weaned him when he turned 10 months because of it.

 

 

That's my story with #3 -- he's still a little dickens. Nothing I did persuaded him to quit biting (pulling inward, screaming, leaving him, NOTHING). I did give up when I start to tense up and cry when it was time to nurse).

 

Best wishes -- that something works for you!

[Carol in Cal.]

When she did, I said loudly, "NO! That hurts Mommy! We don't hurt people!" and put her down on her floor pad. She would cry, and I would not pick her up for a while. Maybe 5 minutes.

 

Now, you have to understand our relationship for this to make sense. We were an attachment pair. I never raised my voice to her or around her. I always picked her up when she needed me, and often when she didn't. I carried her around a lot. Her next favorite thing after nursing was to wake up with me actually right there, smiling at her. She almost never actually got to the point of crying for anything.

 

The only thing she ever cried about, really, was 'switching sides'. I think that once she was nursing she really hated to be interrupted.

 

So when she bit me, and I responded in this way, it was very drastic for her (even though it sounds pretty gentle to most people.) And, it really worked. She learned very fast--maybe in two tries?--not to do this.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

I nursed both of mine until just shy of age 3. I did similar to what the others mentioned about putting down and saying quietly but sternly, "no bite. Hurts momma."

:grouphug::grouphug: That sure does hurt like a booger, though. I am sorry. Tell little stinker I said to stop that!;)

[Mom-ninja.]

How old is he? I mean, I know he's one but 12 months and 18 months are quite a bit different. Generally, a tip that works great for biting is to pull them inward toward the breast, cutting off the air supply to their nose. They will open their mouth and release. They don't like this and often it is enough to curb biting. I would also put my kids down for a while. They cannot bite while they are actively nursing. Sometimes they are nursing due to boredom or some other reason. If he's teething offering something else to bite on might help, counterpressure feels good.

 

Excellent information right here. This is the method I used along with removing them if they bit. Explain (and yes even young ones will get it) that biting mommy is simply not allowed. Biting equals no nursing. Be consistant and your little one will get the point.

 

As for yelling out...this can work great but not always. Some little ones think it's super funny when mommy yells (as a pp stated) and some become so terrified they go on a nursing strike. It's up to you to try it or not.

 

Do you have lanolin?

 

Also give your LLL leader a ring. Sometimes just talking about it can be a huge support.

 

I nursed my boys well past the WHO recommendations. ;) I had one ds who was a bad biter...little stinker. The other ds didn't bite ever.

[Camy-7 boybarians 1 lady]

I have nursed all of my children at least 2 years or longer.

 

Biting is an issue that has occurred w/ them all, yet I figured out a way to tackle it much earlier in order to avoid what you are experiencing...teeth that can draw blood..shudder.

 

However, you can't go back to infancy now that you have a toddler, so it's time to nip it in the bud.

 

I would snap my 1 yo's cheek w/ my index finger if he/she bit me. It would need to be done right at the moment of chomping down. I would also say a firm "no" as I did it.

 

If he bit me again, I'd snap and take him off the breast. That would finish the nursing session.

 

Could you avoid nursing him when the teeth are bothering him? My children seemed to have a time of day when teething bothered them the most.

 

I understand your temptation to wean!

 

Blessings,

 

Camy

[Jennifer in MI]

Also give your LLL leader a ring. Sometimes just talking about it can be a huge support.

 

I nursed my boys well past the WHO recommendations. ;) I had one ds who was a bad biter...little stinker. The other ds didn't bite ever.

 

Excellent advice!

 

Oh - and also - I always use this quote - that I nursed my babies well past the WHO recommendations - when asked!! I think it would shock people if I told them HOW far past!! :lol:

[hsmamainva]

I nursed all of mine for a long time, in fact, I nursed my youngest for 4 1/2 years.

 

Try NOT to over-react, although I know it's hard not to do so at the time, because, if you yell, or scream, etc., some toddlers find that humorous and they'll do it again, just to get the reaction.

 

I would tell mine, 'No', in a firm voice and end the nursing session immediately. They learned very quickly that they don't get to nurse if they bite.

 

All of mine tried it, at least once or twice, but I never had a real problem with it, using this solution.

 

Hope this helps!

[Spy Car]

I have no "tips" to offer :001_huh:

 

But all I can say is HURRAY!!! :thumbup:

 

You are doing the best thing you could possibly be going for your infant (in this man's opinion) and I want to commend you for that :001_smile:

 

Bill

[Mom2legomaniacs]

I have no "tips" to offer :001_huh:

 

But all I can say is HURRAY!!! :thumbup:

 

You are doing the best thing you could possibly be going for your infant (in this man's opinion) and I want to commend you for that :001_smile:

 

Bill

 

I was wondering how long you were going to say that you nursed.:lol:

[newbie]

What have you been doing when he bites?

 

A biting baby is not a hungry baby!!! In order to nurse to get food, the tongue has to be over the bottom teeth making it impossible to bite. If that tongue pulls back to bite, he cannot suck effectively.

 

What is his reaction when he bites? My sister's baby used to bite and then laugh. He thought it was funny when she yelped in pain. She very nearly weaned him when he turned 10 months because of it.

 

She was just VERY persistent in watching that little tongue. Watch him when he nurses - you should be able to see the tongue stick out past the bottom lip. If it pulls back, pop him off!!! He's done!! When he did bite, she would put him down on the floor and walk away from him. This didn't really work for her (he would just laugh and laugh), but I know it works for a lot of moms.

 

:grouphug::grouphug: I know how much a bite that bleeds hurts! Only one of mine did that and it was in the middle of the night as he was sleeping. OUCH!! Do you have any Lansinoh? That really helps the healing go faster.

My dd did the same thing, the bite and look up and laugh, then when I would scream, she would scream, and I would get yelled at b/c I scared the baby.

 

She fed until after 2 yrs. when I finally was on antibiotics, I told her mommy was taking medicine and it would be in there. She never touched them again.

 

Jet

[Jenny in Atl]

How old is he? I mean, I know he's one but 12 months and 18 months are quite a bit different. Generally, a tip that works great for biting is to pull them inward toward the breast, cutting off the air supply to their nose. They will open their mouth and release. They don't like this and often it is enough to curb biting. I would also put my kids down for a while. They cannot bite while they are actively nursing. Sometimes they are nursing due to boredom or some other reason. If he's teething offering something else to bite on might help, counterpressure feels good.

 

Everything she said... :D Also, babies understand for more than we give them credit for. They bite and see a reaction. They are learning that they can manipulate their environment. I would talk to mine as I saw they were playing with biting. If I was able to stay in the moment, not nursing and do other things, I would talk softly to my two and say, "No bite, that hurts mommy."

Babies and toddlers really don't want to hurt you, they're just learning.

 

hths!

[dirty ethel rackham]

Some great advice, here. One more tip ... is he doing it at the end of a feeding while drifting off to sleep? I had one who would bite while drifting off. I would watch/listen for the sucks/swallows to taper off. I would have a finger ready to slip in before he chomped. This lasted a couple weeks and then it didn't happen again.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Oh yeah, I did the finger in the mouth too. If they were drifting off and startled, for sure a chomp down and ouch!

[jojomojo]

I just react naturally - which is usually yelling OUCH! and pulling her away FAST. Then I say, "Ouch that hurts me! We're all done" and put her on the floor.

 

I think she's only bit 2-3 times at most. She does NOT appreciate my reaction, but I can't help it lol We're going on 18 months. My son self weaned shortly after 2 yrs.

[3lilreds in NC]

Thanks for all the great advice ladies (and Spy Car for the moral support) - he's *just* one, had his birthday on Sunday. I really think this time it was a case of me not "putting out" fast enough, LOL. He's really nailed me a couple of other times, when we were on vacation, when I think I wasn't positioned very well (trying to nurse in bed) or wasn't quick enough. Man, is this kid lucky I haven't cut him off! :lol:

 

He does seem to understand when I ask him to "Be soft with mama" or "be gentle with mama." The first time he drew blood I was tense every time he nursed for weeks. Now I'm a seasoned veteran I guess and it's not *as* bad.

 

I love that little monkey, but I have a STRONG sense of self preservation and I have to tell you between his biting and the older kids' attitudes, we are *this close* to public school and formula! ;)

[Just a Jen in Mississippi]

How old is he? I mean, I know he's one but 12 months and 18 months are quite a bit different. Generally, a tip that works great for biting is to pull them inward toward the breast, cutting off the air supply to their nose. They will open their mouth and release. They don't like this and often it is enough to curb biting.

 

Yep, this is what I did too. Your natural reaction is to jerk them away, but pull them into you. They will let go in order to breathe! I never had one to continue to bite. Good luck!

[lwilliams1922]

:grouphug:

 

oh gosh I feel for you.

 

I have a nursing 16 month old (and the 3 yr old is,... shhhh... just about done).

 

My kids like the comfort as well as the milk. They may have each biten once or twice, perhpts to be funny or to just to see what would happen, would it produce more milk?

 

If they bite they don't get nursed for a day or 2, as long as there is ANY discomfort. I pull out my medela and they get pumped milk.

 

they don't really like bottles and i think they realize it's not something they want. I cant tell you the number of times I wanted to cut off the 3 yr old. She's always been pretty demanding when it comes to milk. I was determined to let her go till she felt she didn't need to anymore.

 

hugs to you and congrats to still nursing.

 

These 2 have never had an ear infection and rarely even get sick.

 

best of luck

 

Lara