Biting

[AuntieKate]

We need help! My LO got her first tooth over a month ago and must be working on a second. She has been biting since the first tooth arrived but it was easily resolved with giving her a gum massage prior to nursing. But that changed last week. she bit me quite hard and sternly told her no. Well, I hurt her little feeling so much she cried and cried. I felt like a horrible mother. Then she didn't nurse for a day and half. nursed well for a couple of days. Then started another nursing strike this past Sunday (out of the blue)... And it's been awful! At first she flat out refused to nurse so I was just pumping and syringe feeding her or putting it in her meals. For a few days now, she will appear to be latching on but then bit down and pull her way off my nipple. So painful. I have tried so many things... Frozen fruit or teether before, warm compresses to aid let-down (I think it's slower because I'm nervous and she's not nursing properly), hand expressing milk into her mouth to illicit a suck, bathing with her (she used to nurse in the tub), I've gone topless a couple of days. I am able to nurse her overnight usually without any issues, there were a few nights at first I had to pump the milk for her though.
She is 8.5 months and I was really hoping to continue past a year. But I'm so frustrated and burnt out. I am also worried I am not able to express enough to meet her needs. I just wish we could get back to the way things were!
Sorry for the looong message.

 

[noon_child]

I think it is a very common reason for a nursing strike. It is hard not to yell out when they cause sudden pain, and you aren't the first to find your LO feels less sure of bf afterwards.

I think you just have to persevere and give it time. Also think of other things your LO might find reassuring like stroking her head, talking to her or singing which you could do while feeding.

 

[_Meep_]

God this resonates with me so much, though our girl was much younger than yours when we went through this, and a combination of several factors (teething included) were to blame. Her nursing strikes started when she was just nine weeks old.

She had around six in the end, lasting for 1-2 weeks at a time. It was absolutely devastatingly horrible. I was only able to feed her while she was asleep, though with your LO being older, I guess she won't be napping so much in the day.

It sounds like you are doing the right things. Staying calm and positive and not showing that you are upset by her rejection is important, though it is very hard to do this. I don't have any other advice as nothing I did really helped LO get over things, but she DID get over it in time and beyond six months old we've never had another strike. We are still breastfeeding too ... she's 15.5 months.

As for the biting, I think that's something they just do when their mouths hurt - they're sucking, they get a spasm of pain, and they bite down. I've been bitten lots of times - it sucks. You could try just putting her on the floor when she does it, so she essentially loses the breast. If you're consistently struggling to get her to nurse, though, this might not be a great option. Again, it's probably best not to react if you can. Again, easier said than done.

Sorry this post is a bit pointless. I just wanted to say I know exactly what you mean about wishing things would go back to how they were ... with our LO things got really bad and I was sure she would never go near me again - but she did. She even asks for 'boo' now. Lol.

Hope you are ok. I remember you from the WTT thread. I am glad you got your little girl.