Nursing Woes

[gilder40]

When Tins bites me, I unlatch her and cover up for a few minutes and then try again. I've also noticed she does it more when she's distracted or I'm not paying attention to her. Is there a specific pattern to the biting? Like is he doing it just to do it, or is there other stuff going on? Not sure if it'll help any, but that's all I've got. Good luck friend!!

[heartofglass]

+1 to unlatching baby and taking away the 'milk' for a bit when he bites with a stern 'no'. This usually results in the most pitiful face and tears, but......Since the last tooth came in I haven't been bit while nursing, just while he's cutting them(I probably just jinxed myself)
I also noticed I was getting bit more when he was distracted so we started leaving the room to nurse alone in a quiet room.

[gigi3126]

First, I just want to say that you definitely shouldn't feel bad or beat yourself up if you end up switching over to formula completely. You've made it really far with bfing and you should be proud.
With regard to biting, I noticed that Jude bit when he wasn't actually eating anymore. It was a signal that he was done and just playing, so I started to try and pay closer attention to his nursing habits to be able to tell when he was finished. I have more issues with him twisting and turning (and pulling my nipple really hard) because he can't sit still. A nursing necklace helped a lot, but the best thing for getting him to stop doing that has been H's help. When Jude goes all acrobat on me, H comes and takes him for a few minutes. It usually helps him to settle a bit

[ashbash]

So sorry, as Ive mentioned we have had a nursing rough patch as well. For the biting I echo that a dark quiet room can help. DS does it when he is done, sometimes he is done for good but I always try and offer the other and sometimes he will take that. Literally some sessions are him sucking for 30-60 seconds on one side, bite, move to other side repeat. But I will say that C has no teeth and his bites arent that had, more of a chew? I think he learned it from his chew/ teething toys. I remember DD biting hard with teeth but she was almost a year and thank goodness because I couldnt have continued with that, it was so painful.

[billyhorrible]

Feb 20, 2016 8:34:15 GMT -5 gigi3126 said:

First, I just want to say that you definitely shouldn't feel bad or beat yourself up if you end up switching over to formula completely. You've made it really far with bfing and you should be proud.

Can I echo this? There should be no guilt involved in quitting. Whether after one year, one month, or one session - you've given him what you can and no one can say that's not enough.

BH bit without teeth which hurts like a bitch, so much force behind those little jaws! And like others, that ends the nursing session. He only did it a couple times, but we'll see what happens when he eventually gets teeth.

[kemdupuis]

Dealing with biting here too. I unlatch and will usually sternly say "no" and make him wait a minute or two before he goes back to eating. It's awful. Right now, B only has two bottom teeth, but he's got two that are about to cut through on the top. I can imagine the more teeth, the more painful it is. So, we'll see how much longer we continue.

Honestly, you have made it SO far with BF- you should just be proud and not beat yourself up. If this is the end of the road, so be it. Whatever keeps you and your LO happy and healthy is the best option. If it needs to be formula from now on for your health/sanity then that is the best choice for everyone.

Sending you hugs. Good luck!

[kemdupuis]

Feb 20, 2016 11:02:00 GMT -5 Joolschweets said:

Thank you all, honestly. I know it's so irrational to feel guilty. Esp b/c I thought I was ready to be done with it & get my body back, so to speak. I feel bad b/c I don't think he's ready to be done with it, but I just cannot keep going when it's so painful. Stern 'no's & refusing the boob isn't working after nearly 2 weeks & I can't imagine what's going to happen when the top 2 come in.
I have zero problem with formula, he just has such a hard time taking a bottle, its heartbreaking watching him get so worked up & not eating anything. I know he'll get used to it. Also, I feel like I'm starting from scratch & don't know what I'm doing with bottles. Lol.

Oh well, we'll both have to learn!

What bottles are you using? B refused just about all of them until we found Mam bottles. They are supposed to be really good for BF babies, and we've had lots of success with them.

ETA: we are still using the size 1 nipple- it's the slowest flow, so it's most like BF

[iowamama615]

+1 to trying out different bottles/nipple sizes. A has been exclusively FF since about 2 weeks, but we went through lansinoh, nuby, tommy tippee, and playtex ventaire before we landed on our beloved avents.

[beersandweirs]

You have my sympathies, I know how hard it is to have a baby that won't take a bottle. Ours didn't for a long while, but then one day (after a LOT of trying) she just got it, so keep trying! I also feel you on the biting and it has been making me consider full time pumping, but I haven't done it yet. You have done such an amazing job nursing this long, you have to do what's best for you!

[gilder40]

We use Tommee Tippee bottles too. T seems to like them fine.