Nursing/Biting/Weaning questions

[bananapancakes]

L has been so bitey that past few days and I don't know what to do about it. Yesterday he ate lunch at around 11:00 and I nursed him at noon before we left for our appointment and all was fine. No biting. After our appointment, I tried to feed him in the lobby of the hospital. It was around 3:00. He was super distracted, which is normal for him, didn't really eat anything, and he bit me twice. I didn't try again and figured we would be home in 45 minutes and I'd try again then.

Thanks to traffic, we didn't get home until 5:00. It had now been 5 hours since he had eaten anything. He should've been starving. I tried nursing him and he bit me twice again. I gave up and gave him dinner and he ate a ton (a small piece of lasagna, about an ounce or two of turkey breast, about 1/2 cup of corn and peas, a dozen or so blackberries, and about 1/4 cup of yogurt). Then we did bath, massage, pjs and I tried to nurse him again. It had only been about 1/2 hour since he had finished dinner but 7 hours since he had nursed. Almost immediately after latching, he bit me again and again and again. By this point I was so frustrated and at a loss. I got out the pump for the first time in months, pumped about 3 oz in 5 or 6 minutes and gave him a bottle. He has historically been a bottle refuser but he actually managed to take about 2 oz of it.

After that, we did books, I put him in the crib awake, used the Sleep Lady shuffle techniques, and he miraculously fell asleep in 15 minutes with minimal fussing. I was shocked as I've been nursing to sleep for the past little while.

He woke up after about 2.5 hours and I tried so hard to continue with the SLS but after about 20 minutes of primal screaming, I nursed him and he ate so hungrily, draining both breasts. He woke 2 more times overnight and I fed him both times. When he is sleepy he eats fine, with no biting. He nursed from one side this morning, no biting, and then had a big breakfast (one entire scrambled egg, about 1/2 of a whole wheat waffle with cream cheese and a bunch of blueberries and pear pieces). I need to put him down for a nap soon and I'm so scared to put my nipple back in his mouth but it has now been 3 hours since he nursed and 2 hours since he finished breakfast.

Wow, that was long! If you made it through all of that, what do you suggest?

Is he biting because he is weaning and is just not interested? Do you think it could be my supply? I just started WW. I was not engorged after him not nursing for 7 hours but I pumped a decent amount in a short amount of time. Is it just babies being babies? What do I do?

[Deleted]

I'd guess that your let down is slower than usual, that he may be teething, and that this will be a tough stage that you can either get through (I know @supergreen went through a bad biting phase) or you can wean now. What do you want to do? I can find lots of advice to continue nursing, or you can get advice on weaning. It's a decision you have to make.

[bananapancakes]

Is the let down slower because of weight watchers? I lost 4 pounds last week which is much faster than recommended. I'm so torn about weaning or not. I don't think I'm ready but the biting is excruciating. He has both front top and bottom teeth and is working on the two top ones beside the front ones.

[heygrey]

i went through this maybe 2 weeks ago? @supergreen's advice of nursing while drowsy was the best so i focused on that for a few a week and he was over the biting. it's just teeth. i never feel engorged anymore, but if i pump my supply is still good.

he bit me so bad both sides were bleeding. it sucks.

[Deleted]

Thanks for tagging me you guys! I went through something very similar. DS was 10.5mo. He got sick and started biting me while nursing. He continued biting me for more than 2 weeks after he was no longer sick. It was a nightmare. I thought he might have been self-weaning, but my mommy sense said he wasn't done nursing and I did not want to be done either. Through trial and error I discovered he would nurse somewhat if he was sleepy. So I rocked him until he was drowsy then nursed, and ran into his room the moment he woke up and put him on the boob. I pumped when I got engorged, which was once a day or every other day.

I thought maybe he was weaning, so I was worried I was making him nurse for my benefit. But since he was only 10mo, I would have had to pump, give formula, or transition to WCM. He also wouldn't take bottles during this time either, so he was going long 6-7 stretches without getting breastmilk at all. At least your LO is taking his bottles, so that's good!

A lot of people go with the approach of "OW NO that hurts mommy!" and putting baby down for 30 seconds. I did NOT think that helped at all. I don't know how your son is reacting, but mine cried the first couple times I said/yelled it, but after that he just stared at me blankly. For me anyway, having a negative reaction to his biting just exacerbated the situation. With every bite and subsequent "NO!" I was getting more and more angry that he wouldn't nurse. Which I'm sure made everything worse. Since saying "OW NO!" wasn't helping, I stopped. I would put him to the breast, if he bit I would change sides, if he bit again I would say in a flat nondescript voice "Oh okay you don't feel like nursing right now" and then get up and go do something else. I doubt this helped him get back to nursing, but at least I wasn't ending our nursing sessions angry anymore, which was much better for my mental health.

Slowly over the course of a month or so he stopped biting me, and finally stopped completely. I'm still not sure what exactly happened. He's not a stubborn kid or anything either, so I don't know why it went on for so long. Trust your gut, if you don't want to wean and don't think he wants to wean, then just try to push through it any way you can. If you can stand to nurse at night, I think that's a great idea. DS night weaned long ago so I didn't have that option, if I did I would have gladly taken it. Like I said, try nursing when he's drowsy during the day. I did that for several weeks, and eventually there were times when I couldn't get to him *as soon as* he woke up, like if I was outside or something. The first time he nursed wide awake I was so, SO happy.

I am so sorry you are going through this, it is terrible. Send me a PM if you want to talk more or have more questions. I am very happy to share whatever insight I may have. My heart goes out to you, being bitten while you're giving everything you have to your child is AWFUL.

[bananapancakes]

Thanks @supergreen. Your last sentence is so true. It feels like such a slap in the face and I'm super emotional about it. I just nursed him right now (after him being awake for 3.5 hours which is longer than normal for him). His eyes closed almost immediately after latching and he nursed fine with no biting. I am trying to work on not nursing to sleep but you're right that the only time he doesn't bite is when he is sleepy. I might put that goal on the backburner for now and just deal with the crappy sleep for awhile longer.

[Deleted]

I think the biting is a phase. If you want to keep nursing, I would get through it any way you can, and worry about fixing sleep issues later.

[VillainV]

C went through this a few weeks ago. He's still trying to figure out nursing with teeth. It's a lot worse when he's distracted. The first few time I said "ow!" involuntary, and he started crying. Now he's a lot better. I think it's just teething.

Fwiw, I looked on KellyMom about weaning, and it said its pretty for babies to decide on their own to wean before about 18 months -- so dips in BFing interest before that are almost always temporary and due to teething or illness.

[greycat]

Feb 4, 2015 10:38:03 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

I'd guess that your let down is slower than usual, that he may be teething, and that this will be a tough stage that you can either get through (I know @supergreen went through a bad biting phase) or you can wean now. What do you want to do? I can find lots of advice to continue nursing, or you can get advice on weaning. It's a decision you have to make.

This.
Most of us that experienced biting found the worst of it lasted 2-3 weeks. DS was most likely to bite at the very beginning or end of a session. I watched him like a hawk and unlatched as quickly as I could. I put him down each time he bit me. Eventually he stopped.