Biting and Breastfeeding

Biting during breastfeeding can be one of the most uncomfortable and surprising occurrences to happen when all is seemingly going well otherwise.

By the time your baby develops their first teeth - you are usually well into your breastfeeding journey.
And usually by then, most complications that may arise during breastfeeding have already come and gone.

So it comes as quite an unwelcomed surprise when that baby bites down for the first time -
usually quickly sending you into a state of pain and trying to figure WHY he or she just did
that to you!

Not all mamas will experience this, luckily.
But when you ARE the lucky one, it is important to figure out why
biting is now occurring and what you can do to remedy the situation.

Recently, I polled you who follow on my Instagram page to see how many have experienced biting in their breastfeeding journey and what your reaction to baby biting was.

• 12 moms said -  "yes, I've been bitten before"
• 6 were lucky enough to say -  "no, I haven't!".
• Of the 12 who stated they have experienced biting:
• Half of the reaction votes were for  "crying" or "screaming"
• Whereas 1 mama said her reaction was to laughed

And, though these results are only a small portion of the breastfeeding community - I think it goes to show that it is a very common problem to have. Biting is usually very uncomfortable as baby's teeth are quite sharp and rigid at the beginning and at the age of teeth development, baby can quickly see it as a "game" or something will cause a reaction and so therefore, needs to be stopped as soon as you are able to teach them!

Why is this happening?!

Though the obvious answer seems to be that baby must clearly be teething, there are actually 3 primary reasons as to why baby is beginning to bite during feeding times. . . so, let's jump into them to help you figure out what might be going on! 

1) Teething
The most obvious reason you might be noticing biting to begin occurring is that your baby is working on bringing in more teeth. Your nipple and breast skin feels soothing and comforting to them as their little gums are working hard on breaking their next tooth through. You might find that when teething begins - as early as 4 months of age, your nipples begin to feel raw, sore and potentially uncomfortable like when you were newly pregnant or the soreness you experienced when baby was first born and you were both getting used to breastfeeding. With teething, he or she does not mean to cause any discomfort for you but is merely trying to increase their comfort during a really painful process.

2) "All done mom!"
During those middle months of age in baby's first year, they are still trying to figure out ways to communicate things that otherwise, they aren't yet able to say. If you are noticing that baby is biting the tip of your nipple towards the end of a normally timed breastfeeding session - it is likely that they are trying to say that they are done. It is an uncomfortable and surprising way of being told that the breastfeeding session is over but once they become "bored" or no longer have a purpose for being at the breast, with age comes the biting stage in trying to say to move on to the next activity!

3) Attention or Distraction
Similarly, with maturation of baby's brain - comes an awareness that there are certain reactions your baby can get out of you by doing things to cause the reaction they are lacking or simply wanting. As your baby begins to become more aware of the world around them, it is difficult for baby to stay concentrated on the task at hand. If you are noticing frequent head turning to check out the noise you both just heard or you are reading something on your phone and a sudden bite sends pain receptors soaring - baby is likely asking you for some extra attention or love during your time together.

What do I do about this??

It is important to know that just because baby begins biting you during nursing sessions, this certainly does not mean it is time to quit. Some moms find that this is a difficult stage to get past and will eventually become the source of mom's desire to "throw in the towel". But with a few resources and tactics, this is a phase that will soon be behind you and become manageable when you begin to learn baby's cues just before they attempt to bite again.

1) Correct the Teething Discomfort
When baby is wanting to use you for their source of comfort, it is important to show them that in essence a nursing session can be comfort for them to process what they are going through. But for the actual teething discomfort, they need other resources to overcome their pain.

Try using:

• Teething rings - get a textured ring, one that is frozen or grab some mesh feeders that you can freeze breast milk in for the perfect popsicle for baby to soothe their gums on
• Natural teething oils - Clove is a great oil to rub on baby's gums to soothe the discomfort they are feeling, grab some or a homeopathic mixture at your nearest health food store for those hard days
• Tylenol is completely appropriate to use sporadically for an extra challenging day of teething that baby might suddenly be needing some extra help with
• Order some cute teething jewelry - there are plenty of Etsy shops and mama websites that sell jewelry you'll feel cute wearing and will help baby to gnaw on when those teeth are working on coming in
• Grab a washcloth and either stick in the freezer or run some warm water on it - each baby is going to prefer one temperature or another, tailor it to whatever they seem to like best!

2) Try not to react!

Thats a funny one, right?? I mean, how is it even possible to not react when baby chomps down quickly, maybe even to the point of breaking your skin? I understand and I personally have been there. But research shows that the less you react, the less baby is going to want to continue to do this for a reaction in the future. The more you are able to refrain from yelling, hitting their mouth or making any sort of scene, will truly help in the long run to begin seeing less occurrences of biting instances during your future nursing sessions. Instead - try removing back from the breast and sitting them down away from you so that they understand that with biting, comes an end to the nursing session either temporarily or until next feeding time comes up.

3) Learn those cues.


If biting is unfortunately becoming far too much of a 'norm' for you and baby - set your phone down during breastfeeding and try to figure out when begin to pull more forward onto the tip of your nipple as opposed to that perfect "deep latch" position they should always have while eating. They may begin to look up at you just before biting or place their teeth on your nipple just before going for it. If you are able to gauge the point in your nursing session that this might occur, it can be helpful in catching them the next time and ending the session before they can get to that point. You may also be able to hold your hand gently but firm against the back of their head to not allow a quick backward pull to the position they need to effectively bite down and cause discomfort.  

4) Potentiate your time together
If you are finding that baby is merely doing this for heightened attention on them or to distract you from whatever you might be doing while they nurse, if possible - consider moving nursing time back to a special moment between you and baby and saving your Instagram surfing for afterwards. When an older baby is seemingly asking for extra eyes on them and some love and talking along the way, it's okay to bring yourself back to those focused moments and realizing that they are so fleeting and will be over sooner than you wish or realize. It is also possible that this may be a short lived phase and that you soon might be able to resort back to some "you time" once they realize biting isn't as exciting as it once was or that the reactions are not what they once were.

5) Try a consistent environment
With distraction, comes a need for consistency. By now, you are probably able to literally nurse almost anywhere and maybe at times, have even surprised yourself with where you and baby have successfully completed a feeding session. As your baby gets older, that world that they've learned to love and become interested in sometimes works to your disadvantage and needs to be restricted during nursing sessions. Take them into their dark room with a noise machine on or head into your bedroom and nurse on the bed with low stimulation to help realize that focusing on the task at hand will get them back out into their exciting world sooner once eating is accomplished!

6) HANG IN THERE!
Just because it is manageable and correctable does NOT mean it is fun. And I acknowledge that, as well as every other mama who has experienced biting before too. Remembering the vast benefits of continued breastfeeding until the 1 year mark or beyond is the best thing you can hold on to while you and baby figure out how to get rid of biting together. The waves of breastfeeding and its ups and downs will always come and go but remembering that each situation can be remedied if you try hard to do so, will make it that much more rewarding in the end when you make it out with nipples still intact. ;-)

A Few More Considerations

If your baby breaks your skin and causes bleeding to occur, it is important to remember that broken skin is the perfect environment for heightened bacteria presence and an increased chance of developing thrush, yeast, infection or extended time spent trying to heal broken skin.

When working to correct the cause of your baby's reasoning for biting frequently, it is okay to consider taking a 24 hour pump holiday to quickly heal your skin's condition. Ensuring breastfeeding is going well otherwise will help baby to not reject returning to nursing once your 24 hour break has been completed.

Should you choose to take a break, lather up frequently with lanolin or APNO cream. And don't forget to express some of your breast's liquid gold to rub around the nipple and areola as the healing properties within your milk far exceed any other antibiotic ointment around! Meanwhile, remembering to frequently stimulate your breasts so your supply is not affected for baby's needs.

Blood while Pumping
During a 24 hour pump break, it is likely that you may notice blood in your milk is the skin is open. Friction and pulling force from the pump may cause that opened area to bleed and migrate into the pump bottle, mixing with your milk you plan on giving to baby! Research shows that a small amount of milk is okay for baby to ingest as their stomach acids and liver can work to filter and eliminate the blood that they get as they take the bottle you prepare for them. This blood will likely separate at the bottom of a bottle that sits in the refrigerator for a couple hours - so feel free to also siphon out the top layer of milk with a medication syringe if you feel generally uncomfortable or nervous with baby taking in milk mixed with a small amount of blood. But remember too, that in the early days when your nipples were raw and at times, even bleeding, your baby likely took in some blood during those times too and turned out to be just fine!!

GOOD LUCK MAMA - AND MAY YOU LOOK BACK SEEING THAT TEETH DON'T MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE, THEY JUST MAKE YOU A STRONGER NURSING MAMA AFTER FIGURING OUT WHAT TO DO. <3