My daughter is 3 months old & is starting to act like she is ready to teeth, I am so afriad to continue to breastfeed when she starts to teeth, because I have heard horror stories. I have not had an easy time brestfeeding to begin with, I pumped for her brother because he was in the NICU for a month & a half & then he wouldn't take to the breast. Well she won't take a bottle for me. My husband hasn't been real supportive, because the minute I dried up with my son we found he was allergic to milk based formulas as well as soy. We had to put him on Neocate which was $40.00 a can. I am just not sure how much longer I can breastfeed, I have done it longer than I thought I could. I feel so guilty for wanting to stop.

By Happynerdmom on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 01:01 pm:

Emily, don't feel guilty. By breastfeeding for three months, your daughter has gotten a lot of benefit from being breastfed. That said, however, I breastfed my son for eight months, and it was him who was ready to stop! I could have kept going...at least until he was a year old. I never had any problems. I don't even remember him ever biting me or anything. It certainly is the cheaper option! It would be a shame for you to quit just because of someone else's bad experience. If that's your only reason, I would encourage you to relax, and keep going! But, it is a very personal choice. You have to do what you think is best for you.

By Sunny on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 01:11 pm:

First, forget all the horror stories you've heard! Remember when you were pregnant and women loved to tell you all the horror stories about their labors and deliveries and it scared you? It's the same thing. There are ways of handling a teething child and breastfeeding! It doesn't have to be a bad experience. If you want to try and continue to nurse, I'll be happy to share some techniques (as I'm sure many others here will, too) for dealing with biting. I've nursed all 5 of my kids well beyond their 1st birthdays and the intial teething time. If you decide you want to wean, many of us here can suggest ways of doing that, too. It's ultimately your decision and there should be no guilt involved! You need to do what is best for you and your daughter, not what someone else feels you should do. (((hugs)))

By Tklinreston on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 01:13 pm:

Hi Emily. I breastfed both of my sons until they were alittle over one. Three months is better than many moms out there so don't feel guilty. Feel proud of yourself especially in light of the difficulties you've had thus far. It's a personal choice and formulas these days are so good. But if you can stick it out, I would because nothing can beat mom's milk. My older ds has had only one ear infection and my younger - never even though their exposed to kids from daycare. Breastmilk is so wonderful for their immune systems so try to stick it out. As for the biting, there have been a few incidences but it's not so bad. When it happens, gently put your finger in between their mouth/cheeks and yourself to break the suction and tell them in a stern but gentle voice "uh oh" and I shake my head no. Let them know biting hurts and that you don't approve. Keep doing that each time and they will learn that it's not ok to bite. Good luck!

By Amy~moderator on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 01:40 pm:

I'm not sure if this is a recommended method for stopping biting during breastfeeding, but my 7 month old bites me occasionally and I pluck him *lightly* on the cheek and say "No Bite" and shake my head. After a few seconds of him looking at me with a frown, I smile and encourage him to continue nursing.

By Jodie on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 01:47 pm:

Sort of like Amy. I would unlatch DS and firmly say "no Biting ", that hurts mama ". Then smile and latch him back on.After a few days he got the idea. He didnot like being taken off the breast like that and the nips stopped . He didn't start his little nips until 10 months though. I nursed ds for 14 months and he self weaned then. My local La Leche League helped so very much with every little hitch I had. It wasn't easy at all for me to begin with but we made it with LLL support and DH was great too. I wanted to nurse till DS self weaned and I did .

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 03:01 pm:

My older daughter bit me a few times when she was about 5 months old and had just gotten teeth. Then she learned how to nurse without biting and life was good. She was just trying out her new teeth, little stinker. I nursed mine until about 6 months. I was working goofy shifts and while I did pump at work, just couldn't seem to keep up with it anymore by about six months. I would have liked to have gone a year, but it wasn't to be.

By Momaroze on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 06:19 pm:

Hi Emily, I breast fed all of my ds's for about 2 months each. I had a terrible time with it too. Myself I had C'section with all and no help when coming home with new baby. I hear the first 6 weeks is the most important, longer is best of course. If you made it to 3 months I applaud you. Don't feel guilty....all my ds's so far have been healthier than most! My eldest is in his teens.

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 06:41 pm:

Emily, you have two children and are going to have so many occasions for feeling guilty for the rest of your life, don't add this little problem to it.

I nursed my first two until I weaned them, and children were weaned to whole milk earlier then (mid 60's - not too long after they were sitting up without support). My youngest was 6 weeks premie and I did the same thing, rented a breast pump until I could bring him home and then found he was allergic to my milk, but I was able to use the Soy formula for him.

I would say nurse as long as you are comfortable, and then stop. In the interim, try pumping and putting breast milk in a bottle and holding your daughter while you give her the bottle. My bet is that if she is hungry she will take it - she may fuss and grumble and even cry a bit, but at her age she is not going to go hungry if food is there. Once you get her used to the bottle, you can switch over to whatever your pediatrician recommends - maybe mixing half and half with breast milk first. From what I remember reading, most babies who are given formula will prefer it because of the taste, anyhow.

But please, don't pile guilt on yourself.

My theory is that when the baby is delivered it comes with this invisible backpack for mommie, and this is where we store the guilt, day by day, week by week, year by year. It is a heavy burden, and I encourage not adding to it more than is absolutely necessary.

My sons are now nearly 43, nearly 38, and 36. I have huge backpacks of "if only I had" guilts, and try really hard to get rid of them. I really feel like a fairly successful parent by the standards I set - they all like me, they are all gainfully employed, pay their bills, enjoy enough of their jobs to make it not too difficult to go to work, and two of them have no problems with relationships (we won't talk about the third, who is presently living with me), and mostly they stay out of trouble. And they like me - and don't blame me. Anything more than that is just so much gold.

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 06:46 pm:

Oh, and the two I nursed until I weaned them - both of them had teeth and neither of them bit me. When the teeth started and I felt a pinch, I'd put my finger in the baby's mouth at the point of the tooth, saying no, no, all the time. I don't remember any problems.

If someone is telling you horror stories, please consider that this person is not a friend. Friends are supportive and don't tell you horror stories about what you are trying to do.

By Ladypeacek on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 06:51 pm:

WEll i could not breast feed my dd at all, i was to drugged up since i had very high blood pressure and the meds were not safe. I tried it with my son but that was horrible! He slept through the night from the beginning and i still had to get up since my breasts felt like they were going to explode!!!! So i pumped and froze till i had enough to feed and army of kids, lol. I decided to just stop! I felt guilty too for a while but he adjusted just fine. Maybe try different nipples for the bottles, there are so many now maybe you can find one she will like!

By Emily7 on Friday, April 16, 2004 - 01:01 pm:

Thank you all for the great feedback. I will try to go a little longer, but try once more to introduce the bottle. Now I feel like if I do leave her with my husband I have to be back in about 2 hours. Its hard to have me time or Mommy & Joseph time when I am watching the clock.

By Echo on Friday, April 16, 2004 - 04:31 pm:

My daughter liked to bite me before she got teeth, so I was able to teach her not to before it would have hurt. She did bite me once with teeth, but it wasn't that bad. I just firmly and a little louder than normal told her "NO". For a while she would just laugh at me, but eventually she understood and would cry a little. She caught on pretty quick though and hasn't done it for a while. She's 9 months now.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do. I like nursing cuase it's soo much cheaper.

By Monicamomof3 on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 12:03 pm:

Hey! I nursed my first two until they were 16 months old. They bit maybe twice. It isn't as often as people say it is. I did the same thing Echo did and then took them away from my breast for a little while. Then it never happened again. Hang in there, you are almost "over the hump". Pretty soon, you will have much more time in-between feedings. Think about how fast the last 3 months have flown by. The next 3 will be just as fast (or faster). Then comes solid food and the nursing, of course, will slow down; leaving you more mommy and Joseph time! I hope you are encouraged and hang in there. You won't regret it!!
Good luck!

By Emily7 on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 12:15 pm:

I am taking it day by day. I really want to continue, I think she is ready for cereal, she sometimes eats for an hour.

By Cat on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 12:26 pm:

I nursed my oldest until 13 months and my youngest until 22 months. They learned REALLY fast that if they bit, they were done. If they wanted to continue nursing, they didn't bite. I think they only bit a couple times each. Hang in there. You're doing what's best for your baby, even if you decide to stop nursing. She's gotten a lot from you already. While I really encourage and believe in the benefits of breast feeding for the first year, I also truly believe that if the mother wants to stop, she should. How beneficial is it for a child to nurse from a mother that is stressed and tense about nursing? Either way, you're doing great. ^5

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 02:26 pm:

I nursed both kids. DS for 6 mos. and DD for 16 mos.. They bit but as others suggested, taking them off the breast and saying, "No biting," a few times got the message across. If you close up shop and put your breasts away they will make the connection. LOL! Usually if they're biting they're no longer hungry and it's time to quit the nursing session anyway.

By Ginny~moderator on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 06:19 am:

If she is nursing for an hour, I suggest that she is nursing for contact and comfort. I doubt very much you have much milk left after the first 20 minutes or so.

I tried to find the LaLeche International Home Page but it appears to be gone. However, here is another link: http://www.breastfeedingcoalition.org/links.asp

This is for California, but I would think the informational links might help. And ask your pediatrician's office, or call the hospital to see if there is an organization in your area that offers help and advice on breast feeding.

Most importantly, please try to feel comfortable doing what you want to do. If breast feeding is a chore for you and you don't really want to do it, then I think it is perfectly OK for you to switch to a bottle.

By Feona on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 07:34 am:

I breast fed for 3 years. It just gets easier and easier as you go on. Oh my goodness the begining was hard though. If you get bit stop breastfeeding. They learn not to bite very very quick else the milk stops.


Since you son was allergic to milk based formula, I think I would try to breast feed for 6 month (and reevaluate then). I think the milk allergies run in families.

I am sure I got bit a couple time when I was breast feeding. Honestly I only vaguely remember it so it must not have been that bad. No wounds or anything.

By Sunny on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 09:07 am:

If it seems like she is nursing for an hour, she's probably going through a growth spurt. The longer she nurses, the more milk your body makes to compensate. Supply and demand at it's most efficient.

By Rayanne on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 12:22 pm:

Hi Emily. Don't feel guilty sweetie. You've done a gd job. I breast fed my daughter for only two months because I wasn't producing enough. My friend has a little boy who is almost 9 months old and she says that when and if he bites her, she stops, and then she will feed him again. I think that that is the best way because then they learn not to bite. Good luck and hang in their.