Be Honest - BF'ing & Toothies!

[DebbieM]

Following on from this thread: http://pregnancyforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=95630&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a Luke has a tooth (just poking through right now).

This has been my nightmare for 7 months.. the first tooth, what with booby feeding him still, so, I am wondering... just how much is this gonna hurt me? I know it's sharp already and I think I can feel it a little bit but be honest... how bad is it gonna be?

Be honest... but gentle.... LOL!

 

[LisaJ1986]

I too am wondering this as Angel has the very tip of a tooth poking through i think. She already hurts me most days (dunno how) so i'm ever so slightly freaked out by this!

 

[DebbieM]

I'm VEEEEEEERY freaked out LOL

 

[DebbieM]

I'm VEEEEEEERY freaked out LOL

 

[DebbieM]

I'm VEEEEEEERY freaked out LOL

 

[DebbieM]

Er... courtesy of Luke. How the heck did he manage 3 times??

 

[valentine]

Hey,

Don't be freaked out, firstly, is it a top or bottom tooth?

Bottom teeth are usually fine as they naturally put their tongue over their teeth to feed. Problem solved.

Top teeth are nippy but you really can't feel them usually unless your baby bites you.

I found that DD only bit me if she was bored or there was no milk left and occassionally she just did it to get a reaction. Every single time I immediately whipped my boob away, no more milk for her.

DD had 7 or 8 teeth by the time we stopped and we did have a couple of bites (towards the end at 12 months) when I thought she'd actually seriously bitten my nipple off (they really hurt), but this was really really rare. She was usually quite a gentle, if distracted feeder once she got teeth, but I coped much better than I expected to.

You can too Debbie and Lisa - just another wee b/feeding hurdle!

Valentine Xxx

 

[charlie84]

So not looking forward to teeth either, but i think i will be ok for a while Calleigh has no sign of any toothy pegs making their way through just yet

 

[DebbieM]

we did have a couple of bites (towards the end at 12 months) when I thought she'd actually seriously bitten my nipple off (they really hurt), but this was really really rare.

OMG. My legs just turned to jelly reading that.

It's a bottom one.

 

[maybebaby]

Like V said you should be fine wih a bottom tooth because their tongue covers it. If they want to bite they will but they soon learn!

Austin got his first 2 teeth early - about 16/17 weeks old - so I just cracked on and we got on fine.

 

[Becky]

I worried about this too, especially as DD seem to get her first teeth in twos!! But as it happened we only had a couple of nips and each time she did it I took her off the boob and she soon learnt not to do it!

 

[purple13]

i know that my nipple shields have saved me from the worst...

connor and i were having cuddles in bed this morning and he dived for my right boob as if to latch on (without the shield). now, i know he can't latch without them so i don't know what i was thinking but i let him put his mouth there... and then bit me really hard

he does try and nibble on the shields occasionally mid-feed, but is generally really good - no different to feeds without teeth.

any biting threats have been dealt with, with a loud "ow" and the removal of boob. i made him cry the first time i did that

 

[Squiglet]

Well I'm going to scare you then..

Lil miss went through a biting stage recently. Either you get a biter or you don't IMHO... and well I didn't have a biter with Tia but I dam well got one this time

About a month ago she bit me all the time... 7 times in one day once and drew blood too, it came very close to me giving up breastfeeding at that time it was awful and painful. Each time I naturally shouted (cos it does hurt) and took her off the breast. It was getting to the point I feared each feed and would watch her like a hawk in the hope of averting her biting me again. She did it for about a week then a tooth poked through and she was fine after that.

She still occasionally bites me, but its more to say "Oi! pay attention to me!" rather than her teething.

The thing to do if they do bite more during teething is to up their meds because a lot of feeds become comfort pain feeds and thats when they bite. I still dread being bitten... and I still watch her... she last bit me a few days ago... But I take her off the breast and dump her on the floor.. and walk away... that makes her really upset and she won't bite me after that.

I can't say its pleasant.. and when newbie breast feeders talk about how sore their boobs are in the first few weeks, I really sympathise... but I'd rather go back to those gummy sore nipple days than the savaged teeth days but you are too far in once they get teeth... too addicted to the special mummy cuddles only you can give and you know no matter how much it hurts, its the best thing for your baby and you'd go through 100x more pain to do the best by your child as any mummy would

 

[Xena]

Alex bites me all the time. He thinks it's hilarious - especially when I say OW
I take my boob away from him when he does that, and give him his dummy instead.

It does hurt, but it's nowhere near as bad as when Lydia bites my fingers (accidentally). She did it the other day when I popped some bread into her mouth and OMG I thought I was going to have to have surgery lol.

 

[mummykay]

iv been bitten once, screamed abit and he never did it again haha!

 

[DebbieM]

Thanks all! Fingers crossed he will be good and not bite, although he is a terror so I'm not holding my breath, BUT, I know nothing will stop me from feeding him anyway so he can give it his best shot

 

[-Kelly-]

Oliver has had two bottom teeth for nearly a month, and has only bitten me a handful of times. The first couple of times were just testing I think, he did it very slowly and gently and looked me straight in the eye while he did it! Then recently he's started teething again and I did get some pretty bad nips yesterday, although after a lot of times of saying no and removing him he seems to be getting the message. I don't think bottom teeth are as bad as tops (I'm not totally sure though because he doesn't have any top ones) because they're covered by their tongue when they're feeding.

It's a real exercise in trust putting your nipple in a teething baby's mouth!

 

[sarah2807]

Violet has had her two bottom teeth since she was 12 weeks....i was worried too but she hasn't bitten me once!! Like others have said their tongue covers thw bottom teeth when they feed so you should be fine.