Breastfeeding when they have teeth?

[Bluebabe75]

Does it hurt?

Emma has cut her first tooth this morning - it's just poking through the gum but I can feel it when I'm feeding her. It's ok at the moment but is it going to get really uncomfortable.

I always said I'd stop as soon as she got teeth, but I don't think I'm ready yet

[Hazy]

Well I fed until DS1 was 2 and he definitely had plenty of teeth then. I found I had a stage of biting and I think tbh screaming and taking him off the boob all of which is a fairly natural reaction to a painful bite on a sensitive spot seemed to nip it in the bud.

eta sorry didn't really answer the question I didn't find it uncomfortable even when he had lots or teeth. Just the biting phase wasn't pleasant.

[TopStar]

I got bitten a few times when he was cutting his first tooth and it was painful, at times I thought more painful than giving birth :( When I was misjudging if he was hungry or not I got bitten.
Pushing his face in to boob to stop didn't always work but taking him off it worked.
He's got 4 big teeth now and if 99% of the time no bitting at all. If he's too hungy or missed me then he would be too eager and would clamp it down which hurts to start with but soon as he's feeding he eases.
When he's just chewing out if habbit or to fall asleep it hurts too :(
I'd say it's a phase and not too much bother now.
I'm hoping to feed for a bit longer and his teeth or the bitting hasn't / will not stop us.
Go for it, you'll both adjust and won't be a problem.

[L66TTY]

Never made any difference both times.

[DillyDally]

J had teeth at three months! It never made any difference, and he never bit me

[silverpod]

DD2 has only just got her first few teeth in the last month.

I found that as they were coming through she would 'graze' me and bite me, guess it was her getting used to a new mouth position IYSWIM. Once it was a bit more through then it seemed easier for her.

The advice is, if they bite to say no/shout no (or ouch, or swear! ) and stop the feed for a few minutes so that they get the message biting isn't on. This didn't work with my DD2 as she is only down to 1 feed a day now so couldn't remember the ettiquette from 1 feed to the next, plus she always seemed to do it at the end of a feed, so stopping it wasn't a great message.

What I have done with her is for the last 10 days is to give her a right old lecture before she latches on each morning so I say no biting or I'll stop, when she comes off now without biting I praise her loads and the other thing I have found is that I stroke her head and body when she feeds, so she's less likely to fall asleep/remembers it's a human at the end of the nipple etc.

[lazymummy]

J had teeth at three months! It never made any difference, and he never bit me

My J did too! He did bite me, but it seemed to be a phase, and stopped quite quickly.

[Bluebabe75]

Thanks everyone

I can feel the tooth a bit (like a little graze) but it doesn't hurt at the moment - just wondered what to expect.

[Petrus]

Teeth spelt the end for us personally as I couldn't take the biting and he screamed and wouldn't latch on again if I did a firm NO.

[clementinexyz]

I did get bitten occasionally but he soon learnt not to when I told him off for it (back in the days when he was biddable). It shouldn't affect a normal feed.