Help: Teething and nipple dragging - Ouch!

[canadianlisa]

Hi everyone-

I was wondering if you could help me with this uncomfortable problem. My little girl is now 6 months- she seems to be teething- lots of drool, rosy checks, biting everything she can get in her mouth etc. She is exclusively breast fed with a very occasional bottle of formula (she is very reluctant to take a bottle for the most part). Since her teething has begun in earnest when she is feeding she braces her little hands against my breast, grips the nipple very hard between her lips and pulls back craning her neck. I have tried snuggling her in and holding her head a bit closer but she fights this. She is also quite fussy at the breast and comes on and off constantly. I have tried taking her off but the same thing happens again. Any ideas- saying 'No' seems to have little impact. I am keen to carry on feeding hermfor a few more months but it is making it very uncomfortable as well as making me reluctant to do it publically. Any ideas would be gratefully appreciated.

Also as an aside- I have given her a dose of calpol at bedtime over the last few nights as she was distressed and unsettled. It seemed to help quite a bit - should I carry on doing this? For how long? I don't want her to become a mini Calpol addict!! She seems to love it and laps it up :)

Thanks for your help

Lisa

[GinaG3]

I went through exactly the same thing, I used to tell her no and take her off if she did it, but this seemed to turn it into a game. Best advice I had from my mother who breastfed all 5 of us was to just ignore it, as soon as I started doing that within days she stopped. I think they go through phase's of biting. Right now my daughter is coming up for 15 months and has started again, I'm once again trying my hardest to ignore it, but with proper teeth now its very hard and ever so painful, but i'm very reluctant to stop breastfeeding, I want to carry on until she feels ready to stop. This advice may not work for you, but found it was the only piece of advice that worked for me. I gave calpol for sometimes 3 nights in a row but no longer. If I am right in thinking its not recommended that you use calpol for more than 3 days with out seeking the advice of a doctor. I found Nelsons teething granules very good and they are all natural so I was happy with that.

There is light at the end of tunnel, breastfeeding and teething can be a nightmare for some, but if you act like it doesn't bother you chances are your baby will realise it is not sparking a reaction from you and quit biting. Its a painful time for a baby and they tend to do anything for comfort.

I hope you find some of this useful. I also just thought you may want to try and attach your baby to the breast as if they were newborn again, sometimes positioning can make a great difference, as as breastfeeding progresses women tend to just let their baby feed however they attach themselves. Im the worst for this habit seeing as my daughter doesn't care how she gets it so long as she does, standing up, laying on top of me, any which way possible.

Hope you find a way thats good for you and little one. It will get easier... :-)