Take a bite out of biting

​You’ve probably been there or are worried it's on the horizon: you’re having a nice, quiet and peaceful nursing session with your little one, when all of a sudden *crunch*, your nipple becomes a chew toy. New teeth do not mean the end of breastfeeding. What causes babies to bite? And how can you stop it?

Causes:

• Teething: Chewing on things feels good, and your nipple just happens to be in the perfect position.
• Distraction: Sometimes babies lose track of what they are doing (ahem, eating) and get distracted by something around them. For my son, it happens to be his older brothers who he thinks are just the coolest people ever, and if one is nearby, he’ll crank his head in their direction…nipple still in mouth.
• Boredom: Babies generally do not bite when they are actively eating. Aside from it being nearly physiologically impossible, they are also too focused on getting the good milk than anything else. When baby starts to bite, it’s often a sign he is no longer hungry, so it is a good time to end the feeding.
• Attention: Let’s be honest, biting gets a reaction, and sometimes that’s exactly what baby is looking for—a little extra attention.

How to address biting:
As a new mom dealing with a biting baby, a parent once told me I should bite him back. Another mom told me to “flick his cheek”. So let’s start with some basics to help with the biting issue, and I’ll preface with: DON’T BITE YOUR CHILD OR FLICK HIM/HER! But that just goes to show you that there is a lot of advice out there, much of which is not always so good.

1. Firmly state “No, that hurts mommy” or something along those lines. It may be a natural instinct to loudly yelp, but just a firm tone is often more effective without scaring the child or causing the child to enjoy getting a reaction from you.
2. Stop the feeding session. This may be for a couple minutes or longer, depending on the baby. If you feel like baby is biting because he is bored and done eating, end the session altogether.
3. If you feel like baby is biting because of teething, offer a teething toy.
4. If you believe baby is biting because of distractions, try nursing in a quiet, dim room.
5. If you believe baby is biting for attention, try giving baby lots of eye contact and talk to him quietly during nursing times.

Biting is usually a phase. Many moms feel like the development of teeth signal the end of their nursing journey, but that is not the case at all. With a good latch, most people will not even feel the teeth at all.