Teething Babies Make Breastfeeding Painful

“Hi, I’ve been breastfeeding my baby for 9 months (with some combo feeding) and we are having some real issues at the moment. He is teething his four top teeth at the moment and has been for over a week now. He has been extra fussy, not wanting to nurse for very long or nursing and then getting fussy/angry and crying. Last week I had two clogged ducts which were so painful. I know he is hungry and he doesn’t cry at all when having solids in his high chair. He does seem upset when I try to give hi”

“My baby has been almost exclusively breastfeed for 6 months (we did a few formula bottles in the first couple weeks). He started doing 3 bottles of pumped milk a day when he started daycare at 4 months, and otherwise we are still nursing 1-2 times in the morning, 2-3 times in the evening, and 1-2 times overnight (or 8-10 times a day weekend days). About a month ago, he started doing this really annoying — and painful — thing where he’d pop off my nipple while still sucking hard. This led to crac”

“My baby is 11 mo and it’s been an insane struggle with biting since about 8 months in. It’s not just biting. She clamps and pulls back. It’s terrible. Bite marks, blood, bruising. At this point, I only breastfeed in the morning (when she’s calmest) and give her a bottle/pump 2x later in the day. It’s the worst at her last feed, where she bites and cries immediately when I put her at my breast, even if I pump to get a letdown first (takes about 45s). Anyone else in this boat? My condolences if so”

“My 5 month old has begun biting my nipples during sessions and while it currently isn’t TOO painful, I think teeth are around the corner. We already defeated a terrible strike/bottle preference and she is still a bit fussy at the breast because she’s very, VERY interested in everything else all the time and will basically only nurse without stopping/unlatching a billion times when she’s half asleep. I want to be very careful about how I handle her biting to avoid anymore negative experiences at”

“Especially for those who have done extended nursing, did you deal with sensitive nipples after bubs had bitten and scraped teeth on nipples? I feel like it’s been getting worse over the the last few weeks as more teeth and especially these molars that are coming through. I’m guessing part of it is due to bubs having free access to boobs at night due to cosleeping but it’s getting to the point my nipples are painful while nursing. May be similar to newborn times but less hormones to push through”

“My 3rd baby and 12 month old has a cold and has four teeth and the last day or so has been BITING ME, every single time he latches he bites, even during night time feeds like tonight. I can’t even nurse him to sleep, like tonight has been hell because it’s 2am and he’s woken up three times crying. I’ve had to rock him to sleep each time. My anxiety is through the roof right now because my brain is telling me I’m never going to sleep again because he keeps waking up and I can’t seem to nurse him.”

“My baby was born right at 37weeks. We had issues with her latch right away. She bites. Hard. In the hospital, the nurses were like “well yeah, breastfeeding is hard. But you’ll get used to it” but when the nurses were checking for a tongue tie, she kept biting them and they were yelling out and saying that she’s biting a lot harder than most. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, I mean I slept through majority of my Pitocin contractions without medication. But her bites made me cry from the pain”

“Hey mamas, I never had an issue until my first pregnancy despite all efforts. What did you notice about your teeth and mouth that changed during pregnancy or postpartum? How did you survive it? What about nausea or vomiting aftermath? Did you have to switch up your routine or do anything different that worked? Also how did you navigate night time hunger or snacking in the middle of the night or between nursing sessions? 🦷🪥 submitted by /u/Skepticalrf [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! Hoping for some advice from this community. My daughter is 9.5 months and now have 5 teeth, and I am experiencing nipple crimes. After she has taken a full feed (6.5-7 minutes), I unlatch her by breaking the seal without putting my finger in her mouth. I noticed before that she wouldn't unlatch when I did that and she would try to reposition the breast in her mouth and bite my slightly. Doesn't really hurt but it's not pleasant. Feed ends. To mitigate that, I would do th”

“My 8 month daughter got her first two lower teeth around 5 months and since then has been showing signs of teething (drooling, mouthing everything, sometimes hitting gums) for what feels like months without relief or new teeth breaking through. I've been so sleep-deprived and realized today we've been giving her 1-2x doses of Tylenol a night for maybe that long?! I am mortified. She has been to the clinic repeatedly to rule out an ear infection or other possible causes and the doctor at”

“Hi my LO is 5 months old. I can feel one of her canines coming through on the bottom and I have spotted a white lump on her top right canine she is deffo teething with the drool, chewing and fussiness. can anyone give any clarity. submitted by /u/BullfrogSpare55 [link] [comments]”

“He's always been a biter. Hurt with the gums. Hurt worse with the bottom two teeth and the gums. Now his top two are sprouting in FAST. I am TERRIFIED of him drawing blood. I know what it's like to be bit by him but not hard enough to draw blood, and he hasn't bit full force with his new chompers yet, though I'm anticipating he will any time now. I know the whole "No. Don't bite mommy." thing then setting them down for 10min or so, walking away, then coming back and”

“Hello! I’ve been EBF by baby who is 9.5 months old. His bottom two teeth came through a couple of months ago and beyond a couple of bites they have been fine. However his top two teeth have come through and they are scraping my nipple when he feeds. I’ve tried to switch up positions but it’s still incredibly painful, I would say unbearable. I don’t know if it’s because he is teething that it means he is not latching as deeply as possible but I’m feeling a bit stuck what to do. He doesn’t take a”

“Please don’t immediately see this and say that I should continue unless you genuinely heard me out. My baby is 7 months old. I have been loving breast-feeding, but my baby bit me SO FREAKING HARD. which is of course to be expected, but it really scared me and I started feeding him some bottles here and there and I decided that I was going to stop breast-feeding and go straight to the bottle and let my milk dry up. Now he is just getting bottles. I have really liked it because I can see that he i”

“My 8m old daughter has 4 teeth now and has started bitting me while bursting. It really hurts!! I cannot tolerate it and I’ve noticed that I start every session tensed up and afraid. Up to this point breast feeding had been an absolute dream and I feel terrible at the thought of stopping so soon. I breastfed my son till 11 months and he stopped organically. I wont be able to persevere the bitting so unless I can get it under control I’ll move to bottles. The good news is that she loves her solid”

“How are we dealing with teething? My first never had any issues with teething. My second is now 8 months and is screaming, crying constantly. Doesn’t seem to be hungry. Refuses bottle but just screaming 😭 I’ve tried oral gel but doesn’t help much. He doesn’t want any of the chilled teethers too. submitted by /u/fangsfive [link] [comments]”

“My poor boy is going through it, man. Just whining and crying, and I’m right there with him because this sucks. My 7.5 month old started running a fever on Friday that lasted until Monday. He tested negative for COVID, flu, and RSV, and we suspect he had a different viral illness. Now that the fever is gone, he’s still having a really tough time. Then we noticed two tiny slivers of white on the bottom gums. So yep… he’s teething. We’ve been giving Tylenol and Motrin as directed, alternating when”

“My 9 month old has just started biting when nursing. He has teeth so it REALLY hurts and I do suspect he’s working on another one. It’s happened twice and both times on pure reflex I screamed “Ouch!” loud enough that it scared him and he started to cry. I feel like the world’s worst mother for scaring my baby. I also worry about creating negative associations with nursing and maybe triggering a nursing strike. He also started being really particular about who he’ll take a bottle from and when re”

“How did everyone handle breastfeeding when the babies were teething and once they had teeth? Daughter’s 6 months old and she’s starting to bite down on me quite hard and it kills! Don’t wanna imagine how it’ll be when her teeth finally come on. Any tips or tricks?? submitted by /u/Present-Camera7405 [link] [comments]”

“I’m 10 months into EBF and it’s been pain free this entire time until recently! My baby has 4 teeth now and working on 2 more currently. He will scrape his teeth sometimes and has bit me before. All of a sudden my nipples are SO sore even after a nursing session. Tonight I saw a small tear in one of my nipples. How do I heal from this while still breastfeeding? It hurts so bad but not giving up breastfeeding. Thanks! submitted by /u/Stunning-Cow-3840 [link] [comments]”

“Baby has started crying at bottle but takes breast fine. We've been feeding both bottle and breast ever since he was born. He just turned 4 months last week I think he may be teething but not sure honestly. What am I doing wrong? What can I do to get him to take bottle? submitted by /u/britt329 [link] [comments]”

“Long story short, almost 8mo, got first tooth on Sunday. Yay! No. Bit me so hard on Monday (yesterday). I had already read up on what to do and I actually thought he might be about to bite. The problem was I tried to unlatch immediately but he was already getting a grip, then he RIPPED AWAY. Today I’m making sure he’s hungry, watching his body language, he made eye contact with me, smiled devilishly and I pulled him away. That was this morning. I thought I avoided a bite. Anyway, just woke from”

“Hello everyone, my baby is about to turn 10 months old , she’s not getting enough milk from me and she also has 10 teeth already, so all she does is bite my boobs and doesn’t want milk and gets distracted. Breastfeeding has also been taking a toll on me and my mental health. She does eat solids but has never really had bottles. I think only like 4 times max did she have a bottle. I have tried Phillips advent , Dr browns , and now Como tomo. She will take water in a bottle just fine, but once I p”

“Hey y’all, I’m 5.5 months into EBF and my sons been doing this thing that I can only assume as rolling my nipple in between his gums. It hurt but wasn’t super painful, so I pushed through… well literally like 10 minutes ago he was mostly asleep, and dozing off, or so I thought, until he stopped nursing, waited like 15 or so seconds and then just CHOMPED. What can I do to stop this behavior? I’d love to keep breastfeeding but I literally yelped and my husband came over because I was crying… this”

“Oh my goodness this girl(7m) just got her top teeth in, she's had her bottom front two for a while and holy bleep... her bites hurt SO MUCH. How did you mamas get past this stage?!! Is she too young to understand my pain?? Am I going to lose my nipple???? submitted by /u/synaptic_touch [link] [comments]”

“My babe is 9.5 months old and I’ve been fortunate enough that we’ve been successfully breastfeeding our entire time together. He has 4 whole teeth (I’ve gotten bit maybe 3 times? When he was half asleep) and I really want to make it to the 1 year mark. Lately I’ve been more uncomfortable than not when he’s latched. It’s not necessarily hurting but sometimes it does. I feel like I’m also so used to being a paci my pain gauge might be off idk lol. Obviously the first few weeks I was in some discom”

“My nine month old is such a meanie when he nurses! And it will come so randomly, we’ll be having a lovely moment and then out of nowhere he’ll chomp down and not let go! The only way I can get him to let go is by shoving his face into my boob so he can’t breathe through his nose, so he has to stop biting me. It’s not teething, It makes it difficult to relax and enjoy nursing him because I’m hypervigilant for the dreaded chomp 😢 but today he bit down and pulled his head back and wouldn’t let go”

“My 8 month old has her two bottom teeth and one lateral incisor(erupted last week and has come down even more). Her top two teeth and the other lateral incisor are all verrry red, swollen and have some white/opaque color. She’s (we’re) going through it! Any insights as to when they’ll make their way? Maybe just looking for solidarity. submitted by /u/Curious_Swan_9141 [link] [comments]”

“I’m a first-time mom and my 6-month-old is exclusively breastfed. She doesn’t have teeth yet, but her bottom gums look swollen/whitish like the two bottom teeth may be coming in. She already clamps down really hard on my nipple with her gums, especially when she’s frustrated waiting for my letdown, and sometimes pulls at the same time. It’s surprisingly painful even without teeth 😭 She also bites/chews on everything — bottles, pacifiers, her water bottle straw, toys, basically anything that goe”

“Two little white stubs appeared on my LO's lower central incisors on June 17, when she was 10 months old. Its been 2.5 months and the teeth are still only halfway through. A while ago, two little white stubs appeared on her upper central incisors too. So effectively, she's teething in four places right now. I'm struggling with the multiple night-time wakes, feels like I'm in the newborn trenches again. Does teething actually last this long? And is it going to be the same way for”

“Within the past few weeks, my 10 month old has discovered how to grind/grit his teeth and I dont know how to get him to stop. Its the most disgusting sound Ive ever heard like worse than nails on a chalkboard and I think it may be affecting his teeth when I compare them from now vs a month ago before he started this. He seems to do it when he’s frustrated or upset like we went out to a restaurant and he wanted to bite the table, I stopped him by telling him no and covering the table with my hand”

“What are we doing with our teething babies that bite the nipples!!!??? I’m dying!! My baby is 5mo and just popped her first tooth and she keeps biting down and pulling back until my nipple rips out of her mouth. It hurts sooooo bad!! What do I do to stop it!?!? submitted by /u/Goosethemoose30 [link] [comments]”

“My LO is 14 months, and just cutting her upper molars and it looks like the bottoms are coming in soon. The past week she’s had days where she’s only had a couple bites of food and predominantly just wants to breastfeed, essentially just cluster feeding during the day. I’m fine with supporting her like this right now, I just hope she gets back to eating more solids soon! I’m feeling a bit more depleted than I would usually. Is there anything I should be taking supplement wise when my body is sud”

“Well, the day I have been dreading is finally here. My 6 month old son has sprouted little teefies, and my nips already feel like a piece of paper gone through a shredder. I had a discussion with my local lactation consultant about how to avoid pain with teeth, but her only suggestion was to magically predict when he was going to pull off and hold his head in to stop him. I'd love some first hand advice as to how I can navigate this next chapter of breastfeeding before he draws blood. Thank”

“For the last week nursing has been painful. She has had teeth for a five or so months now and went through a biting phase but that's been over a while. I did have my mirena IUD removed a couple of weeks ago. Could that be the issue? It's so bad I'm considering weaning which I really don't want to do. My first baby weaned herself at 18 months and I was so sad, but I was working and my supply naturally slowed down because I had less time to pump at work. This time I have the honor”

“I've been breastfeeding for 5 months now and I can see lower teeth starting to develop. What should I expect when they come in? submitted by /u/Puzzleheaded_Cell428 [link] [comments]”

“There are a lot of indications that my 4,5 month old is teething , and feeding her has been a struggle Any advice to help her? Feeding is taking a long time she drinks and half way through stops latching hard , cries etc I’m exhausted submitted by /u/AdorableMaximum4925 [link] [comments]”

“My 10 month old has started to bite when she is finished feeding. I'll pull her off and firmly but gently say "No" ,"No biting" and cover my breast up to signify the end of feeding if she bites. She smiles up at me as/after she does it because she thinks she's playing. This happened a handful of times around 6-7 months but then stopped for a while and recently has picked up a bit. Not sure how to get it to stop because she's doing it when she is finished and it&#3”

“My baby got her first tooth at 6mo. It was visible as a white dot on her gums and it broke out a few days after. Last week she was sick and a bit fussy and I’ve been thinking there’s another tooth coming out because I see the same white dot in her gums. It’s not the front one but the side one. However it’s been a week, baby is fine, I still see the dot but I can’t feel the tooth clearly coming out. So I’m a bit confused what is going on? submitted by /u/Same_Subject_988 [link]”

“Hi! I’m looking for advice on what to do when my baby bites while feeding, but is going to sleep. I will nurse to sleep, and then once he’s sleeping, the bite usually comes before the unlatching. Should I be unlatching for him once he’s asleep? I’m not sure what to do, but my nipples are sore. I’ve had the idea of not nursing to sleep anymore (as the bites mainly come from him drifting off to sleep), I just haven’t gotten around to actually doing it yet. Any advice is appreciated! submitte”

“My baby’s bottom two teeth came in around 9 months and I hadn’t had any issues until her top two teeth came in over the last month. She’s now a little over 10.5 months and the past several days have been miserable because her top teeth are cutting into my boob at the base of my nipple. She’s not biting me and her latch feels and looks ok overall, but the area where her top teeth sit is raw it’s now incredibly painful when she nurses. We did baby led weaning so she’s been on solids since 6 months”

“My almost 11 month old started biting every nursing session now. I ended up with an open cut right underneath both of my nipples. On one side the cut seems deeper with white fluids coming out. I don’t know if it’s an infection. I’m in pain every time she latches. Pumping isn’t emptying my breasts well and I’m too scared to use a higher setting. I haven’t tried lanolin yet but will soon (ordered it and it’s coming tomorrow) I’m so stressed out fearing that I won’t be able to breastfeed her anymor”

“My son started teething at 3 months old, he first got his 2 bottom teeth which were fine. His 2 top teeth came in next, when they first starting coming in I noticed something was off- they both have missing enamel and it looks almost like they are chipped. We went to the dentist at 5 months old and were told its a defect and to come back if it bothers him. My son seems to be fine but I thought I would post because I have never seen this before! Link to photo of how they look: https://imgur.com/a”

“Hi everyone, My toddler is 17 months old. He's teething (canines) and is really miserable. He wakes up a lot at night, and usually I nurse him he falls right back asleep, but the last couple of night have been hell. He started using me as a pacifier a lot more than before, and I just can't take it anymore. I developed a sudden aversion, I don't know why. I just can't handle the nibbles anymore and the nursing sessions are very long due to teething. It's making me miserable an”

“My baby is 4m and has shown signs of teething for like 3 weeks now Excess drooling, cranky, grabbing mouth jaws and ears, rubbing her mouth, biting everything including shoving hands in her mouth to nom on, her gums have shown some redness here and there, and you can even see the little outlines of the teeth under the surface but still no teeth!! How long does this typically last??? submitted by /u/TinyCrittersUnited [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone, My toddler is 17 months old. He's teething (canines) and is really miserable. He wakes up a lot at night, and usually I nurse him he falls right back asleep, but the last couple of night have been hell. He started using me as a pacifier a lot more than before, and I just can't take it anymore. I developed a sudden aversion, I don't know why. I just can't handle the nibbles anymore and the nursing sessions are very long due to teething. It's making me miserable an”

“Lo is 6 months just got two teeth and keeps biting. I've taken boob away said no bite, I've said booboo and expressed pain. Lo wont stop what do I do. I exclusively nurse and this makes me want to stop but I know its a phase. submitted by /u/Dense-Pin625 [link] [comments]”

“I’m getting to the point where I want to stop breastfeeding. my LO has so many teeth now and it can really hurt especially when there isn’t much milk and he bites down. we are planning an upcoming international trip and I would like to wean prior (though I understand it may be better to breastfeed to sleep etc during the trip to help him with jet lag or if he gets sick). our current plan is to have him spend a night or two with the grandparents and wean off / go cold turkey. has anyone tried thi”

“My son refuses all bottles and is underweight, so I have to breastfeed. He recently had all 4 front teeth come in at once, and now I have no way to safely remove my nipple from his mouth. Inserting a finger just makes him chomp down harder. I have no idea what to do. I'm in pain, my nipples are bruised, he's drawn blood. But I do t know how to get him to stop biting.... Because I dont think it's intentional or he's even aware that he's doing it. submitted by /u/ev”

“So, my 4.5 month old already has her 2 bottom teeth and is biting everything she can…including my nipples when feeding. Right now, my right one completely has a hole where she bite me and I can barely stand to let her nurse on it so I’m hand pumping until it gets better along with Neosporin. Is this the best method for it to heal? Secondly, what are we doing to teach our little ones to not bite when feeding? I usually take her off and press down on her teeth and say no then close up shop. Any ad”

“Is it possible to damage a toddler's teeth by breastfeeding during the night? I had a conversation with a toddler mom today and her daughter's front upper teeth were all damaged. She told me that she had to night wean her kid as her doctor strictly asked them to do so. I have never heard this before, is there a possibility that it is the case? submitted by /u/Ok_Firefighter106 [link] [comments]”

“Is it possible to damage a toddler's teeth by breastfeeding during the night? I had a conversation with a toddler mom today and her daughter's front upper teeth were all damaged. She told me that she had to night wean her kid as her doctor strictly asked them to do so. I have never heard this before, is there a possibility that it is the case? submitted by /u/Ok_Firefighter106 [link] [comments]”

“I’m hoping to get some good advice on this. My baby is 9 months next week and has been teething with her top 2 teeth coming in, more than her bottom ones when they came in at 6 months, so far it’s been a few weeks of the top ones coming in and she has begun biting. She starts biting when I feed her (EBF) and almost a week ago she really bit my right nipple, I cried in pain from the bite, told her “no biting!” the feed then was genuinely ok and the next day it was a bit uncomfortable but then it”

“My 7 month old has 2 teeth and wants to nurse/suckle all night for comfort. His teeth have rubbed my nipples raw and he just bit me so hard because he was upset after I tried to get him to sleep without the breast. I had to give him to my husband so I could just cry it hurt so so bad. They’re in the other room but I can hear the baby screaming because he wants to cuddle and nurse. I love being able to breastfeed but these nights are destroying my mental health and I’m in so much pain. I can’t li”

“For the last three weeks my almost 8mo has been biting while nursing and it hurts!! I’ve been able to nurse him before naps, bedtime and overnight no problem but daytime feeds have been a struggle. I have not found a way to get him to stop. Things I’ve tried: saying no, pushing his face into me, allowing him time to use an ice teether before daytime feeds. It’s gotten to the point where I’m pumping during the day and bottle feeding and then nursing to bed and overnight. He’s taken a whole intere”

“I’m not sure if anyone else’s baby has done this… but my baby is 7.5 months old, she has 9 teeth, and has been aggressively teething for 5 months. She always has to chew on something, and is so drooly. One thing that does take me back, is her excessive need to gnaw on my chest/shoulder. Whenever anyone holds her, she will open her mouth as wide as she can and go straight for their chest/shoukder, almost as if she is rooting for milk. She’ll do this even if she’s just nursed. And sometimes I’ll t”

“I’m not sure if anyone else’s baby has done this… but my baby is 7.5 months old, she has 9 teeth, and has been aggressively teething for 5 months. She always has to chew on something, and is so drooly. One thing that does take me back, is her excessive need to gnaw on my chest/shoulder. Whenever anyone holds her, she will open her mouth as wide as she can and go straight for their chest/shoukder, almost as if she is rooting for milk. She’ll do this even if she’s just nursed. And sometimes I’ll t”

“My son is 4 months and his gums feel very gritty atm so I think he’s teething, that’s and he’s chewing on my fingers more, and his toys. He’s also dribbling a lot more and is so fussy atm. When he feeds he comes off loads and then refuses to actually feed, I don’t think he’s actually had much milk today because every time I try to feed him he does that and eventually ends up screaming. How do I make sure he’s getting enough? I breastfeed. submitted by /u/Accomplished-Ad7573 [link] &#”

“my 10 month old has started biting during breastfeeding while simultaneously refusing the bottle. he only wants to nurse and bites while doing it. i want to end this journey for us so badly because i can’t mentally take the biting anymore. i have tried it all to get him to stop but he thinks it’s funny. he will no longer take a bottle either. just swats it away when it comes anywhere near him. we have also tried pumped milk in a sippy cup but he refuses that as well. he drinks water out of a sip”