Tuesday, May 20, 2008
need some mom advice....
Any tips on weaning the baby? Because breasts are not teething rings. A bite here or there was bad....the actual gnawing of the boob that happened an hour ago? NOT SO MUCH. Between Ava doing more playing than nursing and then chomping on me with her evil little raptor teeth, I think it's time to stop. How do I do this in a way that's good for her (I think the greatest benefit of nursing at this point is more the comfort factor than anything else) and in a way that will also cause me minimal pain? Advice is welcome! :o)
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9 comments:
My friend's husband washed a Coke Zero can and gave it to their kid to mouf on while he's teething, but I suppose the best thing is to just bottle feed them now.
That just sounds logical to me, but then I don't have a kid yet.
So sorry, Melissa!
I think the best way is to wean one feeding at a time & gradually...but I realize that might not be best for YOU.
You are already giving her bottles so that's a great start. Is she taking some formula or are you still pumping?
Is she biting every time she nurses or does there seem to be a pattern? Like when she's not actually hungry? Maybe bored? Maybe at the end of a feeding? Unfortunately I have some experience with biting too.
Here are some things I've tried:
when baby bites take him off the breast immediately, tell him No Biting, and put him down & walk away (almost like a tiny time- out) Pretty soon baby realizes biting = no warm snuggly mommy
Or what I call the puppy technique (cause I used this with my dogs too! haha) tell baby NO Biting! End the feeding and give him something he can bite instead.
I also have heard of people using nipple shields to prevent biting.
Usually there is a reason for the biting. See if you notice & pattern & go from there.
This might sound weird but you could try rocking her with your shirt off (bra on so she doesn't try to nurse) and her clothes off so she still gets that warm snuggly contact she craves but without nursing/biting
I know I found a lot of info on a website once -- I'll see if I can find the address.
GOOD LUCK!
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html
Well, she does 3-4 bottles and 2-3 nursing sessions a day, depending on if I'm working or not. At work I pump about 5-6 oz. and mix that with her formula. So, I'd say about 1/3+ of her nourishment comes from breast milk right now. I always nurse her for the first feeding of the day--she won't take a bottle--and always before bed, but I usually start with a bottle to make sure she gets enough. So we're well on our way to being exclusively on bottles but I just don't know how I feel about giving up the last bit of nursing right now, mostly because I don't think she's ready to lose that bond. Luckily she's not bitten in a few days....I'll definitely try a few of your suggestions and check out the website as well...thank you!! :)
"I don't know how I feel about giving up the last bit of nursing right now, mostly because I don't think she's ready to lose that bond."
I TOTALLY get that. Totally.
(And I'm not ready to lose that bond with Nicholas either...Which is why I'm still nursing)
Hopefully she was just testing out the biting & won't do it anymore.
How's it going now? Any better?
It was good for about a week and then two nights ago...CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP!!!! It was still sore the next day...ugh. I think the milk is drying up anyhow in spite of the supplements I'm taking so we may not have much of a choice. We'll see what happens!
Sorry :(
Did she break the skin? If she did be on the look out for a breast infection.
Also, if you get really sore try "soothies" they're the BEST! (find them in the baby section of many pharmacies)
She may be biting because your supply has decreased. I'm sure it's really difficult with you being at work all day & not being able to pump.
She's also taken to growling while nursing...so I think it must be annoyance at the low supply. Ah well...really, if I can just get her to take a morning bottle we will be okay. And really it's not that big of a deal either because if she won't take a bottle and I have no milk--she'll learn real quickly when she's hungry and she'll start taking that bottle! I'm also considering buying one of those more breastlike bottles, just to see if it helps.
We discovered recently that she likes having her back scratched (who doesn't?? ;o) so after her evening bottle when she is drowsy and cuddly, I hold her and gently scratch her back if she won't nurse (or is biting) and that seems to be pretty soothing to her as well.
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