Ooouch the pain! Help please!

Ok, so it appears we have hit our first real painful hurdle (other than those first few weeks of course!)

DD3 is 10 months (11 days till she is 11 months) and she has started hurting me during feeds. I'm not sure exactly what she is doing, but omg it HURTS. Like, brings tears to my eyes hurt. its started since she got her 4 front teeth, and it wasn't every feed, and now it is and it is so painful I'm beginning to dread the feeds.

I'm guessing she is biting down on me and sort of chomping? I've checked our attachment and made her do it again, and again, and again, in the same feed - but it still hurts! Plus, she pulls her mouth away while at the same time, punching my boob with her fist so its like she is trying to take it with her and push my boob back against me! Also very ouchy!

I have no idea other than this is because of her teeth, so how do I stop that? They are all through the gum now. Plus, I've thought of putting her on in the football hold instead of the cradle hold, maybe that would make a difference? Even though its awkward now because she's so long...

Any ideas?! Help!! I just cut her last feed short because I couldn't take the pain any more. She feeds about 3-4 times during the day and 2 feeds during the night. I don't really want to wean her because of this, but I don't know how much more I can take.

ummm... you're not pregnant are you?

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ummm... you're not pregnant are you?

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sounds like how feeding was for me with Ds when i was pg with dd ;)

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hahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Only if there was something wrong with the condoms (and I would be very VERY shocked if our brand new ones failed!)

I had AF last month, and ovulated the other day, I do get a stinging pain during those times which is bearable, but this is horrific - like someone is slicing off my nipples.. *shudders*

well, other possibilities include thrush or some other kind of infection...? Did you call ABA?

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well, other possibilities include thrush or some other kind of infection...? Did you call ABA?

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No - I came straight to you guys.. LOL

I can't see anything in her mouth to indicate thrush and my nipples look fine? I inspected them pretty closely after the last feed.

What other infection could it be if not thrush?

If she is biting and pulling back then you need to be pretty mean to her. Either tell her no biting, stop the feed the instant it happens, and put her on the floor for a few minutes, or squash her face into your boob a bit to make her let go.
If you feed her with you lying down and her lying down you can put a hand behind her back, so that she can't pull back much.

The other thing that can cause this is that she may be slipping - and holding on as best she can with her teeth. Support her head really well (even go back to pillows like a wee thing if necessary) and see if that helps.

Thanks Kmn, it doesn't feel like regular biting if that makes sense? Like, she bites as well, and I do pull her off and thats the end of the feed, I dunno, this is more like tugging? I guess she is trying to get let down happening more quickly - but do they just start getting frustrated at this age? Like - with every feed? I tried squishing her head against my boob (cos I've read that advice before) and that didn't work.

I'll try the pillow trick tomorrow and see how we go - thanks :)

ANother position you can try is to get bub to sit in front of you facing you- it's kinda like cradle hold but with baby's bottom much lower than her head. It could help move how the teeth are sitting.

Thanks HotI. I tried that position today, and it didn't make a difference, but I will keep it in mind.

bummer. give bub a cold face washer to suck on before feeds?

Ouch :hug:

I haven't had anything like that happen but when they got new teeth it was a bit sore for a while and then went away when they/I got used to it. Hope that's all it is. Hang in there and be strict with attachment in the mean time xx

staph. you'd need to get a special wet swab (I think?) to rule it out. many gps wouldn't know what you mean.

I have had times when we've gone through ouchy stages that only last a little while. I think its the shape/size of the mouth isn't quite right, then it all sorts itself out when bub gets a little bigger.

Also, maybe the teeth are just scraping the nipple as she feeds? (I think I've had that too) Might be that she needs more practise feeding with teeth?

The pulling/pushing/hitting i think we went through mainly when we went through growth spurts, or slow let down & them getting impatient...

Don't know if that really helped!

So I just fed her again, exactly the same pain on both sides. I used a pillow. I held her head, she was tugging on the boob, but since she's kind of sleepy it didn't hurt when she was doing it. But that slicing pain feeling - the pain gradually gets worse and worse the longer the feed goes, enough so I'm tapping my foot and fighting back tears!

I don't know what it is but i hope it stops soon :(

Could it be mastitis? Sorry I don't know anything the other girls haven't already suggested. Your goal is so close :) hang in there!

Get on to an LC or breastfeeding-knowledgeable GP. Doesn't sound like run of the mill pain to me

I'm with madB. Doesnt sound like a "normal" pain. And kinda unusual when you clearing have BF well established...

Funny this happened when your littlest chick started sleeping through... I wonder if it is related?

Ok so I had dh check out any damage and he said he can see splits underneath the nipple so I guess that's what's causing the pain? I put some cream on last night before I went to bed and then she actually slept through until 5.20 this morning!!!

Only a little bit of pain this morning but I was quite full so she didn't have to wait for it lol

NB - if there are splits, you gotta try and let them heal between feeds. Can you air dry? Express a little onto each nipple and air dry?

Ok I took note during a feed. It's definitely her teeth. They dig in around my nipple and cause the cracks. I don't know how to get her to stop - I reattach whenever she does it, but she just goes back to the same way of feeding.

Is this a phase or do I have to wean her now?

Top teeth?
It's generally a case of going back to basics. Wide mouth, chin to breast, nice and close to you.
It is often a phase, yes. Lots of us deal with this problem and go on to feed much longer.

https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bf-...racked-nipples
https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bf-...%93baby/biting
https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bf-...abc-attachment

My first thought was that her saliva may be acidic from the teething, but if the pain is 'inside' rather than on the skin i would def get checked for thrush/staph.

Omg madb!! Bingo!

"Some babies with newly-erupted teeth will 'rest' these teeth on the mother's areola or breast, leaving little indentations, that although not a bite, can be quite painful."

That's what she is doing. Except she digs more and more in as the feed goes on.

Thanks!

yep. work on the positioning, go back to attachment basics. you'll hit on the right 'spot' for it to be comfortable again. I found I really needed to get them in closer - we'd gotten quite slack with positioning as they'd gotten older. it's fine till they stick their teeth in.

I've had teeth marks! :lol: only just realised...

at a similar age, i started to say 'big mouth' and encourage dd to open her mouth wide and get more boob in. also make sure her back was supported when feeding.

I fed her in the football hold (what I always used to use) and used a pillow, made sure attachment was spot on and had my hand behind her head.

She still punched and pushed and tugged but no teeth!

Thanks everyone!

Yay! :leap:

Ok we had a couple of good feeds, and now we are back to where we started! As soon as she attaches she pulls back and the chomping starts. I hold her head and put pressure on it, but she still is able to move it back, even though I'm pushing quite hard. She's a strong little bugger! She's chomping, not sucking properly. So its almost like since her 4 top teeth have come in, she has forgotten how to suck and pretends its something to eat like her solids are.

I don't know how much longer I can go on like this, I hate feeding her at the moment, and am leaning towards expressing (even though I have no bottles or anything because I got rid of them all!)

ETA: the night feeds aren't as bad, maybe because she's so sleepy she's more of an instinctual feeder and sucks properly? :dunno:

Do you feed her straight away when she looks for it? With DD, I've noticed I've been getting the boob out, but kinda teasing her a few seconds before I let her have it, so she's impatient. That way she's too worried about getting it to think to bite. IYGWIM?

Hmmm. I dunno, I sort of guess that she wants feeding if its been a while since the last feed, and she keeps tugging at my shirt and wanting to climb up my chest... then I get my phone and sit on the couch and she pretty much cries and crawls (frog hops) over to me.... and then I dunno, I just put her on... she hops on and off a hell of a lot though - distractions by siblings...

Can you give her something to do too - a book to read while she's feeding, or something soft to bop you with? Put the pressure on the middle of her back rather than her head (at least that's what worked better for us - but DS was over one at the time).

I'll try anything!!! I'll give it a go for her evening feed.

I'd stop feeding her if she's pulling back like that and hurting you. Tell her why and ask her stop or no more milk. Then try again next time. She's old enough to get it after a while.
offering her simething else to do to help might work too :)