Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Gasp! TEETH!

Yes babies are very cute when they start cutting teeth, but teeth can be a nightmare for nursing moms. It's partly psychological really, how can breastfeeding a child with a mouthful of fully developed teeth NOT hurt?! It must, right? The agony of anticipating that pain is probably worse than the pain itself.

Photo credit: http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/articles/teething-and-biting

Honestly I still don't completely know, my kid has 2 bottom teeth and is now erupting two more on top. I haven't dealt with a whole mouthful just yet. Lemme tell you though, those first two are a b*tch! Not something you can't get over, I did figure out, after much research, how to deal with them. As usual with breastfeeding it's all about latch and not getting lazy about making sure baby is on there properly.

Teething babies are miserable. They are uncomfortable, drooly, and irritable so they will be complaining and crying a lot. Not all teething babies will bite your boobs, however you do not want them to get into the habit of using your boobies as teethers, not pleasant. So here are a few tips:

1. Bottom teeth come out first, and the important thing to remember is that a baby cannot feed while biting so put him on the boob only when he wants to eat. To get the milk out, his tongue has to be on top of the bottom teeth. If he is just hanging out on your boob he is more likely to bite. When you see that he is done feeding, take him off, otherwise he might bite just to keep himself occupied.
2. Ice his gums first before nursing. I would take a little ice cube, wrap a lampin around it and use that as a teether. Works really well because the fabric is rough but thin so he gets the coldness and some friction to relieve his itchy gums. When he is no longer annoyed by his gums and seems calm, then start nursing him. It'll be cold on your boob for a bit so be prepared! DO NOT GIVE HIM JUST ICE! He can choke on it.
3. Make sure he opens his mouth really wide before latching him on. The further down the breastfeeding relationship we got, the lazier I got with latching him on properly. He'd have his mouth half-open and i'd put him on, while ok without teeth, once those two bottom ones pop out this maneuver will get painful.

The two front bottom teeth come out first, and those are the toughest to deal with. Top teeth are easier because their angle while feeding makes it so it's not painful, not a biting, just a little friction. I'm optimistic that since we have weathered the storm of the first two bottom teeth, the rest will be easier to deal with. Here's hopin'!


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