Teething pain for Mommy!

I am at the end of my rope! My one-year-old dd has recently gotten her
first three teeth, and while she's not intentionally biting me as she
nurses, she's latching differently and scraping her teeth against the
nipple as she nurses. I am in such awful pain that sometimes just
feeling fabric against my chest makes me want to scream. I remember
going through this with my first two kids, but this is by far the worst
(maybe because she's my latest teether and is having a harder time
figuring out how to nurse with teeth?) What can I do to ease the pain?


Bryna

On 2007-01-10 06:01:46 +0800, "Bryna" said:

I am at the end of my rope! My one-year-old dd has recently gotten her
first three teeth, and while she's not intentionally biting me as she
nurses, she's latching differently and scraping her teeth against the
nipple as she nurses. I am in such awful pain that sometimes just
feeling fabric against my chest makes me want to scream. I remember
going through this with my first two kids, but this is by far the worst
(maybe because she's my latest teether and is having a harder time
figuring out how to nurse with teeth?) What can I do to ease the pain?

Bryna

OUCH I know how you feel. I think it might be a case of don't take
second-best for a latch... just like with a newborn. There should be
no teeth NEAR the nipple, let alone scraping it! I had an open wound
from my son's top front teeth on my areola when he was teething for his
molars. For some reason he just got more rough during this time. It
didn't heal for over a month, and I had to use Kenacomb ointment to
battle a skin infection there. That stuff is awesome.

I think the trick is to prevent this from happening by not letting her
feed incorrectly, and giving her something else to chew on before she
feeds might help. Also check on what bottles/sippy cups you're using.
One of the ones my son was using actually requiring him to bite the
silicon to open the valve to get the water out. It is a Nuby, I think.
I found when he used that, he'd try to feed with his teeth, too. That
bottle soon got out of circulation!

HTH

Jo

--
Woman, Wife, Mother, Midwife

Notchalk wrote:
On 2007-01-10 06:01:46 +0800, "Bryna" said:

I am at the end of my rope! My one-year-old dd has recently gotten her
first three teeth, and while she's not intentionally biting me as she
nurses, she's latching differently and scraping her teeth against the
nipple as she nurses. I am in such awful pain that sometimes just
feeling fabric against my chest makes me want to scream. I remember
going through this with my first two kids, but this is by far the worst
(maybe because she's my latest teether and is having a harder time
figuring out how to nurse with teeth?) What can I do to ease the pain?

Bryna

OUCH I know how you feel. I think it might be a case of don't take
second-best for a latch... just like with a newborn. There should be
no teeth NEAR the nipple, let alone scraping it! I had an open wound
from my son's top front teeth on my areola when he was teething for his
molars. For some reason he just got more rough during this time. It
didn't heal for over a month, and I had to use Kenacomb ointment to
battle a skin infection there. That stuff is awesome.

I think the trick is to prevent this from happening by not letting her
feed incorrectly, and giving her something else to chew on before she
feeds might help. Also check on what bottles/sippy cups you're using.
One of the ones my son was using actually requiring him to bite the
silicon to open the valve to get the water out. It is a Nuby, I think.
I found when he used that, he'd try to feed with his teeth, too. That
bottle soon got out of circulation!

HTH

Jo

--
Woman, Wife, Mother, Midwife

Thanks for the advice -- I'm not sure *how* to get her to latch
properly, though -- it's so much easier with a newborn because you're
looking at lip shape, but this is all happening inside her mouth! I
can totally sympathize with the "open wound" thing -- dd also managed
to give me one of those a few weeks ago, but fortunately it didn't get
infected. And of course, being the *wonderful* mother that I am, I was
more concerned about the amount of blood she was drinking with her milk
upsetting her stomach. Sigh. Well, I guess it'll just be more
ammunition for the guilt trip I'll put on her when I'm old and she
doesn't call enough.

Bryna