nursing to sleep has become painful since top teeth arrived

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone has been through what I am experiencing at present?
My DD is just about to turn 1 and she has two top teeth emerging from her
gums. I have always fed her to sleep for naps and on demand at night-times
(we co-sleep.) But since the arrival of these new teeth I am finding each
feeding really painful. Plus she seems to want to come off the nipple quite
suddenly (yeouch!!) and then latch on again just a few seconds later. I
know this is all about her nursing for comfort as the 'real feed' has
already happened. But the problem is she needs to suck to get to sleep.
(Well, it used to be a pleasure and I didnt mind!)

Her bedtime is at 7pm, and I've tried to keep to the same routine since she
was little (bath, pajamas, some stories, singing then bed.) But now that
seems to be changing too... For instance tonight I couldnt get her to sleep
until nearly 9pm!

If this post sounds confused it's because I am very worried about what to
do. I don't want to wean her and I don't want to let her cry it out (which
seems to be what will happen if I refuse her the breast.)

I welcome an ideas/possible solutions you might have.

THANKS, Tishoo

tishoo wrote:

If this post sounds confused it's because I am very worried about what to
do. I don't want to wean her and I don't want to let her cry it out (which
seems to be what will happen if I refuse her the breast.)

When my daughter (now 16 months old) was cutting her molars nursing
suddenly became hell. I don't know what she was doing -- it wasn't
biting -- but it hurt like crazy and my nipples were bleeding. It
really killed.

What we did was a combination of me gritting my teeth, and, when it was
just too painful and I needed a day or two to heal, my husband
walking, bouncing, or driving her around to get her to sleep. There was
a bit of crying involved too when she couldn't have the boob. I really
despaired, I didn't want to wean her and wondered if she would wean if
I cut her off for a couple days. The good news is that she is back to
nursing normally (ie pain free) now and didn't wean despite me taking a
few nights off here and there. Basically we waited out the probelm,
just doing day-to-day what we could.

If it is this non-biting pain you've got going, likely the same thing
will happen if you stick it out for a bit, but it is tough and it
hurts. If she is biting with her new teeth, well there are all kind of
techniques to deal with that and it is usually short-lived.

Good luck!
Elle

tishoo wrote:

I'm wondering if anyone has been through what I am experiencing at present?
My DD is just about to turn 1 and she has two top teeth emerging from her
gums. I have always fed her to sleep for naps and on demand at night-times
(we co-sleep.) But since the arrival of these new teeth I am finding each
feeding really painful.

I adjusted Rocky's position so that his face
was more turned "upwards" toward me. That
way, his top teeth did not rub against me.
He is 13 months old.

Her bedtime is at 7pm, and I've tried to keep to the same routine since she
was little (bath, pajamas, some stories, singing then bed.) But now that
seems to be changing too... For instance tonight I couldnt get her to sleep
until nearly 9pm!

It's summertime. Rocky used to fall asleep easily
at 7pm, but now I keep him up 'til 8pm and it still
takes him until it is truly dark before he falls
asleep. Also, he is just more interested in the
world. His books are much more fascinating to
him now than before.

-- Anita --

Hi Elle, Anita, THANK YOU so much for your replies... I am going to use all
your suggestions, right away! Agree about the effect these late summer
evenings are having and have to get down to the library for more books!! My
DD seems like a different person from just a month ago, she seems to be
communicating so much more - turning into a toddler I guess ;O) Thanks
again, at least I know this won't last forever, Tishoo


"tishoo" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone has been through what I am experiencing at
present? My DD is just about to turn 1 and she has two top teeth emerging
from her gums. I have always fed her to sleep for naps and on demand at
night-times (we co-sleep.) But since the arrival of these new teeth I am
finding each feeding really painful. Plus she seems to want to come off
the nipple quite suddenly (yeouch!!) and then latch on again just a few
seconds later. I know this is all about her nursing for comfort as the
'real feed' has already happened. But the problem is she needs to suck to
get to sleep. (Well, it used to be a pleasure and I didnt mind!)

Her bedtime is at 7pm, and I've tried to keep to the same routine since
she was little (bath, pajamas, some stories, singing then bed.) But now
that seems to be changing too... For instance tonight I couldnt get her to
sleep until nearly 9pm!

If this post sounds confused it's because I am very worried about what to
do. I don't want to wean her and I don't want to let her cry it out
(which seems to be what will happen if I refuse her the breast.)

I welcome an ideas/possible solutions you might have.

THANKS, Tishoo

When my DD2 grew her top 2 teeth, it really hurt to feed her. After every
feed there were 2 teeth marks left on my breast, and it really hurt.

I found that Kelly Mom had some good info - here's the link:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-bab....html#scraping

I found that changing the latch helped. It seems weird to have to work on
latch with a 12 mth old, but it has helped. Now, it is not usually sore,
and when it is, the pain is bearable.

HTH,

Suzanne

"tishoo" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone has been through what I am experiencing at
present? My DD is just about to turn 1 and she has two top teeth emerging
from her gums. I have always fed her to sleep for naps and on demand at
night-times (we co-sleep.) But since the arrival of these new teeth I am
finding each feeding really painful. Plus she seems to want to come off
the nipple quite suddenly (yeouch!!) and then latch on again just a few
seconds later. I know this is all about her nursing for comfort as the
'real feed' has already happened. But the problem is she needs to suck to
get to sleep. (Well, it used to be a pleasure and I didnt mind!)

Her bedtime is at 7pm, and I've tried to keep to the same routine since
she was little (bath, pajamas, some stories, singing then bed.) But now
that seems to be changing too... For instance tonight I couldnt get her to
sleep until nearly 9pm!

If this post sounds confused it's because I am very worried about what to
do. I don't want to wean her and I don't want to let her cry it out
(which seems to be what will happen if I refuse her the breast.)

I welcome an ideas/possible solutions you might have.

THANKS, Tishoo

"tishoo" wrote and I snipped:
My DD is just about to turn 1 and she has two top teeth emerging from her
gums. I have always fed her to sleep for naps and on demand at
night-times (we co-sleep.) But since the arrival of these new teeth I am
finding each feeding really painful. Plus she seems to want to come off
the nipple quite suddenly (yeouch!!) and then latch on again just a few
seconds later.

The others have had some great ideas, including re-training your DD on her
latch. I wanted to recommend a very good book that you can probably find at
your local library. _Mothering Your Nursing Toddler_, by Norma Jane
Bumgarner. She has tips to help you continue nursing comfortably, limiting
nursing, and weaning, when the two of you are ready.

Good luck,
-Patty, mom of 1+2