Ouch! Biting and Breastfeeding

Was I in for a surprise! Sam suddenly began biting me out of nowhere! Breastfeeding was going fine for many months. No biting ever (except one day when he got a tooth). Then about two weeks ago he began to bite me occasionally when nursing, either during latching on, or when he's finished feeding. Then it progressed into much more biting. So much so that I just give up latching him on since he was biting me several times even before nursing. The only mostly-unaffected feeding was the one at 5-6 am. Since he was mostly asleep then, he didn't bite, only at the end (to signal "feeding time over" I guess?).

Anyway, I don't believe he is teething anymore as he's gotten whatever teeth should be in at this point. The two year molars area doesn't look inflamed or anything. He got the other molars already.

Weirdly enough, Sam didn't seem to mind not nursing at all. It bothered me more than it bothered him! He's not a demandy type of kid so he never really asks me to nurse. It's just part of the routine and he's happy to nurse. If I removed him, he was totally cool with that. Also, at the bedtime feeding he isn't very hungry, nor is he at the wake-up feeding. Those were mainly for enjoyment reasons (on both our parts).

Those few nights he went to bed without nursing beforehand, nursed well in the early AM, and then took a few sips in the AM when waking up for real.

Also it didn't help that this all happened during the part of the month where it takes me longer to get a letdown (ovulation time). I know I can stimulate to get a letdown and only then attempt to latch him on, but I didn't even bother.

It didn't look like he really needed the feedings either and frankly, it would be easier to not nurse to sleep. And it was really great to see him enjoying way more solid foods. But honestly it did bother me knowing I'll no longer be able to keep breastfeeding in my arsenal of illness-prevention/fighting.

I thought at the time: Is this just my baby's method of weaning? Or will he "come back"? I'm not making myself crazy to get him back and all that, especially since this is a decent time to wean, but it would be nice if it did.

What did I do? The first few times he bit me, I yelled at him and gave his hand a little pinch. That just scared him off for the next few feedings - he was too frightened to even latch on, poor thing! Bad association. Classical conditioning gone wrong. Then I decided to pretend I was injected with a numbing agent. I did not flinch, I did not smile back at him when he grinned after a chomp well done. I looked as relaxed as I normally look while enjoying ice cream. That must have been what did it. My lack of reaction seemed to make biting a "boring" thing - yay!

I'm glad to report that after a few days of this nonsense, Sam went back to nursing normally (and thus eating less solids).

Review of Hyland's Baby Teething Tablets

Hyland's Baby Teething Tablets

I always heard about Hyland's Baby teething tablets from other moms but never thought into them much. After all, when Sam got his first two teeth on the bottom, I barely knew about it. The only reason I suspected teeth was because I felt something sharp when he was breastfeeding. But seriously, I never saw any of the classic teething symptoms (e.g. ear-pulling, crying in pain, biting everything in site, drooling, etc.). So I figured that Sam must be one of those babies who breeze right through the teething stage without shedding a tear. I purchased a bottle of these tablets just in case, but never used them.

I was wrong in my assumption, though. When his top teeth were emerging (a few months later), boy did we see all those teething signs! After a few days of watching Sam suffer I bought these tablets. I can't say they made a 360-degree difference, but it definitely helped.

On their site, Hyland's Baby states this product's indication:

"Temporarily relieves the symptoms of simple restlessness and wakeful irritability due to cutting teeth. Helps reduce redness and teething discomfort."

I bolded the terms that I'd like to mention. Most teething products just anesthetize the area to a degree. They don't do much else. Once the baby licks off the gel or whatever, it ceases to be effective. This homeopathic product, however, works on the symptom level. It calms your baby. It helps your baby sleep better (in fact, it can even induce sleepiness because the baby's pain finally subsides), and it generally makes the kid feel better. Hyland's Baby teething tablets contain:

Calcarea Phosphorica (a mineral) that supports dentition (teething)
Chamomilla (a botanical) relieves the symptoms of irritability
Coffea Cruda (a botanical) relieves the symptoms of sleeplessness
Belladonna (a botanical) relieves the symptoms of redness and inflammation of the gums

Here's how we use them: I shake 3 tablets out onto my palm. Sam loves to pick them up and pop them into his mouth by himself. In fact, I think that excitement alone can take his mind off the pain even for a little bit! They dissolve within a second or two because of contact with liquid, in this case saliva. They taste slightly sweet, which babies enjoy. That's how easy it is to administer! You can repeat this dosage 4 times a day (or 2 tablets every hour for 6 hours).

He doesn't become calm instantaneously, but pretty soon he mellows out a bit. I usually find mornings after breakfast a challenging time with the teething pain so after giving these, he starts rubbing his eyes, looking all tired. And then he naps. It helps him sleep better - he doesn't wake up crying from pain.

On exceptionally painful occasions, I would give Sam a dose of Advil (ibuprofen) to generally ease the symptoms, and follow up with the Hyland's Baby teething tablets as needed.

In conclusion, the downside is that these can be pretty costly (about $7), but they do last a while so maybe that's justified. They taste good and they melt fast. No messy gel application to gums. As if your baby would let you put your fingers into his mouth! I know Sam wouldn't. These are easy to self-serve for him so it works out great. They work quickly but don't offer immense relief (nothing does), yet it's a good combination with a pain reliever medication like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. By the way, an empty bottle of the tablets works great as a teething surface ;)

2/26/15 note: I have come to realize that not all teething is equal. Molars, for example, have got 4 prongs that have to emerge through the gum, but a canine/cuspid is much smaller and only has one little "poke". That's why when Sam got his four "first molars", it was a long-drawn out cranky experience. For about 4 months, Sam had very many miserable times related to teething. This month, in contrast, he got 4 canines/cuspids which barely bothered him. Here the tablets worked very well alone, but with the molars we had to double up with the painkillers.

Ovulation and milk supply drops

Remember I was discussing my random milk supply drops a while ago? Well I finally figured out the culprit, and it's none other than ovulation. Many mothers notice their milk supply decreasing right before they get their periods each month, but then it picks up a day or two after its onset. However, some mothers notice this same drop on or about ovulation. Like me.

Before my period returned, I just assumed that my monthly drops were during my non-existent period. Maybe it was my period getting all geared up for the big day with practice runs each month? But now that I do have a period and can see when I ovulate, I came to realize that these sudden decreases in my supply were always timed on my day of ovulation. In fact, if I want to know when I'm ovulating, I can use those drops as indicators!

This month, Sam has been teething really badly so he is nursing for longer since it apparently comforts and or soothes him. I don't mind! So doing this upped my supply quite a bit (I pumped 4.75 ounces today when I normally pump about 3 oz these days) and my boobs feel full to the touch. Still, my letdown is on vacation. It takes a really long time for it to happen, even 5 minutes sometimes. But I know I have plenty of milk. It's just a matter of releasing it. In addition, the letdown doesn't yield so much at a time. However, if Sam nurses for more than a few minutes, he would stimulate another letdown eventually.

So I should really correct my original line of "drop in milk supply" to "slow and reduced letdown reflex."

Mapping my teeth - a teething overview

Sam is teething. He's already sprouted his first two teeth (the bottom ones) at 5 months, but then we had a long break. Finally, at around 10 months we saw some more activity in the teeth arena. Some things that told us he was teething (and not suffering from another ear infection):

• Nursing more. Sucking felt good to his gums. But that's not true for all babies. Some hate the sucking because it hurts them more. YMMV. Even when he wasn't actively swallowing, he still sucked, albeit weakly. Sometimes he'd even protest if I unlatched him (this was going on for half an hour already, what was I to do?!). I found that if I unlatched him and immediately gave him a pacifier, he was happy.
• Biting every bitable and unbitable surface within teeth's reach. He'd waltz over to a cheer and start chomping on its legs, for example.
• Random crying outbursts. Sam doesn't usually burst out in piercing shrieks unless he's experiencing pain. Usually crying starts out at a leisurely 5mph whine, progressing steadily to annoying whimpering, culminating in a speedy full-fledged crying.
• Loss of interest in solids that weren't pureed. What he DID enjoy was frozen foods. Cubed peaches that were stuck in the freezer. I'd let them thaw for a few minutes until they were chunky but icy and he'd enjoy that.
• Pulling at ears. People usually associate that with ear pain, but according to Dr. Sears it's actually a teething sign. Babies that young can't pinpoint the source of ear pain. But teething pain radiates to the ears and that's what they're touching when they pull on them.
• While nursing he'd bang his head like a gavel.
• And one of the most annoying symptoms, which is actually related to nursing, is increased soreness and nipple pain. In the following paragraph I'll tell you why.

Imagine I just attached another set of legs to you, for example a set of crutches. You'd be pretty clumsy at first, knocking into everything in site because you haven't yet figured out your spatial bounds. Same with teething. Sam has to map out his new teeth. He suddenly has new little pincers in weird places where he's never had them before. He doesn't know how far he can go with them yet. So while he's nursing, his latch becomes a bit sharper because there are teeth in the way. After a few days, the soreness and discomfort subside because he's realized how to maneuver his teeth. Makes sense to me when I thought of it like this.