How to Breastfeed a Teething Baby?

Is your baby teething? If yes, then you must be having a tough time while breastfeeding him. Here are some tips for breastfeeding teething babies:

Watch the baby closely when he is breastfeeding. He cannot drink and bite at a time; so if you watch him closely, you will surely know when he will nip you from his actions.
Give your baby a teething blanket or a teething ring for chewing before you breastfeed him. This will allow the baby to chew enough before breastfeeding and he will not feel the urge of biting you.
You must be aware of the baby’s biting patterns while being breastfed. If he generally bites during the initial phase of breastfeeding, the biting might indicate that he is trying to stimulate the lactation. On the other hand, biting after breastfeeding for a certain period of time might indicate that she has finished drinking. Identifying these patterns will help you to react to the unspoken concerns of your baby.
A teething baby must be taught that biting is not a good habit. You can do that using certain actions like: if the baby nips you while being breastfed, move him away for some minutes. Start nursing him again after a small gap. This will teach him that biting will deprive him of milk and he will soon get rid of the habit.
Never laugh or give happy reactions to biting. When the baby will find you doing so, he will treat the biting action like a game. Some babies also treat the habit as a way of getting the mother’s attention. It’s true that giving angry reactions to biting babies is not right, but one should also never smile at the baby when he bites.