Well, it’s happened. Our 4.5 month old has her first tooth. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get a few more months of toothless gumming at my nipple. As soon as I noticed the tooth, I emailed my Lactation Consultant for tips. She said:
- Don’t let her chew on the nipples of bottles or her pacifier, this includes while she is at daycare
- Be sure to hold her securely while nursing because of she feels insecure, she is going to hold on the only way she can, by clenching her jaw
- Dont let her get lazy with her latch, be sure she is opening up wide and not narrowing. If she is latching well and deeply, she should never bite down.
So far so good! I’ve only had to unlatch her twice in the last week for biting me and they were instances that were days apart. I think she knows when she does it. It’s usually at the end of a feed and she’s full. NOTED… Now when She starts to unlatch, I dont try to relatch her I just take her off and she hasn’t bitten me again since.
As mention in the “About this site” portion of my blog, (if you read it) I describe a moment I had recently nursing my daughter laying down in the grass outside my husbands family home. That moment means so much to me. Often when we are up there it is stressful and emotional. My mother-in-law passed away in the home about 2 months ago. It was fathers day and my father-in-law isn’t doing well either right now. It’s like Izzy could sense my stress and anxiety because she latched perfectly and effortlessly for 40 min while we lie on the blanket. She completely put me at ease and calmed me down. Watching her latch and nurse and listening to her tiny breaths reminded me why I do it all. Why I try to be a rock and why I try my hardest to bring people together and be someone people can lean on. It’s a mothers duty. My unconditional love for her will never fade and in that momemt I promised her I’d always be there for her. Nursing brought me closer to my babe. Don’t get me wrong, fed is fed but this moment would have been completely different had I not nursed, and all the hard parts of adjusting to nursing, led me to now. It was all worth it.
Anyway… Bye bye toothless nursing 😭
xo Milk Boss
Milk & Cookies 
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