OUCH!!!

I was nursing Mila at bedtime, the lights are dim, the sound machine is lulling me to sleep... when suddenly I'm jolted by this fierce pinching on my boob! She bit me!!! I was so surprised by it that I gasped loudly and it seemed to have scared Mila. She started crying. And not the regular crying, no. This was all-out wailing! I felt awful, I didn't mean to scare her! :( She calmed down after a few minutes though. But, man, that hurt!!!!

Since then, whenever I nurse her, I hold my breath, scared that she'll bite again. But days went by and she was great. She didn't bite at all... then last night she bit me again. THREE TIMES. And HARD! Oh my goodness -- I don't know what to do. I swear, she bit me so hard, I cried! Ugh! It brings back memories of those first few weeks of breastfeeding and how painful it was... I flinch when I think about it! I'd hate to go through that again. It was just awful! 

I referred to my baby reference guide, "The Baby Book" by Dr. Sears and he says instead of pulling baby off the boob, which can then cause more pain because you're scraping the teeth off of the nipple, to pull baby very close to you so it makes it difficult for them to breathe and then they open their mouths and pull off. This also creates an uncomfortable position that will discourage them from doing it again. But it's so counterintuitive! It's like a shark is biting your leg and instead of pulling your leg away, your giving it more of your leg to chew on. Yes, Mila is a shark. This little shark has chomps that rival Jaws. 

I still have yet to actually do that method though. I can't help but pull her off immediately. She bites so hard that I scream. Literally, I yelp! I can't help it! It hurts! She doesn't seem phased by it now, though. She just looks at me, startled. Then I say sternly, "Mila! NO BITING!" I hate that I might sound a bit mean to her, but in that moment, it hurts like hell! And I really need her to know that biting is unacceptable.

Mila, I gotta tell ya. This biting thing -- it's a serious problem. I really hope we can work this out. I've had every intention to continue breastfeeding for at least a year, maybe even 2 years if I can because I know how good it is for you. So I'd hate for our breastfeeding relationship to be cut short because of this. But biting is definitely a deal breaker. Let's try to make it work, ok? No biting Mommy please.  Don't bite the boob that feeds you. Love you!