Breastfeeding trouble with an older baby/toddler.?

Have you had a period yet? If not, your period could be returning. My period always started with sore nipples. If you don't get a period and your nipple pain persists, consider taking a pregnancy test. I can feel you giving me a nasty look through the computer, lol! ;-)

New teeth can cause nipple soreness for mom because baby's saliva becomes caustic. It turns into flesh eating saliva when baby is cutting teeth. I'm sure it helps those teeth come in faster, but it's no help for us!

Major kudos for continuing to breastfeed. I love to see moms who aren't scared to continue nursing long after the bottle pushers decide that baby should be ripped away from the breast.

(to the misinformed answerers above me): well, a toddler wouldnt need formula, anyhow.... dur. nor should someone stop breastfeeding because other people arent comfortable with it. its perfectly natural and wonderful, and its highly sexist to say a woman should stop breastfeeding her child because they hit a certain age.


i breastfed my son to 16 months, and what happened to make my nipples sore was he was getting lazy about latching on. its harder to make an older child latch right because they have those teeth! i was always worried he would bite down.

try taking some time to make sure your son is latched right... i hope that helps!

I'm having the same issue with my 9 month old....but he nurses a lot more than once a day. Is it possible that you have a yeast infection on your nipples? I had that problem and it usually results in thrush in the baby, but my son never got thrush. Is it a burning pain? If so, that might be what it is....

And don't let these other idiots tell you that it's time to stop nursing...that is YOUR choice as to what is best for you and your son. Some people are idiots on here.

Good luck!!

Sometimes as children get older, or nurse less, they actually begin to forget how to get a proper latch - Which causes nipple pain. Since you've been breastfeeding, im sure you know all about it!
But, it still hurts, so you can either put up with the pain, try to explain that it hurts, and help him regain his latch, or, if its really bad, try to wean him.

Yeah he's not latched on quite right which is a pain because at 12 months he is stubborn and not easy to explain things to *lol*

Just keep trying to explain open wide, don't pull off, etc. I usually say "Nurse nicely" the first time, then if he does something again I take him off. If he "asks" to nurse I say "Are you going to nurse nicely" and if he doesn't (unless its been awhile then I go back to step one) I say "No babas if you aren't going to nurse nicely" and that's the end of nursing. If he is bugging me I remind him "You didn't nurse nicely so no babas"

Not really biting, but scraping teeth or indentations
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html#scraping

Why are my nipples sore after months of pain-free nursing?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/sorenipples-older.html

I noticed when my son was getting his molars he changed his latch and made me sore sometimes, because his mouth hurt. I often would unlatch him and ask him to relatch and open wider.

And, when your hormones reach a certain point in your cycle, you can be super sensitive.

What a wonderful thing that he still has the benefit of your milk! Great job!

Does he have any teeth? He maybe latching on differently if so. I breastfeed until she was 15 months & things did change when the teeth showed up. Congrats on your choices, but it sounds like you son is weening himself. Be thankful for the time you had.

I have breastfeed all 3 of my children, they were all about 15 months when they started this.. It is their way of telling you that they are ready to be weaned onto a sippy cup. (I say sippy cup because it's pointless to wean them onto a bottle only to be taking it away from him in a couple months.)
The pain is usually caused from the fact that now they have teeth and like to play with your nipple more then actually drink from it. He also might not be draining your breast like they were used to from before, and they could be getting really full. Thus causing your milk ducts to get a little inflamed or clogged. This can be extremely painful!
I understand that it's a hard decision and sometimes us moms aren't ready to break that bond, but it is probably time to switch to whole milk and give your body a break.

oic maybe you need to get a help with another mother

I stopped breastfeeding my child at the age of 2 months-breastfeeding wasn't for me. I think your child needs to let go of the nipple and try some whole milk-he is a year old