Henson (5 months) has broken his bottom two teeth and seems to be working on the top two already.  Lately his nursing has ceased to be the peaceful experience we are both used to...now we feed in spurts, each riddled with spates of crying, tugging, stiffened legs, kicking and even biting .  The result is a fussy baby, a grouchy mama and worst of all, sore nipples.  Is this just a part of the phase, or should I be concerned?  Our pediatrician's office has LCs on call, but I am looking for advice here before I risk a $20 co-pay.  I hate for our nursing sessions to be uncomfortable, and I don't really want to rely on the medicine cabinet, but the poor little guy seems miserable.  Can teeth really come in so quickly?  Am I missing something? 

This all, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) sounds very normal. Teething often presents the greatest challenge to the nursing and sleeping relationship. 5 mos doesn't seem too young for teeth to start coming in. I've heard of 4 mo old babies getting teeth. Have you tried Hyland's teething tablets? They are a homeopathic treatment, so they are quite safe with no side effects. You just slip a small pellet under his tongue and it dissolves very quickly. As with most homeopathic remedies, they'll either work great or not at all. You'll know the difference pretty quickly. You could also try letting him suck on some ice or something before nursing, to numb his aching gums and help reduce the fighting and biting. But mostly, as hard as it is to think this way when your tired and cranky yourself, try to remember that this IS just a phase and will pass relatively quickly. I'm sorry you guys are unhappy

(((((Big Hugs)))))

My little guy has been a difficult teether.  He tends to get them in spurts (right now he's working on four molars), and has been having a hard time.  The Hylands have helped some, but not totally.  He is a total nurse-aholic when he's teething, and often does the thing where he's grating his teeth on my nipples, w/o actually biting (though he's certainly done that, as well!) It's irritating for sure, and on top of not sleeping well, blech.  So, it sounds pretty normal to me.

Chewing on stuff seems to help a bit, DS's favorite thing right now is a toothbrush.  He will have the cleanest teeth in the world as much as he chomps on that thing.  A damp washcloth tossed in the freezer for a little bit might help.  We also did frozen banana (messy!), but he liked it.  It also seems to be worse at bedtime for us.  Occasionally, I'd have a small glass of wine before our bedtime nursies...relaxing for mama, and can take the "edge" off for the little as well. 

The good news is it passes eventually

Thanks, ladies. We're working through it, I guess...the teething tablets do help, for the most part, but seem to only work for milder pain; when its really bad, such as at night, I have only had to resort to Motrin once or twice. Its the frequent waking that's killing me most of all. This morning, he was crying before his little eyes were even open. I think all the drool and frequent night feedings are starting to upset his tummy on top of everything else. My poor sweet baby!

I second the washcloth in the freezer idea. Wet the middle, twist it up, put it in the freeze. My DH seemed to only be soothed by these. Good luck!