Why Is My Baby Chewing the Teat? Teething and Feeding Answers

Quick answer

If your baby is chewing or biting the teat but still feeding, the flow is usually too slow for their current suck, or sore gums are asking for pressure. First check for a collapsed teat, clicking, or a feed that stretches past 20 minutes; if any appear, try the next teat level. If the bottle is refused outright and gums look swollen, pause the feed, offer a cold teether, and try again in 20 to 30 minutes. Chewing that continues with a faster teat and no teething signs is a cue to stop pushing the bottle and offer a sippy spout instead.

Rule out flow before you blame teething

A teat that is too slow makes a hungry baby work harder, and the jaw starts chomping instead of sucking. Watch for three signs in the first five minutes: the teat flattens or collapses, you hear clicking, or the feed runs long while baby stays fussy. Any one of these points to flow, not gums. If your baby is on Dr Brown's Level 1 teats and is past the newborn stage, moving up one level is the cheapest test you can run. If the faster teat causes coughing, gulping, or milk running out of the mouth, go back down and feed in a more upright position instead.

What teething actually does to a feed

Teething changes feeding because pressure on swollen gums can feel good or painful depending on the moment. A baby who is biting but calm is often soothing themselves; a baby who bites, pulls away, and cries is in discomfort. Cold helps more than a new teat here. Chill a silicone teether in the fridge, not the freezer, and offer it before the bottle so the gums are calmer when feeding starts. If your baby refuses the bottle during a teething flare but takes a spoon or open cup, that is normal and temporary. Keep offering small amounts frequently rather than forcing a full feed.

How to test a faster teat safely

Change one thing at a time so you can read the result. Swap only the teat, keep the same bottle and the same milk temperature, and feed in the usual spot. Give the new flow two or three feeds before judging it, because babies need a moment to adjust their suck. If the faster teat fixes the chewing, stay there. If chewing continues at the next level, the problem is not flow and you should stop sizing up. Never enlarge a teat hole yourself; an uneven hole causes flooding and choking risk.

When to stop bottle-feeding and switch gear

There is a point where the right move is to change the container, not the teat. If your baby is over six months, sitting with support, and consistently chews or plays with the teat instead of feeding, they may be ready for a sippy spout on the bottle they already know. That keeps the familiar bottle while teaching a new drinking action. If your baby is actively teething and refuses the bottle but wants to chew, a cold silicone teether or a silicone feeder for teething is a better tool than a bottle at that moment. Return to the bottle when the flare passes.

Diagnose the chew: symptom, cause, action, stop point

• Chewing with a collapsed or flattened teat: Flow is too slow for your baby's suck strength. Move up one teat level and keep the same bottle. If the teat no longer collapses and the feed finishes in 10 to 20 minutes, you have found the right flow.
• Biting, pulling off, and crying with swollen gums: Teething pain, not hunger, is driving the behavior. Pause, offer a fridge-cold teether, and retry the feed in 20 to 30 minutes. If baby takes the bottle calmly after cooling the gums, teething was the cause. Do not size up the teat during a flare.
• Chewing and playing with the teat at every feed past six months: This is a developmental cue, not a feeding problem. Replace the teat with a sippy spout on the same Options+ Narrow Neck bottle. Stop sizing up teats here. A faster teat will not fix play; a spout will.

Products that solve the two most common causes

• Dr Brown's Options+ Narrow Neck Preemie Teats: Dr Brown's Preemie Flow Narrow Teat is the slowest-flow teat and works with the internal vent system for paced feeding. If your baby was premature, breastfed, or is still a newborn, this is the correct starting flow. Chewing on a preemie teat in an older baby usually means it is time to move up, not that the teat is faulty.
• Dr Brown's Options+ Narrow Neck Bottle Sippy Spouts (2-Pack): These spouts turn a Dr Brown's Options+ Narrow Neck Bottle into a sippy bottle by replacing the teat after removing the vent. Use this when chewing has become play rather than feeding. It reuses the bottle your baby already accepts, so the only new skill is sipping.
• Dr Brown's Options+ Narrow Neck Triple Pack 250ml: This triple pack includes three 250ml Options+ Narrow Neck bottles with Level 1 teats. If you are sizing up teats, having three bottles ready means you can test a faster flow across a full day of feeds without washing up between every trial.