The day you knew was coming is finally here…your baby’s first tooth! OR maybe, you thought you were through the worst of it, and then all of a sudden they’re starting to excessively drool, and sticking anything and everything in their mouths again. I feel like my daughter has been teething since she was 7 months old. She just turned 13 months and got 4 molars ALL AT ONCE! Needless to say, she was a real crank-pot for about a week or so. However, in all of her months of teething, even the ones where she was getting multiple teeth at once, her night wakings were slim to none. How, you ask? First and foremost, I always made sure we stayed consistent in our routine both during naps and bedtime. A well-rested baby or toddler is more likely to handle teething a lot better than a child who is overtired, skipping naps, and waking often overnight. We also followed our pediatricians recommendations for day and nighttime pain management.
Signs and Pain Management
Teething is tough on both you and your child. They’re in pain, so they’re cranky, which often makes you cranky! There are quite a few tell-tale signs that your little one is teething including:
- Excessive drooling
- Red or irritated gums – often times you can even see where the tooth is coming in, because it will be more red than the rest of their gums and you’ll see a small slit or hole where the tooth is forming
- Flushed cheeks
- A slight fever
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Diaper or face rash
- Pulling on their ears
- Chewing on things more often
- Crankier than usual
- Occasional night wakings due to the pain
Now, a few of these symptoms sound similar to cold symptoms, but in the case of teething, the teething symptoms only last a few days at most and are often accompanied with other symptoms like drooling, red gums, or the excessive chewing.
Some ways to help them manage the pain during the day (in addition to whatever your pediatrician recommends) are:
- A cold (but not frozen) teether
- Tying a washcloth in a knot, soaking it in breast milk or formula, putting it into a storage bag and keeping it in the fridge for a few hours until it gets cold. Then offer it to them to chew on.
- Put frozen soft fruit like bananas or blueberries in a mesh or silicone teether
- MY PERSONAL FAVORITE: Fill a gummy bear mold with breast milk or formula then freeze it. Once they’re frozen, stuff a few of the milk bears into a mesh or silicone teether for them to chomp on. It doubles as a pain reliever and a little extra nutrition!
Managing Overnights
If your little one wakes up crying overnight, or even wakes up early from a nap, it’s best to give them a few minutes to see if they’ll settle back down (10 minute is usually my magic number!) If you believe that they are in pain from teething, go to them, and assess the situation to see what it is they need or in some cases, want. If you go into their room and/or pick them up and they stop crying, it’s likely not teething…they just wanted you. Same would go for something like a pacifier or a feeding, if you offer it to them and they stop crying, then that’s what they wanted/needed. Now, I will always advise against props or crutches to get your little one to sleep, but if you attempt to rock, feed, bounce, or “whatever” them to sleep and they are still fairly irritable and crying, there’s a chance it could be teething or another ailment that is causing discomfort.
HOT TIP: If your child is over 6 months of age and is getting the proper amount of breast milk or formula (24-32oz) during the daytimes hours, yet they are still waking to eat, it is likely a habit that needs breaking and not a need.
On the flip side, if you go in and pick them up, or offer them a feeding, and they still continue crying (plus they’ve been showing other signs of teething), then it would be time to offer them some sort of comfort. Always be sure to ask your pediatrician what they recommend for overnight pain management. In most cases, they will recommend a medicated pain reliever like Infants Tylenol or Motrin (ibuprofen should only be given to children 6 months and older). In addition to any medication, you can try comforting them for a few minutes until they’ve calmed (but have not fallen back to sleep). You can try offering them a teether, your finger, a pacifier, or rubbing some teething gel on their gums. Once they’ve calmed, you’ll put them back down for sleep.
With that being said, keeping consistent in your routine is going to be imperative when managing teething or any other illness for that matter. You don’t ever want to revert back to old habits that you’ve worked so hard to break such as rocking, bouncing, or nursing. Even just one or two nights of this can reverse everything, and bring you right back to square one. This goes for bed and nap time routines as well. Keep those the same as they’ve always been, while also following your pediatrician’s recommendations for pain management.
Remember, this is only temporary! As long as you’re sticking to your routine and sleep training methods (if you’re implementing them), and providing your child with some form of pain management, then you will get by just fine. You got this!