My 7 mth old is teething on the top (bottoms already broke through) and it seems to bother her most at night- 2-3am to be exact, every night for the past 2 weeks. She was previously sleeping 7pm - 5am, and now wakes up at 2-2:30am nightly with teething pain and crying that is inconsolable unless I nurse her. She doesn't need to eat at this time, and it's purely a comfort for her. She wakes up again like clockwork at 5:30am again for another feeding. The 5:30am feeding has always been there, and I'm ok with that for now- but I don't want her to get in the habit of nursing at 2:30am too. Does anyone has suggestions for teething treatment in the middle of the night? I give her ibuprofen right before bedtime, and then again 6-7 hours later when she wakes up at 2:30am. What have other moms tried that has worked??? Thanks! (Oh- and dad is out of town on business every other week- so I'm on my own at night some weekdays and I work full time- so I need to get more sleep!)
We used baby orajel when he woke up and then gave him more ibuprofen if it had been long enough since the pre-bedtime dose (per the package instructions).
Have you tried teething tablets? Those worked for my first daughter.
have you tried baby orajel? it seems to work for us. don't nurse at the 2:30 waking and just give her tylenol and orajel and put her back to bed. she might cry for a little but hopefully will fall asleep soon. this worked for us and we didn't do the cry it out method. good luck!
I second the teething tablets advice, and also think you should not be giving ibuprofen routinely.
One thing you mentioned is that she "doesn't need to eat" when she's waking up at 2, but how do you know that? Babies' feeding needs change frequently, and aside from the teething, she could be going through a growth spurt that causes her to need an additional feeding or two. My 8-month old goes back and forth between nursing frequently at night and sleeping for 6-8 hours at a time.
Rest assured that the teething (and possible growth spurts) are just phases and they will pass.
Good luck!
I also have a 7 month old who gets up at 2 and 4 due to teething. It's just a phase and there is not much we can do to change it. Unfortunately, I think it's something we'll have to suffer through.
I love Hylands products and what I love even more is that my kids like them too, here is the link to their teething tablets, they also have teething gel and when you need it the calm forte for kids is wonderful and for adults is a life saver when the stress gets to you. http://hylands.com/products/teething.php the nice thing is that they dissolve in the mouth so you do not have to have them swallow anything and can even put it in their mouth if they are half asleep. You can find them at Wal-mart and almost any other store. Also the teethers that they chew on that you keep in the fridge they love, make sure you have a few so that you can trade them off. Good Luck!
I'd advise you to get out of the habit of giving her ibuprofen as a matter of course. Sorry to say that actually the teething may go on for a while. My 15 month old is still cutting teeth--they get 20 baby teeth, and my boy started at 4 months, stopped for six months, and once he started again they've all been coming in one after another. I've been told that we do most of our growing at night, that's why babies may have more teething pain at night. Sometimes the homeopathic teething tablets (Nylands) help, and there's an oil called Gumomile, or All Smiles, that has clove oil--you put a bit on your finger and then right on the gum and that numbs the pain. I save the ibuprofen for when my son has a fever or is really obviously sick -and he did get that sick when the first molar came in. You can nightwean at her age (cut out the 2:30 feeding) by giving other forms of comfort--paci if that works, hugging, rocking, singing; we did that while co-sleeping, but I hear it can work with crib sleepers too. When I cut out night feedings, my son stopped waking up in the middle of the night and that was such a blessing. I think they really do get used to the discomfort of teething. It also may help to give her chewy stuff during the day to help the tooth cut through the gum (my son likes cold celery sticks and he also used to chew on hard rubber stuff like pacifiers). Good luck!
Have you tried nighttime baby orajel? The numbing effect might really help her. I work full time so I know what it is like to be sleep deprived and I am a mother of three ages 6 1/2, 4 1/2 and 14 months. Good luck!
Have you tried just holding her instead of feeding her? have you thought about a pacifier?
Those are my two suggestions, good luck. I'm home during the week alone too, I have a 2 year old and a 9 mth old. I co-sleep and have gotten to the point where sometimes my little guy will sleep most of the night in his own bed, and we are off a night feeding. My 2 year old went to sleeping in a big boy bed, in his own room, THRU the night (yeah)at 18 mths.
-K.
HYLANDS TEETHING TABLETS!! they are all natural and work wonders, my babies calmed down immediately after putting a couple in their aching little mouths. Now that they are older of course... I noticed that Hylands also has collic tablets and earache tablets, which I bet work well also. Trust me, buy your baby a bottle of them and put a couple in at a time and watch the magic! Good luck! You can find them at any grocery store, maybe not in the babyfood isle, so try oralcare isle!!
We're having the EXACT same problem with our 7-month-old son, and we've found that if we sneak in and rub some Baby Orajel on his gums when he starts fussing at 2am, we can often then pat his back for a few minutes and get him back to sleep without nursing. HOpe that helps!!
Walgreen's has Hyland's Teething Tablets!!! WORK LIKE MAGIC!!! I also love their COLIC TABLETS!!!And stay away from ORAGEL and other numbing gels... they can numb the throat and cause choking (some kids have lost the ability to swallow saliva and choke after using this)!!!
Love, G.. :0)
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wow- that sounds great! my 8 month old used to wake only at 11pm and 4:30pm to nurse and now that she's teething, it's every hour. i get to rest in a chair all day for 2 days a week at work, but the other days i'm home all day with a 4yr old and 2 yr old also, and it's wearing me out too. But your baby won't teeth forever. give her what she needs now.
Hi K.,
You can give your daughter the following: Calcarea Phosphorica 6x cell salt by Highlands, homeopathic remedy Camomilla 30C, 3 pellets 3 times a day. Usually it resolves the painful teething problem right away. You can give your child the Calcarea Phosphorica 6x cell salt every time she is teething. All the remedies can be purchased at a health food store.
Best wishes,
M.
M. Rosen, CHom
Certified Homeopath
www.MashaRosen.com
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Burlingame, CA 94010
