Teething Tips and Tricks

Teething Tips and Tricks. How to help baby with teething pain without using medication or with using medication. How to keep baby on schedule and sleeping well while teething.

Teething baby

It is so hard to watch your baby be in pain when teething. You wish you could just make that tooth pop right up and stop bothering your baby. When baby is teething, you can help with the pain without medication and with medication.

As your baby is teething, you might worry about you schedule and what to do about the pain and disruptions. Read below for thoughts on all of these topics and more teething information. The information below is a combination of my experience, my reading, and ideas I have heard from other people.

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Helping Baby Through Teething Without Medication

  • If your baby is old enough she is eating finger foods, Biter biscuits can be nice. The baby just chews and chews on them.
  • Pretzles. Kaitlyn has liked these for her molars coming in.
  • My mom always used a frozen wash cloth with us. The cold helps sooth and numb the gum pain, and the material helps cut the gum. Get it wet, freeze it for a bit, and then give it to the baby to chew on. You could even just wet one end so the whole thing wouldn’t be freezing and then wet. I have also heard to wet it, roll it, and then freeze it.
    How to help baby teeth without medication. Help teething pain med-free.

  • Your fingers and/or knuckles (at least until those first teeth come in!).
  • Soothie pacifiers. Around here, they are given out at the hospital, and you can buy them in stores. They are teal-greenish in color (thought they do come in various colors) and soft all around. Both of my kids liked to chew on the outside (not the nipple) when they had teething pains. Here is a link to what I am talking about: Soothie Pacifier
  • I have heard of a thing called a Raz-Berry Teether from Right Start (it looks like a pacifier). RaZberry Teether
  • A teething feeder. There are several brands out there: Teething Feeders
  • Foam alphabet pieces. Sassy Bathtime Fun Appliques – 84 Piece Set
  • All of the toys made for teething. The number of toys made with some teether feature included is quite large. Run a search on Amazon for teething toys, and this is what you will find: Teething Toys. There are various teething rings, toy keys, teethers you freeze, teethers that vibrate…the list goes on. You can pick something you think suits your baby’s personality and playing style.
  • Amber Teething Necklace. I found this to be very helpful for my fourth child. It didn’t take the pain away fully, but it helped take the edge off. Amber teething necklace

Helping Baby Through Teething With Medication

  • Teething Tablets. Brayden really liked those, and they seemed to take effect immediately. We didn’t use them often–basically just the first teeth. A good friend of mine pointed out to me that many brands have caffeine in them. I don’t like caffeine in myself, much less my baby (I do make lots of exceptions for chocolate 🙂 )! Especially my overly active baby! I have heard great things about Hylands Teething Tablets. They are all natural and I guess can be found basically at any grocery store (and I am sure the big “mart” stores like Wal-Mart or Target).
  • Many people love baby Orajel. I bought some for Brayden, but I honestly never saw any significant effect from it. I have heard from a woman who has worked for doctors and dentists to not use Orajel. She says it is a numbing gel like they use in the dentists office to numb your cheek before they give you an injection. When a baby teethes, she creates a LOT of saliva. When you put a numbing gel in their mouths, it mixes with the extra saliva and runs down their little throats…therefore numbing the throat. This then makes it harder for them to swallow, causing a choking hazard. I don’t really know about all of that, but thought I would pass the information along.
  • Good old Tylenol.
  • Motrin (Ibuprophen). This lasts longer than Tylenol, so many like to use it at night and Tylenol in the day. Motrin is also supposed to reduce swelling.

Teething Thoughts

  • Your baby’s reaction to teething is going to be very individual to her. Some babies handle pain better than others, just like adults. Some get clingy, some get cranky, some (older babies and toddlers) get disobedient, some get teeth without you realizing teething was even happening.
  • The reaction will also vary based on the tooth coming in. Pain tolerance can differ around the mouth. I remember when I got braces. I got the top braces first. No pain at all. I got the bottom next. Ouch! So painful. And my top teeth were worse than my bottom. Every time I got them tightened, the bottom hurt and top didn’t.
  • In my experience, the pains preceding the first tooth seem to be worse. It is baby’s first time experiencing the pain.
  • A lot of times, teeth come in pairs–one quickly follows the first. The first is usually worse.
  • Molars are usually quite painful. They take a really, really long time to fully come in, so they can bother your child for a month or more when you include the pre-tooth pain and the time to break through completely.
  • For Brayden, the Canine, or Cuspid, teeth were the most painful of all. Those are the pointy ones, and are often close to the last teeth to come in.
  • There is no sure answer on how long the pains will last.
  • For some babies teething really isn’t a good experience in the least. It is worth your effort to find what works for your baby. Those teeth will keep coming for quite some time. Somewhere around the second birthday, they all get there. Some might be done earlier, and some later, but the whole teething process lasts a long time.

Babywise Schedules and Sleep While Teething

I have never had to experience CIO while teething or sick because both of my kids were done crying for naps by the time they ever were sick or got teeth. I would not ever say to leave your child to scream in pain or discomfort. See my post on Comforting a Sick Toddler/Baby

For many Babywise babies, teething doesn’t really disrupt life. Granted some are better able to handle pain than others. BW points out that once they are old enough, you can give pain killer if the child needs it just before a nap and that will kick in before the transition and they should be fine. Brayden got several teeth in without me realizing he was teething. Neither of my children have really needed pain killer. On occasion, yes, but most of the time we have been able to work through it.

Teething might throw naps off for a while. It might be the culprit for missed sleep. Most BW children I have observed mostly show their teething when they are older and cutting molars. They suddenly are set-off into fits more easily and are less obedient. An inspection of the mouth will show new teeth approaching. Your baby will assuredly have her own reaction to teeth. Deal with them as best you can, but don’t stress if they cause disruptions. Be patient with your baby or toddler as she is experiencing pain and discomfort.

If you are unsure if your baby is teething or not, look for signs of drooling, red and swollen gums, and possibly a low fever.

As always, please add your own advice by clicking on the “x comments” link below this post

Related Teething Posts on This Blog

Reader Teething Questions:

  • Reds said…
    My son is 5.5 months old and is teething. He was doing well going to sleep on his own for naps and bedtime with little or no crying…then the teething started last week. do you suggest CIO when teething since we have no idea how long this will last? We’ve had to hold him or put him in swing to fall asleep for a week now. any suggestions would be so helpful, thanks.
    Teething Tips and Tricks. How to help baby with teething pain without using medication or with using medication. How to keep baby on schedule and sleeping well while teething.

    August 18, 2008 9:36 AM
    The Traveling Turtle said…
    Have you tried Teething Tabs? They are made by Hylands and are all natural. I use them on my 5.5 month old daughter when she is having issues with her poor gums and it seems to help. I prefer using them b/c it is not a “medicine” like Tylenol. Just my opinion. I think though, that each child is different and that you will probably know the cues to look for in naps after a bit. (If it is a teething cry or a CIO getting ready for sleep cry). It took me a few days of really watching and listening to my daughter before I knew which it was. Good luck.
    August 18, 2008 9:59 AM
    Reds said…
    I haven’t tried them, I will definitely pick them up today. thank you! He wasn’t crying for naps or bedtime before last wk…so I thought it was b/c of teething. I guess my issue is that is more of a wailing cry vs. a cranky/getting ready to sleep cry…are we supposed to let them CIO like that?
    August 18, 2008 10:17 AM
    Plowmanators said…
    If he is in pain, I wouldn’t do CIO. I would try to find something to comfort him. See this post: Comforting a Sick Toddler/Baby
    August 19, 2008 9:07 PM
    Plowmanators said…
    Teething tablets can be a good solution–thanks Traveling Turtle.
    August 19, 2008 9:09 PM

  • Katie Abernethy said…
    Yay for Babywise! Whenever I met a new couple with a baby who says their child sleeps through the night, I just know…Babywise!Anyway-I have a teething 5 month old (we’ve got 2 so far!) We give him some teething drops and Tylenol on bad days to help him and he seems to be doing ok. However…the past month or two-he’s been waking up at 5:30. I orginally had him on a 3 1/2 hour schedule that started at 7 AM. I bumped him back to 6:30 AM and ended up changing his schedule to every 3 hours. His last feeding is still at 9 and he goes to bed so well after that. My husband and I have let him CIO for an hour each morning, but this has been going on for a while now. I fear that if i feed him at 5:30 his schedule will be messed up yet again. He’s almost 6 months and before all of this, I thought he was almost ready for a 4 hour schedule. We seem to be moving backwards. Is this all due to teething? Sorry for the novel, and thanks for your help.
    September 30, 2008 4:47 PM
    Plowmanators said…
    Katie, that is possible that it is all teething. See this post for more ideas: 5-8 Month Sleep Disruptions
    October 1, 2008 3:52 PM

37 thoughts on “Teething Tips and Tricks”

  1. I just had our first baby 9 weeks ago but he was born 6 weeks early. I love Babywise and want to use it with our son. My husband and I didn’t start with Babywise right away because we weren’t sure about his abilities due to his prematurity. But I definitely want to use it with him so I think now would be a good time to start. I can’t find much information about Babywise and Preemie’s. What do you know about it? Also, we’ve been struggling with breastfeeding and reflux (all at the same time!) so I’m wondering how those factors come in to play. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated because I want so much to use Babywise to help us.Thank you, Stacey

    Reply
  2. I was curious about the adjusted age vs. actual so thanks for addressing that. As far as BF goes, at first he was too little and it was too difficult for him to BF. So I’ve been pumping since he was born. I used a nipple shield for a while to help him latch on. He was finally able to latch on but then I realized that my flow was too strong for him. He would unlatch after 2 or 3 mins and refuse to latch back on again… so now I’m back to using the nipple shield again. It’s working but I’m hopeful that in a months or so I’ll be able to BF without the shield. Thanks for your blog. I’m finding it very helpful and informative!

    Reply
  3. I actually breastfed Brayden for a year with a nipple shield. We started with it in the hospital. Then at home we worked off of it, and I contracted mastitis. I was too paranoid for a while to stop using it–then it was too long. We made it just fine. I wouldn’t recommend it just because it is annoying to have to take with you everywhere, but it is doable.

    Reply
  4. Hi Val – Love your blog. I posted a while ago about my almost 8 month old daughter’s early wakings. We were still trying to resolve that, when this weekend hit. She REFUSED all food (solid and bottles) all day Sunday and Monday. We had to give her a syringe filled with Pedialyte to keep her hyrdrated. She ate a little better on Tuesday, but no solids and only half of her usual formula intake. I took her to the pediatrician yesterday and there is nothing wrong with her, she’s teething! Her first 2 came in with not so much as a whimper, so this has been very rough. Today she is 100% back to normal, thank God! Anyway, I’d like your advice on the following:She hasn’t had a night feeding since she was 9 weeks old. But last night and the night before she woke up shreiking at 4 or so in hunger. I can tell from her cry, and once I gave her a bottle she passed right out and slept until 7:00, and this is the kid who has never made it past 6:00 am ! I am already worrying that this may start a new desire for night feedings. How would you combat/prevent this from being a problem?

    Reply
  5. That is too bad about the teeth. That can happen where lower don’t hurt but upper do (or vice versa).With the night waking, I think you made the right move. Since she wasn’t eating what she normally would in the day (and it wasn’t because of a sickness that supresses hunger but rather pain from the teeth), she needed more food. While she is eating less, I would feed her if she needs it in the night. You can work on it once she is over the need to eat in the night (if you need to work on it, she might fix it herself).This also may have shown you that she will make it longer in the morning once she is able to take in all she needs in the day. That is unless she was just overly tired from waking in the night 😉

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  6. Hello, I left a comment on Friday desperate for ANY type of advice to help my little guy fall asleep better. After much trial and error I have come to the conclusion that he is indeed teething. He is 8.5 months old and has 4 teeth already, the two next to the main two up top are coming in and they are throwing us for a loop. We have chosen to put him in his swing for nap times, because that seems to soothe him enough and I don’t have to use any type of medication. Also, he falls right to sleep. But for night time I do give him motrin before putting to bed. I when I leave the room he cries and after about 10 min I will go in and soothe him by rubbing his back. Do you have any advice on these techniques? Am I going to totally throw him off of the routine if I do go comfort him? I so don’t want him to scream in pain and I know that’s what is happening. Any advice is appreciated!

    Reply
  7. Try giving him the motrin 20-30 minutes before bed. By then it will have kicked in and you will know the pain shouldn’t be bad. As far as throwing him off, you might, you might not. It really depends on his personality. But if he is in pain, you don’t want to leave him “high and dry.” I would say comfort him if he needs it and just expect you might have some days of retraining once it is all said and done. See this post:Comforting a Sick Toddler/Baby: http://babywisemom.blogspot.com/2008/01/comforting-sick-toddlerbaby.html

    Reply
  8. Yay for Babywise! Whenever I met a new couple with a baby who says their child sleeps through the night, I just know…Babywise!Anyway-I have a teething 5 month old (we’ve got 2 so far!) We give him some teething drops and Tylenol on bad days to help him and he seems to be doing ok. However…the past month or two-he’s been waking up at 5:30. I orginally had him on a 3 1/2 hour schedule that started at 7 AM. I bumped him back to 6:30 AM and ended up changing his schedule to every 3 hours. His last feeding is still at 9 and he goes to bed so well after that. My husband and I have let him CIO for an hour each morning, but this has been going on for a while now. I fear that if i feed him at 5:30 his schedule will be messed up yet again. He’s almost 6 months and before all of this, I thought he was almost ready for a 4 hour schedule. We seem to be moving backwards. Is this all due to teething? Sorry for the novel, and thanks for your help.

    Reply
  9. I have a question about teething. My LO is 8 months old now. I think he is teething, but I have thought that since about 6 months and have seen no teeth. He has been drooling like crazy and has had a little rash on his cheeks since about 6 months, which I have read is a sign of teething. 2 weeks ago, I saw a little white bump on his gum which I assumed was a tooth coming in because he was unusually fussy and woke early. But, there is still no tooth.Last week my husband and I went on vacation w/out our LO for the first time. His grandparents said he was a perfect angel the whole time. we got back on Friday night. Mon – this morning he has woken around 5:30 whining/crying. I go in there and give him a paci and he goes right back to sleep. Yesterday he was extremely fussy and cried when he went to bed, which he has never done. His gums are swollen, but I don’t see any bumps.I can’t figure out if he is teething, or if it has to do with us being away?? So, I’m hesitant to give him Motrin or Tylenol if it’s not teeth. He has been sucking on his hands a lot, and if he fusses, as soon as I give him a frozen teethign ring he quiets and just sucks on it.Do you think he’s teething; how long does it take for the teeth to come in??Thank you!

    Reply
  10. Bradysmom, they can have teething pains for months before they ever get the first tooth. Brayden started pains at 3 months, and got the first tooth at 7 (close to 8). As for the white bump, that usually means the tooth is close. However, Kaitlyn has had a white bump for nearly 2 months with no tooth. The tooth was not next to come in according to “the books” so it seems it is poised but waiting its turn.It could be teething, it could be missing you. It sounds like teething. They are usually more willing to show their grumpy side to mom and dad who they are comfortable with. The length of time before the tooth makes its debute depends on the kid. For Brayden, after a white spot I knew it should be there within a week. Kaitlyn obviously takes longer.

    Reply
  11. Hi there,My 14 week old started teething two weeks ago now and its really disrupted everything.She does not take a full feeding except for the 7pm and 10pm dream feeds. During the day she’ll take 5-10min and call it quits (so normally can’t give her two boobs like we used to for 10-15min each because she is not interested and pushes away).And because of the poor feeding her naps are all over the place. mostly they are now 45min. Unless i feed her right before putting her down for the nap (she’ll take 5min of food) and then i lay her in the crib awake and she’ll fall asleep on her own and sleep 1.5hours. but thats only if i give her this snack.We arent sleeping thru the night anymore either.only did that for 2 weeks when she was 7 wks – 9 wks old. But from that point on she went thru growth spurt and woke up at 4am each night. its been 4-5 weeks of that now. she eats for 5min and falls back asleep on her own. and at our normal 7:30 feed time she used to take a full feed until this teething fun began two weeks ago. now she eats for 10min at the 7:30am feed so half her usual feedHas this ever happened to anyone?is it just a phase? i dont want to use CIO for her 4am feed but might try water in 3weeks time because i’ve been giving her less and less at 4am in an attempt to get her to realize that she doesnt need it and eat more at 10pm or 7am.but still pretty odd that she stopped Sleeping thru the night. And now is eating so much less.just when you get used to something it all changes – ha ha.guess i got to get used to that.but i’m having a really hard time understanding Loral’s cues – cry for food, sleep, discomfort. because they have changed during this teething thing as well. thanks for listening and for your comments

    Reply
  12. I would try to find something that will soothe her sore gums before a feeding. Also, around 3 months most babies get faster at nursing, so she might not need as long per side. Kaitlyn got down to less than 5 minutes total for both sides. Good luck!

    Reply
  13. I have an almost 11 week old. I think he may be teething. He was having difficulty getting long naps because he was experiencing the 45 intruder. I thought we had finally over come the 45 intruder. He was successfully napping for 1.5 hours for his mid-morning nap and afternoon nap(This lasted for 2-3 weeks). However, recently he has been only taking 45 minute naps again. Could he possibly be teething. I see a small white tooth poking through and I can feel another tooth bud under his skin. Last night he has a temperature of 99.3. He is also extremely fussy while feeding- squirming and crying. He does not even nurse as long as he use to. I read somewhere that when babies nurse they can get fussy, nurse less, and run a low fever. So I guess here are my questions… Could his teething be interfering with his naps?I have been letting him CIO at nap time, should I stop this? Or is this just a 45 minute nap intruder? Or is this a growth spurt?

    Reply
  14. Susanne,Ultimately you will have to decide this. It does sound like he is teething, and teething can definitely interfere with naps.If it is teething, I wouldn’t do CIO. I would try to soothe the teeth. If he is waking because of pain, he won’t fall asleep.It could be the 45 minute intruder, but I would address the teeth first. From what you described, he is definitely at least having the teething pains, even if no teeth come through right now. Brayden did this at 3 months, then didn’t cut his first tooth until almost 7 months.It also could be a growth spurt. There is usually one at 3 months.

    Reply
  15. My 9.5 month old just cut his first tooth. I had no idea until I felt his gums. It has completely cut through now. He never showed any signs of pain or discomfort for that one. As of a few days ago he has suddenly become SO VERY CRANKY! Anything that doesn’t go his way throws him into a screaming fit and he never used to be that way. It could be a simple as his toy not moving in the direction he wanted or me pulling a shirt over his head. It’s very uncharacteristic and so extreme. I feel like my happy boy is no where to be found! Could this be because he might be cutting another tooth? I don’t want to excuse his behavior for teething if that’s not really it. His sleep hasn’t been affected. What suggestions do you have for dealing with this drastic change in behavior, teething or not? It actually makes me nervous to take him out in public like this!

    Reply
  16. LEM,It is possible that he is getting another tooth and this one is bothering him. My thought would be that if the tooth is coming in on the same level (so if the first was lower and this one is lower) it most likely wouldn’t bother him. People seem to have different pain tolerances for the different levels. So if he was fine for his first on the bottom, he should be fine for future. Though it is always possible it would bother him.One thing I would say is that I would definitely assume something is causing his behavior. I would check for ear infection, other sickness, possible allergy to any new foods, etc. So it might not be teeth that are bothering him, but it is something.

    Reply
  17. My daughter is 4 1/2 months old. She has been showing signs of teething since she was 3 months, but I didnt noticed her in any pain. Now I have seen more drooling, raw feeling gums, and a low fever, with a runny nose. She seems to now wake up from all her naps after about an hour. Then she will roll around in bed for the next hour making noises here and there. I have watched her and she is trying to put herself back to sleep but can’t (and we are done with any crying for naps/bedtime). Also, about a week ago she was diagnosed with reflux and put on Zantac. Could that be causing the restlessness? Or should I assume it’s from teething and what should I do to get her back to her 2 hr naps?

    Reply
  18. My little guy is almost 10 months and he just went through a rough teething phase with his 4 front teeth. It took about 3 weeks for the pain to finally go away. I felt bad at night so I would go in, give him some kind of medication and rock him for a while, usually almost to sleep. Now, he sleeps through the night until around 5:30-6:00 and cries for me to come in and rock him back to sleep. I tried feeding him and laying him back down for a few days – which worked, but I think he might be waking to eat now. I tried CIO this morning, but he cried from 6 until 7:30 (our regular wake-time). I just got up with him, but I feel like I "rewarded" the crying. Any tips?

    Reply
  19. Tiff, You might start by going in and soothing him without food for a while. Then go in and pat him and tell him it is still night time, time to sleep. Then leave. He will be mad, but he will know you heard him and you have responded.You might also try the pick up/put down method (found in The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems).

    Reply
  20. I need some help here:) My baby is 6 months old and is having frequent night wakings (just this past week only). He was a good sleeper before-either sleeping through night or waking up once(which we did give bottle-but he would drink it fast and was asleep 15 min later). He is a bigger boy and is 97th percentile in height and weight. He is also developing and learining skills faster. He is almost crawling. His patterns are all over the place and there is no rhyme or reason to his frequent wakings, since we haven't changed anything. He recently went from sleeping through the entire night or waking maybe once at night (7:30 pm to 7:30am) to these frequent wakings. All of a sudden he is waking up at 10:30 and then 1 am and 4 (guestimate times). He is teething (but this is not new he started at 2 mos). I know!!! Sounds crazy but not-he cut his first 2 teeth at 4 mos and now the 2 top have cut through and are almost out. The doctor said he should not wake up and can last through the night. we asked the doctor cause he was waking up only once-ugghhhhI didn't think it would get worse. We have tried patting him and he will fall back asleep, but then he was up an hour later. We then gave him water (which he drank) and fell asleep. He was then up every hour after that! At about 4 am I gave him a bottle and he slept till 7:30. I tried letting him cry (I would sit in room and try to calm him by patting or talking to him) a bit-and he would just get more aggitated and wake up more. He then has been doing a similar thing the last 2 days. I need some help here because his sleeping patterns were moving in the right direction where now they are worse then when he was a newborn. Please help!!!! I don't know if this could be the sleeping disturbance thing that occurs around this time or maybe it's a combo of the teething and growth spurt. Please give suggestions on what to do. Heads up I feed him baby food at around 7, bath him and then story time and bottle-to make sure he is stuffed before bed. He also takes 2naps a day (around 11-1:30) and then around 3 or 4 for about 45 min.Thanks!!!!

    Reply
  21. It sounds like a growth spurt from what you have said. If you aren't, I would now extend his solid meals to 3 times a day. Offer it to him until he is satisfied. If he can't get all of his needed calories in the day, he will need them at night. I would work to get everything in the day.But do be sure to also look at the post "5-8 month sleep disruptions" for ideas as well as "nighttime sleep issues: revised and updated"

    Reply
  22. Hi, thanks for your blog! My 9 mo. boy (41 weeks) has been waking early…like 5-6am and he usually wakes at 6:45 and eats at 7am. This has been going on sporatically for the last 2 weeks..this is week 3 now. He is teething…4 on bottom and 3 on top..the 4th on top is coming through. Ouch..what a process. We have tried motrin at night tylenol day and hylands teething tablets…keeping it at bay, but his sleep is suffering:( He wakes up screaming at night. I see if he can soothe himself, but I have to go in and give a paci and sometimes I pick him up and pat him and put him down and he does fine. I have 4 yo right next door, so hard to let him CIO. I can see he is restless, tossing and turning about. Poor guy. I have a bad feeling this early wake time has become the new norm. I don't know if he will go back to the regular. His scheudle is 7am – 7 oz formula, oatmeal, stage 2fruit or yogurt, 8:30am – nap, 10:30am awake, 11am – 6 oz.formula, stage 2 green veggie, puffs, 12:30pm nap – 2:30pm awake, 3pm – 6 oz., stage 2 fruit, 5pm – nap, 5:45 awake, 6:30pm – 3 oz. formula, veggie, puffs, 7:30pm – 3oz. bed, asleep by 8pm. My second question is his schedule. I am always buying the 30 minutes before the bottle, but if I keep him awake longer, he still wakes up early from his nap. Also, how can re-arrane the afternoon schdule to make sense with bottles/food/bedtime? I think the third nap is on teh way out, but every other day like McKenna is probably the way it will work at first. Thanks! Jayci

    Reply
  23. Jayci,I would get a humidifier or sound machine for your four year old so once teething is done you can let the baby fuss in the morning without worrying about the four year old. just don't feed him before 7 and see if you can get him to go back to sleep until then. Give medicine if necessary at that time.What I did for solids was make that 3 just liquid and then the 6:30 have the fruits and veggies.

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  24. Just love your blog! I've been reading madly for over a month now. I'm not sure where I read this tip about getting over the 45 min nap hurdle due to over or under stimulation but I wanted to tell you I tried it today and it worked! We (my 3.5 month old boy) have a pretty steady 3 hour routine with but he consistently wakes up at the 45 minute mark. I let him sort himself out and he sleeps another 30 to 45 minutes. But, I really wanted him not to be waking up during the transition. Well, last night I read it could be a lack of stimulation so during his awake time we had a long bath together. Sure as ever he slept right through his transition to 2 hours. I thought perhaps it was the bath that was so relaxing so, in the afternoon I brought out his rattles and paid plenty of attention to him and brought new toys out that made lots of noise…and once again he slept another 2 hours. What a FANTASTIC tip!

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  25. First, I love your blog! In Sweden, where I live, there are not to many doing the BW method, so your blog really have been a huge help :)Now, it feels like we're at a dead end. I've been using the BW method on my 6.5 month old girl and she have been sleeping through the night since 3 weeks old. Napping have been going well (she gets to sleep on her own, and can deal with transitions during sleep), until a week ago. She suddenly didn't want to sleep at all. When I put her down (usually after 1 hour in the morning, and 1.5 hours during the day) she just talked to her self initially and then started to cry after some time. If we were lucky she might sleep for 30-60 minutes, but never more. Sometimes I would take her up and rock her to sleep, just for her to be able to get some at all, but I stop this after a few days realising what bad rutine I was creating for us. Now she have been to tired for nursing a few days, she doesn't have the patiense to wait until my milk comes in and just lets go crying after a few secounds. Yesterday she didn't nurse right before bedtime (she doesen't take the bottle either), so I let her sleep and did a dreamfeed at 10 pm instead. That worked, but today it happened during the secound nursing. Today I found a little tooth coming up (the first), I've been seeing a white bump a few days ago but didn't know if this meant something or not. Can all of this be because teething? What should we do about her not getting to sleep, and not wanting to nurse according to our "normal" schedule? We're currently on a 3-3½ hour schedule, and I've been trying both shorter and longer waketime for her to get to sleep during naps. Nothing have worked good, she randomly get to sleep after 20-30 minutes, but sometimes won't get to sleep at all until next feeding. We've been increasing with 5 minutes at a time.I fully understand if you don't have time to answer all this, but I really don't know what to do.. so I took a chance! 🙂

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  26. A real awesome 1, I love and enjoy that change lives once i do remember our toddler. I'd prefer the lady to determine the lady oral health because at the moment properly, my partner and i provide the female beside personally anytime we most definitely can a whole new suitable for our normal validate thus she'll always be acquainted.http://www.sunnyviewdental.ca/woodstock-dentist/

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  27. I can't praise you or thank you enough for all of your continual advice. I share your blog with family and friends. It's the best baby book out there. I do have a question concerning teething. My LO has been evidently teething off and on for the past month. She drools and acts differently when teething. She's also had her first cold/cough with fever during this past month. She's been sleeping through the night since she as four months. The only time we had to CIO was after we had been traveling and she was having a hard time getting back to her normal schedule. Usually if she's been teething/going through a growth spurt/sick, once she was better she would continue to sleep through the night. This past month has been bad. She's been waking between 2-3. Because she was apparently teething and sick, I did feed her and helped her settle back down. I've finally found the four front teeth that are all coming in at the same time, ouch! I'm very torn now. She no longer has the cold and the teeth are coming in, just barely. How long do I continue to feed her at night. Should I have her CIO if? Is it still considered teething if the teeth have come through? I need advice?

    Reply
    • Hi April–poor girl! I would give her some Inpurofen. I might do some teething tablets when she wakes in night. Once she is over the teething pain, you can do CIO if needed to get back to sleeping through the night. Don't do CIO while she is having the pain, though. For future reference, I wouldn't feed just because of not wanting to cause a new habit. I would soothe in other ways.

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  28. Hi Valerie! Thank you so much for this article! I’m a first time momma and have loved Babywise when a friend told me about it when our little guy was 3 months & having rough nights. So we began implementing it around 3 months and it was hugely helpful — for his sleep and my sanity. Right now he’s 5.5 months and breaking his first tooth! He eats 5-6 times during the day (exclusively BF) and he was doing so well at night — sleeping 8/9 hour stretches before eating in the AM. But now with teething, he’s been waking up every 3-4 hours crying pretty hard! When we sleep trained him, we used the shush-pat method which worked beautifully and took about 5 days. He’s able to fall asleep independently (I can put him in the crib awake and he falls asleep on his own). When he started waking every 3-4 hours about a week ago, we tried the shush-pat, holding him, applying pressure to his gums & we’ve been giving tylenol before bed –but nothing seemed to be working. That’s when I decided to try to BF (about half a feed) and it helped tremendously but feels like a let down (no pun intended 😉 ) because it scares me that it will derail his great sleeping habits. All that to say — do you have any advice on this matter? Do you think that a few nights of BF to help comfort him will create habits of waking in the night? And if it does, what can be done to get back into a consistent pattern?
    Thanks again,
    Kindsey

    Reply
    • Hello!

      So if it were me, I wouldn’t feed a baby in the night UNLESS the baby was hungry.

      You definitely can get back to how it was before the teething. How painful that will be will really depend on your baby.

      Some babies will bounce right back with no effort from the parents.

      Some will bounce back after a few days IF the parents are super consistent with keeping to what you ultimately want to happen (start as you mean to go on).

      Others will take 2-4 weeks even with consistency.

      So just be sure you can be consistent.

      The reason I don’t love feeding is because it can create a metabolic shift along with the prop. Props are necessary at times, and teething is definitely a time when you might find the prop is needed. But when you add feeding, if you do it long enough, your baby can grow to shift eating and hunger patterns to include a night feed.

      You can change that, but it will take more effort than just a prop would. Does that make sense?

      With that said, many babies start solids around this age, so it is possible your baby IS hungry in the night and also happens to be teething at the same time.

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  29. Mine is getting his first teeth… at the early age of 3 months. Yes, I can actually see the first two teeth, and other areas in his mouth are swollen, too, so he may even be getting up to 6 at the same time.

    And since he is so very young, he was barely STTN before all of this started.

    I’m really trying hard to avoid feeding and intervening unless he’s truly awake. The problem is, the teething makes it so miserable for him and hard to sleep.

    Any suggestions for a younger baby who is teething? He will still wake up, even with meds. 🙁

    Reply
    • I never had a baby teeth that young, so my suggestions would be the same as for an older baby. You might consider feeding at night for now just knowing that there will be some difficult adjustment once teething is over.

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