K.P. asks from Valencia, CA on March 20, 2008
Teething Interfering with Sleep Training
I VERY reluctantly started sleep training my 8 month old that would not sleep through the night. I bought the "Good Night, Sleep Tight" book, which I think is really great and begged my husband to implement her gentler version of the cry it out method (sit by the crib and let her cry, a few days later move farther from crib, a few days later sit outside of door, etc.) Though I hated to hear her cry it was starting to work after a few days.
Our problem now is that she has started teething and is waking in the middle of the night with pain. I was confused at first, because during the day she didn't always have teething symptoms, but at night she would be screaming. But just as I was starting to loose my mind, her first tooth popped out confirming it! We are giving her Tylenol or Motrin but she is so worked up she cries off and on for 1-2 hours. Sometimes we give in and give her a bottle (I know, I know) because we have to sleep.
My question is how do I continue our sleep program (that I THINK was working) but still take care of her teething pain? A little more info: she will not take a teether, wash cloth, etc. during the night only the day. She wakes up at all different times of the night, no consistency. She will drink 3-4 ounces of milk when we do give in with the bottle even though we do a dream feed at 10:30. The sleep program says do not pick her up or give bottle, yet we are supposed to put her down when she is drowsy but awake (?). We have on soothing nature sounds, a humidifier, the lights are low, she has a lovey, she likes her crib. We do shushy sounds, pat her back intermittently, tell her it's time to sleep. Ugh!
So What Happened?™
Thank you everyone! Thank you for the homeopathic recommendations, for the sleep training advice, and for reminding me that relieving her pain in more important than breaking the sleep training rules. I will try some of these remedies and put the training on hold now that I know better what teething really looks like. Again, thank you and I hope that others will read this and find solutions for their child's teething pain.
Featured Answers
D.L. answers from Los Angeles on March 21, 2008
K., I would reccomend Hyland's teething tablets (availabe at any Walgreens, or a store like that). They seem to soothe and relax babies that are having a hard time with teething. My son had zero teething problems, they all just seemed to appear. But my Daughter is the total opposite. She is getting one painfull tooth at a time. I wouldn't follow a "sleep plan" to the T because it may make you feel like it's not working. Just do what works for now and don't stress about it. Eventully she will have all her teeth and sleep in her crib all night.
S.H. answers from Los Angeles on March 21, 2008
The teething tablets work great. But when my boy won't calm down then Tylenol will help a lot. My doctor told me not to feed him if he wakes up, so to comfort I will just rock him to sleep and sometimes give him a bottle of plain water (that much crying will dehydrate him!).
J.B. answers from Los Angeles on March 21, 2008
Im going through the same thing with my 8 month old... I know people said use teething tablets... they are suppose to be great and all my friends love them, however my little guy doesnt get pain relief from them. The ingredients work opposite for him and they stimulate him and get his heart racing. Im still looking for a solution :(
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P.G. answers from San Diego on March 21, 2008
I gave my two daughters a life safing product called teething tablets, that Walmart sales. It is safe and you place two little tablets under the tongue. If she has been calling alot, she will fall right to sleep. Every baby is different, so maybe you should give it a try. You can find the Teething Pills at Walmart, maybe rite Aide, and Walgreens... Good Luck.P. G.
1 mom found this helpful
J.B. answers from Los Angeles on March 21, 2008
Im going through the same thing with my 8 month old... I know people said use teething tablets... they are suppose to be great and all my friends love them, however my little guy doesnt get pain relief from them. The ingredients work opposite for him and they stimulate him and get his heart racing. Im still looking for a solution :(
D.V. answers from Las Vegas on March 21, 2008
Hyland's Teething Tablets are FANTASTIC! They really calm the baby down. We have twins, and the double teething was awful. We gave each baby the tablets during teething and they helped them settle in for a good night of sleep. Having said that, I think sleep training at such a young age is just a setup for failure. There is just so much going on at this age. I'd wait and try again later, like at 12 months. We found that giving a sippy cup of water helped a lot. When they would wake we would offer water, but nothing else. It puts something in their belly for the few days that it takes their metabolisms to get used to not having calories in the middle of the night. After that, my kids decided it wasn't worth it to wake up just for water. But at 8 months they are still growing so fast that they probably need that extra feeding. And from what you've stated in your post, it sounds like this is the issue with your little one. Wait it out. Soon she'll have her one year molars, and then you have a whole year before the next teething episode. That's the best time to start a sleep "schedule", if there ever really is one with a toddler. Good luck!
L.R. answers from San Luis Obispo on March 21, 2008
I have heard about this homeopathic teething aid now from a few parents: Hyland's teething tablets. I hear it works wonders. Also, I heard of another liquid homeopathic one just yesterday by a company called Boron. The name of the product is Camilia teething liquid. I believe both of these can be found at Whole Foods and you might call health food stores or local pharmacies if you aren't near a Whole Foods. The parents who have told me about the Hyland's have said the teething tablets worked very well for their children from infancy through toddlerhood with no side-effects. Good luck!
A.P. answers from San Diego on March 21, 2008
Poor thing! Your daughter just needs a little relief before heading back to sleep. Many have already reccomended the Hyland's teething tablets. We give our kids up to four at a time (when two or three with tylenol just didn't work) and give them a bottle or sippy cup of water. 'Course my kids started teething a little late. My now three year old didn't get her first teeth till 15 months.
Your daughter would be sleeping just as you taught her if her pain wasn't waking her up. Just give her a little relief and some time with you if she needs it. Then put her back in bed. It will not hurt your daughter if you leave a bottle or cup of water in bed with her. She'll have a source of relief that will not ruin her teeth.
Good luck. Stay strong!
L.A. answers from San Diego on March 21, 2008
Her teething pain is far more important than any sort of sleep program. Babies were not designed to sleep through the night. They simply were not built to do so! Certainly you can train them to, bit why not just accept her for who she is and where she is in life? Give her Tylenol, give her a bottle, offer her comfort, and realize that you will be a much better mom if you accept the developmental stages of your daughters life instead of trying to alter them to suit your own comfort. ENJOY your baby! Don't rush her! She will grow up fast enough as it is!
A.R. answers from Los Angeles on March 21, 2008
hi K., i have two girls 16 months apart..one girl is 3 and the other girl is turning 2 next month, and while i do not know the book you are referring to, it sounds like it may be very similar to the technique i used with both girls.
with each girl, they slept in our room in their crib until about 7-7 1/2 months old. (we never co-bed with either of them)
then we moved them out into their own room. and we had a very tight-structured bed time routine, which my husband and i were both consistent with-every single night! which was so hard and cramped our lifestyle, but we lived by it. we were home by 7pm, no matter what. we bathed, dressed them in their room, gave them a bedtime bottle, held them in our arms their dark and quiet room (lasting about 20-30 min total bottle and holding and dressing). our first girl had her pacifier....and we put her down and left the room. and let them cry it out. as each day went by, the crying time got shorter and shorter. like the first day, she probably cried 15-20 min before falling asleep. and the 2nd day, 10 min. until by the 5th day, she only cried for 1 min or 2 and then fell right asleep.
and that was it! and it was even easier with the 2nd baby, because her little personality is just easier, less fussy.
our family thought we were cruel, because they were over a lot(we live down the street). they saw the training and it just broke the whole families hearts to hear the precious baby boo crying and be ignored. i felt mean and too tough. but the results are so amazing, and every mom i know respected me and were jealous of my 'free' evenings.....free for my hubby and i to hang without the kids, to clean, or even to call a sitter to come over after they'd been tucked in.
----but i do remember, that each girl would wake up sometime between 1-4am for a bottle until about 8 months, but then went right back to sleep. and in my experience, teething didnt interfere with sleep at all, as i was surprised by your experience. i never noticed a sleep interference. i saw the symptoms during the day...fussy, drooly.. but not at night. anyways, just thought id share, that the 'mean' sleep method works!
M.H. answers from San Diego on March 20, 2008
Have you tried giving her the tylenol right after her nighttime bottle? while she's still drowsy slip a little of that in her mouth and top her off with just a little more milk and bounce her just a bit if that's what she likes. That should keep her good for 4-6 hours right? so that should keep her good through the night. and if she wakes up at the right time that she should get more because of pain, then you can slip her a little more and pat her back and let her know its okay. and if she wakes up at the wrong time, then you know it's because of routine and you have to work on the sleep program again... ugh I know. ;)
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