How Do You Know If It Is Teething or Something Else

It might be gas. If she is being introduced to new food, her little body might not digest it very well the first time or so. My daughter is 11 months, and we've recently had nights like this. We suspected teething, but when we gave her oragel, it really upset her and didn't do much good. We gave her gas relief drops for babies, and a little while later (and some gas release) she was able to go back to sleep. Thinking back on what she ate that day, she had been introduced to a new food or formula.
Hope this helps. Good Luck!

The only thing that helped my daughter was a tooth brush, believe it or not! A child's size one would be perfect. She loved the gnawing on the hard plastic and the bristles soothed her gums. You might went it slightly wet and put it in the freezer, too. I told my step-mom about this when my baby brother and sister were teething and it worked like a charm!

Its hard to determine why they cry, you do everything you can for them, change them, feed them, and they still cry. Some babies like to be held more than others. If she is to the point of not being able to console her, put one of your knuckles in her mouth if she bites down to the point of you think it is making her feel better its most likely she is teething. I would get her some Hylands teething tablets, they work wonders. Always worked for my son.

Good Luck

G.

It could be teething and have you had her looked at for an ear infection? They don't always pull at their ears when they have one, but sometimes it does cause problems when they try to suck on a pacifier or nurse. Good Luck!

Sounds like an ear infection to me. My kids did the same thing when their ears were hurting.

My son did the exact same thing when he was her age and it turned out to be an ear infection. He did not run a fever or tug at his ears, which are supposed to be the "classic" symptoms of ear infection. He would just wake up every hour during the night and cry and would only sleep when we held him on our shoulder. He was fine during the day, even during naps. The doctor explained that at night, pressure builds in the ear from the fluid buildup and causes pain when they try to lay flat. That's why he would only sleep when held upright. Ear infections can get bad rather quickly, so you might call your doctor to see if he/she thinks your daughter's ears should be checked. Good luck!

Could be
1/ teething...cold wash cloth is a good idea.
2/ sensitivity to a food she is eating at dinner...causing gas..make sure she is burping and/or try Mylicon or Little Tummies
3/ growth spurt so she is more hungry and needs nursed more. THe growth spurts are usually around 3, 6, and 9 months but happen early or late.

It sounds like teething to me. When you're laying down a toothache is worse than when you're sitting up, and the same applies to teething. It makes sence that she would feel it more at night. My daughters don't respond to tylenol, just like me. Try infant Motrin. Also, I used the Hyland's teething tablets that you can find at a health food grocery store. They are all natural, so I felt a lot better about using those rather than orajel. My kids loved them!

If she is sucking on everything in sight, and she isn't sleeping well, and you said she isn't nursing as well, this tells me that she is HUNGRY. See if you can either get her to nurse more, or pump more milk for her (as teething can make it painful for her to nurse), or give her some juice and water, baby cereal, or whatever. I know WIC does baby cereal by 5 mos. And, if you have to bite the bullet, then give her formula in a cup if necessary. She does sound hungry to me.

sounds like she could have an inner ear infection. Have her checked out to see just in case. Good luck & God Bless!

I had the very same problem with my 10 month old. I took him to the doctor because my co-workers told me it sounded like an ear infection. Dr told me she would have thought it was an ear infection from the symptoms as well but he was fine. Just teething. She suggested giving him Motrin since it lasts longer than Tylenol. I gave it to him right before bed and he slept through the night! Sure enough, his little "toofers" popped through about a week later! Good luck with your little one!

Hi E.,

I am dealing with the same issue with my 10 month-old. She's usually an awesome sleeper but has been getting up at night for the past 3 or 4 nights. We know she's teething because one finally came in in the past day or so. It does sound like your daughter is teething but to ease your mind it might be a good idea to call your doctor just in case.

Take care!
E. T.

She might have an ear infection, when babies have one they turn their heads back and forth alot when sleeping,and nursing hurts!
you might sheck with your dr.

I would not use ora-gel just use tylenol during the day and motrin at noc. Ask your pediatritian when the motrin can be given. I know that it was 6 months when I started. The problem is it could be ear if her nose is running too!!! For every tooth my daughter got an ear infection. I was in the pediatritian's office almost once or twice a month for a year. My 1st daughter got her bottom teeth at 3.5 months. Good Luck

Hello,

I raised 3 kids. The way you tell about teething is look at her gums, are they red or swollen? Does she have a low grade fever?
Other symptoms are a lot of drooling and wanting to chew on everything.
Oragel works for the gums but baby can also get an acid stomach and diarrhea during teething. Maybe her stomach hurts. Try a baby product for gas or acid stomach.

I hate to disagree but I would never give a 6 month old a tooth brush to chew on. But I was always a paranoid mom, looking for every possible way the kids could get hurt.
Wet half a clean wash cloth and put it in the freezer for a while. Let beby chew on cold part and hold dry part!

It sounds like teething to me, as she is the right age for it. Try giving her ibuprofen at night and use the Tylenol during the day. The IB lasts longer and is a little stronger. If it gets really bad, you can alternate the doses between the two. Just remember, this stage does not last forever!!! Good luck.

i can tell you that with mine (20 months) i could never tell if he was teething until they were through - maybe because it was my first, but i think because A. he never acted like anything was wrong, and B. he has a small narrow mouth that you can hardly see in. plus after the first time he bit me i was very careful about putting my fingers in his mouth! so i understand not being sure. one thing i would try (since you said you already tried tylenol i assume you're not opposed to "trying" something without knowing for sure what's wrong) is substitute ibuprofen for tylenol. it lasts twice as long (works better for nighttime) and reduces swelling which i don't think tylenol does. someone on here suggested it to me when my little one wasn't feeling so well, and it does do better than the tylenol - even if it doesn't work "perfectly" (i.e. for a full eight ours) at least it will work longer than the tylenol and you should get some sleep! good luck!

OH and ps, once she has had the ibuprofen, since you can't give it to her every few hours like tylenol, make sure you're reinforcing good nighttime routines, keep the lights off, don't talk to her, etc...she may be getting into the habit of waking up now. comfort her by patting her back/tummy, give her a bit of bottle if she needs it, but try not to get her up every time she wakes up and fusses. probably you're already doing that. just thought i'd mention it!

does she have an ear infection? sometimes when they suck and suck like that it's to try and pop their ears because of the buildup in pressure. get a dr appt and have them check her ears out. good luck!

It is probably teething and try the teething tablets that was suggested below. The other thing it could be is an ear infection. If she is messing with her ears or maybe has had a bad runny nose and a temperature then I would say take her to the doctor to get her ears checked.

Good luck!

M.