Teething Baby Not Sleeping

Updated on August 27, 2008
C.F. asks from Chicago, IL
14 answers

My six month old is showing all the signs of his first tooth coming in......including waking up several times a night now. Since three months, he was sleeping from 9p-6a. Now he is up 2-3 times throughout the night screaming. I understand he is in pain and uncomfortable, so I hold him and try to comfort him. But then sometimes I also give him a little bottle too. I am wondering if the bottle thing is a mistake, as he used to make it through the night without needing a bottle. Any advice on what to do during these overnight wake ups, to sooth and calm a teething baby? Thanks for the advice!

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R.M.

answers from Rockford on

The teething tablets and orajel combo works! I used it for my daughter and my niece when they were teething and it really does help them. Also a small dose of baby motrin/or tylenol before bed should help at night. Good luck.

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K.F.

answers from Chicago on

Try as hard as you can not to do the bottle....he will get used to it and break the habit he was in, i.e. sleeping through night without needing it. We just went through this with our now 7 month old; we gave her tylenol when she'd cry in the middle of the night (once only) and then she was good. But, she did get a cold with the teething so the dr. gave some medicine that helped with the congestion too, so I think that helped as well. Our issue only lasted for a little over a week, so hopefully, this will be a short obstacle and soon, you will have a precious baby boy with his first adorable tooth!!! Good luck. Oh, also, teething tables sold at Walgreens helped too, I think. Either that, or she just liked them. They disolve instantly in their mouth. I saw some other things about oragel/teething tablet combos, adn just be careful with putting too much numbing stuff in his mouth. I heard a story about the numbing agents (teething tables and orajel) numbing the back of the baby's throat and then the baby doesn't know when to swallow (or can't because they can't feel it) and choking. So, be very careful.

Good luck!

Oh, I read the comment below about reading James, Chapter 1. "Every good and perfect gift is from above..." Great book of the bible. You will enjoy it if you are a christian woman.

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C.B.

answers from Chicago on

Try motrin before bedtime. My son was always a comfort eater, and more often than not as a baby if he did wake up (has generally slept through the night since 9 weeks) he would need a bottle. Sometimes we would rock him, but at a certain point, I would give in. I would notice that if he was growing there would be a week or so he would need a little extra. Try increasing the food during the day, and some motrin / orajel at night. This is temporary, and will be over soon!

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A.M.

answers from Chicago on

Hi C.,

The baby orajel really works great. THey have the day time and night time formula. My daughter didnt like the taste and would cry at first when we put it on her gums, but then she would sleep wonderfully. Also, the teething rings that were kept cold were helpful.

Good luck,
A.

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P.C.

answers from Chicago on

You should be so proud of yourself, C.! Sounds like you are doing a great job and everything possible to care for your little one. Don't worry about giving him a bottle or not. Do what you think is right at the time, and consider it all joy when you face trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and then perseverence. You are not going through these trials for nothing, you know. God is at work in you to make a beautiful masterpiece! Read James chapter 1 in the Bible. Biblegateway.net is a great place to go, then look for a local MOPS group (Mother's of Preschooler's) in your area for support. In the meantime, keep up the good work!

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M.B.

answers from Chicago on

Hi there. First off, giving a bottle is COMPLETELY fine. And actually, he may be going through a growth spurt right now and needs the nutrition. In the first year of life for babies, there is no true schedule and there are a lot of growth spurts so definitely keep feeding him!
As for teething pain, you can always give tylenol before bed, but if you prefer a non-medicine method, you can get these homeopathic teething tablets from CVS or Walgreens that disolve right in their mouth upon contact. I used these for my little guy (still do!) and they seem to work well. Hang in there, even though he is waking a lot now, it is just a passing phase - there are a ton of those with kids so just work through it with him. He'll go back to sleeping all night. :)
Good luck!
M.

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S.M.

answers from Chicago on

I saw other moms put the teething tablets, I would try those during the day first because my son was allergic and got a rash from them the very first pill he took. Just a caution for those. We did oragel and tylenol before bed. I would not do any food or bottle unless it is a little water. He might get used to that and that would be a hard habbit to break. A cold washcloth to suck or teethers from the fridge too. Much luck to you hopefully you can nap when he does during the day to catch up on your sleep.

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N.H.

answers from Chicago on

The best thing: Orajel. Literally soothed my baby's teething pain within two minutes.

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J.R.

answers from Chicago on

My doctor told me to wash your hands and put the infant Tylenol on your finger and massage the gums where the tooth is coming in several times and the Tylenol will go strait to the pain/discomfort. Dr. said do not waste money on the orajel items as it may numb the gums for a miunte or two and that's it. I have done this with my 9 year old and I am again doing it to my 6 month old. She loves the massage on the gums and tends to relax within minutes. I usually put 2 drops on my finger and massage. I will reapply 2 drops and massage again approx. 3 times total.

P.M.

answers from Chicago on

Hi C.,
This is a very painful, confusing time for your baby. I think you are doing the right thing with the bottle - if that helps soothe him. Right now you just have to get through this tough time. It is temporary. Keep in mind you can always undo a pattern, such as the bottle thing. In the future when his tooth breaks and you know he isn't in pain but just wants a bottle, you probably wouldn't mind letting him cry it out or whatever (whatever your method of weaning is). Have you tried giving him tylenol or motrin before bed? The books I read said don't do anything out of routine to comfort a tooth. But I couldn't help it. I couldn't sleep knowing my baby was crying out in pain. I had my babies 16 months apart so at the time, I was prego and super tired. And I still did what you are doing. I did give him a dose of motrin and after I knew it had taken effect, like an hour or so, I did put him back to bed. Teething is a tough time. I remember texting my husband becuz he worked midnights and it was 3am. I told him to get clipped!! During the day what about frozen rubber spoons or sugar free popsicles (or fruit bars)? I also put his binke's in the freezer and used them in the middle of the night. Not sure if your baby has one though.
I hope this helps you. I'm not trying to preach by any means. You have to do what works for your baby as you know him the best.

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H.A.

answers from Chicago on

I have a 7 1/2 month old daughter and we JUST went through that all. What worked for us were Teething tablets (at Walmart or Target) and then rubbing her gums with Night time Orajel. This is what her Dr. had suggested and it worked. The first night we did it she slept from 830pm - 8am!!!!!

Good luck!!!!

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A.P.

answers from Bloomington on

Hi C.,
Personally, I wouldn't give him a bottle unless he really needed it to go back to sleep, if you could soothe him back to sleep without the bottle then maybe he's not waking up because he's hungry. If he's going through a growth spurt and needs it then by all means feed the little one but if you're just sticking a bottle in his mouth to comfort him, you may be fighting that in a few weeks when the teething is over. I have used motrin before bed and orajel for immediate comfort in my little ones when they were teething.

One thing to keep in the back of your mind, and I only mention this because it happened to me a couple times. Could he possible have an ear infection that's waking him up? On a couple occasions I thought my little ones were teething and it ended up being their ears that were bothering them. Not to make you worry about something else but you may watch to see if he rubs his ears at all or if he's had a runny nose. Good luck!
A.

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D.S.

answers from Chicago on

Hi C.:
When my little guy was teething, It was not too unususal for him to be up several times a night. I discovered that if I put water in the bottle during the day, and got him used to drinking plenty of water, he was okay with it at night too. At night I made sure the water was cool and sometimes, if I thought ahead, I would freeze just a little bit into the nipple,(about the size of a small pea) so he could sort of chew on that at first.It slipped around a bit and it seemed to calm him down. It melted long before it got into him, but it did make for a wet sheet for a little while. Sometimes he would dring it all and sometimes he would just fall back asleep. Occasionally if he took a long time, I would give him a little baby tylenol liquid, then another half bottle of water. If you KNOW it's his teeth, maybe try the tylenon first, then the bottle...(?)
D.

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M.R.

answers from Chicago on

My daughter changed her sleep pattern with each new emerging tooth. She was often more playful than fussy at 3 in the morning, so I didn't realize it was due to teething at first. Teething is painful, so it is hard to sleep when you are in pain. Ask your doctor if he/she recommends for Ibuprofen or Tylenol-- or Orajel. Sucking on a wet cold clean washcloth seemed to help my daughter with teething pain too--- she never liked teething rings. Good luck!

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