As a Mama of two babes, I know first hand the struggles of teething. I remember the weeks of near constant drooling, rosy cheeks, and fussy (to put it lightly) kids. My oldest would get a runny nose and instantly I would think, “Yep, she’s teething alright” but meanwhile there were no actual teeth in sight.
Teething is a confusing thing to us parents. After all, not one baby will react to teething the same as another one, and when our little ones are struggling, we need something to blame it on.
Enter: Teething
If I had a loonie for every time a parent told me their baby isn’t sleeping well because of teething – I guess I’d have a lot of loonies.
As parents, we tend to use teething as a crutch whenever we need to explain cold-like symptoms, or a cranky attitude, or most of all – terrible sleep. And I’m sorry to burst our parental bubble – it’s a crutch we use much too often.
But first, let’s get down to the basics.
In the first three years of your baby’s life, she will slowly (or not so slowly!) grow 20 little teeth inside her perfect little mouth. According to Dr. Stephen Lin, the first tooth shows up around 4-7 months on average and is almost always the lower bottom middle two. Then from about 8-12 months, a whole slew of teeth come in including the upper front and incisors. At 12-20 months the first molars will appear. (Whenever I’m working with a babe at this age, molars are almost always a concern). The last is the 2-year molars, which of course occur at about 2-2.5 years old.
How much pain do these teeth coming in really cause?
It is a myth that a tooth cuts through bone and gum to rise to the surface. In fact, our bodies are so smart that we form a pathway for the tooth to appear. This is why we rarely see any blood from erupting teeth in our babies mouths. Of course, teething can for sure cause some discomfort and indeed some real pain for our little ones just like any difficult milestone.
However, a study of 47 babies in Brazil found that all 47 babes showed the more typical severe symptoms of teething such as; irritability, loss of appetite and yes, sleep disturbances. But only on the day that child’s tooth actually cut the skin and one day afterward.
What do you think? Do you agree with that study?
Let me weigh in here a litte
In my experience as a mother and a sleep consultant, I have to say that I do pretty much agree with that particular study. Although I’d push it to about 3-4 days of serious symptoms instead of 1-2 days.
Once you really start seeing that bud form right under the gums is often when I’ll allow teething to become the excuse for some behaviour. And you better believe it that a day or two after that tooth cuts is when most children can go back to sleeping. Well, of course, if they already possess healthy sleep habits. And this is only IF they had any sleep disturbances at all right?!
You would not believe the amount of Mom’s and Dad’s that come back to report after working with me that they didn’t even notice that their baby had any tooth coming in. That just one morning they noticed that there were some new pearly whites shining happily back at them. (Myself included: I didn’t notice when either of my kids were teething until their molars came in!)
What to do when the teeth appear
Now we know exactly when we can blame poor sleep on teeth (yay science!) But what do we do about sleep training when the teeth inevitably appear? Well, the answer to that will depend a little on where you are in your sleep training journey.
Before sleep training
If you see a white bud about to erupt wait about 3 days to start your sleep plan. If your child is currently cutting a tooth, wait about 2 days before starting. And if you are just seeing general “symptoms” of teething such as drooling, chewing on things, rosy cheeks, runny nose etc. then go ahead and start that plan, Mama! No time like the now.
During sleep training
This one can be a bit more tricky. Anyone who has been following me for any length of time knows that consistency is absolute king when it comes to sleep training success. I encourage my clients to continue on with the plan as intended, but of course with some measures taken to help our babies feel more comfortable. (More on that in a second!)
After sleep training
Now, remember that there is a good chunk of kids that sleep independently that will likely have no problems whatsoever with teething. With my oldest (once I finally figured out her sleep and got her sleeping on her own) I never noticed when a tooth was coming in. I would go get her up in the morning and she would always greet me with a huge smile. And sometimes that smile would have a new fresh tooth, sometimes a couple of new ones!
With my youngest Georgina, I also didn’t know she was teething until she got her molars. Even then, the molars caused a little irritability and few early mornings and that was it. But this doesn’t mean all children who sleep independently will not struggle with teething, because there is a percentage that does.
In these odd situations where we deal with sleep disturbances. I always suggest doing a quick check either in the room or on the monitor to make sure your child is okay and safe. Often my clients have had weeks or months of solid sleep at this point. Nights where they haven’t heard their babies much at all. So when they wake up to their children crying it can be extra alarming.
In these cases go ahead and check on your sweet baby and if teeth are suspected, treat the pain in the way you are comfortable with (my favourite options are below). Your best bet is to treat the pain during the bedtime routine and then can re-administer during the night if needed too. And remember, don’t go back to your old habits!
My favorite teething pain remedies
If we are solely talking about what will get everyone the most sleep. I’m not so sorry to say that it comes down to over the counter medication. My number one is ibuprofen. Of course, make sure your baby is old enough to use it and to check with your doctor for any dosage concerns before using.
My experience with ibuprofen is that it works much better for teething pain compared to acetaminophen. (But the latter is a decent option for babies who are too young for ibuprofen but still need some pain relief.) Ibuprofen lasts longer and can give our babies a 6-8 hour chunk of pain-free sleep.
When that tooth is breaking through the skin and our babies are in true, real pain, I tell my clients to sneak in there before the dose wears off and administer another one.
My other favourite teething pain fix is this teething essential oil roller by Healing Hallow. (No, I am not getting paid to advertise for them, I just love this oil that much!)
Before this handy little roller, I will admit that I wasn’t really a believer when it came to oils. But my youngest needed some help with her molars and I had a friend recommend the oil. So I decided to give it a try. I became a believer when I saw how it almost instantly calmed her when it was rolled onto the outside of her jaw!
I even remember bringing it along with me when I dropped my girls off at my mother-in-law’s house and asked her to use it on Georgie at nap-time. She looked at me like I had gone a little crazy. But she also saw how my baby girl totally relaxed after it was rolled on!
Remember to give your babe a ton of chewing stimulation during the day, especially when you see those teeth starting to rise to the surface. A cold (never frozen) washcloth or cold teething toy/ring can really help get their teeth to break through the skin. And as we have learned today, the quicker those teeth break through the skin the quicker our babies go back to their normal cheery selves.
Teething is unlikely to be the culprit of a night waking
The thing with teething and sleep is this: teething is unlikely to be the culprit of a night waking. However, teething can fool us into thinking that it does.
Always remember that there is technically no such thing as sleeping through the night. We all wake up through the night in between sleep cycles.
Throughout the night we toss and turn. We grab a sip of water. Or we even sometimes check the clock but then we get ourselves back to sleep no problem. When we decide to sleep train our babies, this is the exact skill we are teaching our young children. We teach them how to fall asleep on their own so that when they wake up in the night they know how to get back to sleep no problem.
When our child has a tooth erupting and causing pain. They toss and turn and wake up slightly in between sleep cycles. They feel that pain and it can potentially cause them to jolt awake. This is why babies who know how to get themselves back to sleep with ease teethe better than those children who don’t.
Teeth Happen
Your child will spend almost the first 3 years of his or her life dealing with teeth coming in at somewhat random intervals. The sooner you can accept this fact the easier it is on everyone!
Teething can be a frustrating and tiring time for you and your baby. But it does only last for a short while. Give your baby some extra love, snuggles and manage their pain. Manage yours while you’re at it (wine anyone?)
Don’t undo all your hard work though. One or two off plan nights shouldn’t completely unravel everything but can easily result in a bit of regression.
It can be a slippery slope into resorting to old habits and before you know it, you’re back to where you started. Stick to your nap schedule during the day. Get your baby down at an age-appropriate time, and respond with the support you’re comfortable with overnight. Before you know it that previously toothless smile will be filled with pearly whites, and you’ll be on the other side of these tough times.
I would love to hear about your favourite teething remedies! What did you find that helped the most? Please let me know in the comments.
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