Teething Troubles

knottiee1830e091ecff401

LO is 8 months and her bad teething started on Tuesday (almost a week ago). Has had a lot of trouble sleeping at night because of pain. We finally figured out her teeth were hurting, so now giving her Motrin at bedtime is helping her sleep tremendously at night. I’m just starting to get worried it could be something else, because she has had a temp ranging from 99-100.2 since Saturday (today is Monday). I had taken her to the doctor Friday (before she even had elevated temp) just to make sure she didn’t have ear infection; doc said her ears look good and no virus, but she has 3 teeth coming in. Is it normal for baby to be fussy for a week and have raised temp 3 days? Everything I’m finding online says she should have cut a tooth by now. What are your experiences with teething right before baby cut the tooth?

rac2718

My 1st son had to work really hard for every tooth he cut. He'd get elevated temps, fussy, trouble sleeping. Sometimes it was a few days. Sometimes much longer- off and on for weeks. Some things to help relieve the discomfort are freezer and fridge teethers, wet wash cloth in the fridge or freezer to chew on, Motrin as necessary. If your baby has an actual fever and not just elevated temp for more than 1 day, head back to the doctor. I was so happy after the last of his molars came in and we were done. Now waiting for my 6 month old...

complexity

I’m dealing with this with my 6mo granddaughter. I’m very fortunate that she is able to put herself to sleep (put her in her crib while awake, but sleepy, and she goes to sleep), but her teething pain is interrupting that where she cries a bit and takes around 20m to fall asleep. She was sleeping through the night, but is now waking up at night. Her temperature is also elevated, but remains below 100.4 which is the temperature that’s considered a “fever.” What makes things worse is that she is not using teethers!

I’m avoiding acetaminophen and ibuprofen due to the studies possibly linking them with autism (it’s uncertain, but I’d rather not chance it as my granddaughter’s mother used substances while pregnant).

What seems to help is to massage her gums, give her cold pacifiers, and keep her entertained/distracted. She loves it when I sing to her and play little song games with her! For sleep, I use the Ferber method. If she wakes at night, she gets a bottle, but then immediately back into the crib (no lights, no talking, nothing). I’ve learned to wait 5 minutes anytime she wakes up before going in; many times she falls back asleep. Sometimes I have to wait an additional 10 minutes. We have blackout curtains for her nursery so she’s in a very dark room when she sleeps (I highly recommend it).

I’ve also started using one of those pacifier looking things where you put fruit inside. She love it! I’m using the silicone kind, not the net kind. I put frozen fruit that’s chopped up so by the time she gets it, it’s just thawed out beyond being frozen, but still very cold. She also likes her swing so when she’s really tired of playing, but not sleepy enough for sleep, I let her swing for a few minutes. The motion calms her. Every now and then, I’ll let her watch a 10 minute video for babies which helps to distract her for a little bit (which allows me to file her nails, too).