Remember when your DC was teething? (a little poll)

sooosie

And he/she woke up in the middle of the night screaming bloody murder?  You went in and gave meds or teething tablets, whatever, and a drink of water.  Did you proceed to pick them up and rock or sway them til they calmed down and fell back asleep?  Or did you leave them in the crib and rub their back/pat their butt for a minute or two and then let them CIO til they fell asleep?

Just checking, because we have awful sleeper Max here who was up for about 90 minutes last night from 3:15-4:45am.  We gave meds, water, picked him up, rocked him, he fell asleep.  Twice.  Both times we put him down and he woke up screaming again.  Finally we just let him cry as there was nothing more we could do.  We'd been working on getting him to STTN, and he did this for a week straight at Christmas - then he got sick.  Then he gave us 3 nights in a row this week, now the teething is catching up.  I'm not sure which is the best route to take anymore, and we are so, so tired...

MelandJeff

I for one, can not resist picking up a crying baby. Period. It hurts my heart

 

That being said, I have a 3 year old who A. Still does not sleep through the night and B. Still sleeps with me and MH.

Jodi&Joe

It is SOOOO beyond difficult to tell other moms how to handle these situations.  I know my kids cries....as most moms do.  So there are times that I cuddle them, some times that I let them cry, some times that I pick them up, some times that I just pat their butt.

You are his mom and you know what's best.  Do what your gut tells you....if he is teething/sick, he might need the extra coddling.  Or he might not.  I can tell you that any further stimulation in the middle of the night for Cam (in general) was a freaking nightmare.  Joey, just the opposite. 

Good luck!  Do what you can right now just to get some sleep and then reevaluate when you are feeling better...and when he is feeling better. Those teeth can be killer! 

(I want to also add, if he was just sick, and is teething, there is a good chance that he has an ear infection.  If his crying gets too crazy, or this keeps up for another day or two, I would take him in to the pedi).

black.kat

I held her through things when she was sick or teething or hurt for any reason.  I would get tired, but I wanted my child to know I was there if she was in pain and that she was not alone - my tiredness came second to her.

And I had my DD sleeping through the night... but she is 3 and now with potty training and all that, we rarely have a night where she doesn't wake...

 

Zenya

I don't think anyone would tell you to let a teething child CIO.

sooosie

Zenya:

I don't think anyone would tell you to let a teething child CIO.

Our pedi did - (after giving meds or whatever).  And she has a 3-year-old son.

SumnerBride

I'm right in the thick of dealing with a teething baby, so I feel your pain.  I can't let her CIO.  I was in and out of her room over 6 times last night because of teeth.  I did meds, bottle, and rocked her.  She'd fall asleep and be up again 45 mins later.  It gets old, but it was the same with Ashlyn too.  Now Ashlyn is 3 and is STTN every night.  So, I have no worries for the future.

You just have to do whatever you feel comfortable doing now.  I don't feel comfortable letting my teething baby CIO.  And i know this won't last forever, even if it sucks right now for me too!

CubbyMama

If I know she's sick or teething and wanting to nurse or be held for comfort, she gets whatever she wants.  I figure, she's just a tiny baby and has very few coping mechanisms other than "snuggle with Mommy" and "drink warm milk from Mommy" so there's no way I'm letting her cry alone when she's not feeling well. It can be so hard--there have been times where I've been up 6 times in 7 hours and then up for work at 5:30am to spend the day wrangling kindergarteners, and thought I might just keel over...but I've never regretted spending that time with her and being there to comfort her.  I think now that I've seen how quickly time passed with DD#1, I have a lot different perspective on DD#2 and know that everything is just a phase.

CubbyMama

sooosie:

Zenya:

I don't think anyone would tell you to let a teething child CIO.

Our pedi did - (after giving meds or whatever).  And she has a 3-year-old son.

I really don't understand the reasoning behind this.  Why would you let a baby who's hurting cry alone instead of holding/comforting them?  I can't see that it's "teaching" them anything, and if the only reason is that I'm tired...well, what does she care?  She's a baby! 

I'm not trying to be judgy or start an argument, but this just stumps me.  It's one thing to have a healthy, fed, changed, tired, comfy baby who just wakes out of habit and maybe let them cry a little to see if they can self-soothe...but to know they're suffering and deliberately leave them to cry?  I feel like getting up with sick/teething kids is what I signed up for when I decided to have them, kwim?

sooosie

CubbyMama:

sooosie:

Zenya:

I don't think anyone would tell you to let a teething child CIO.

Our pedi did - (after giving meds or whatever).  And she has a 3-year-old son.

I really don't understand the reasoning behind this.  Why would you let a baby who's hurting cry alone instead of holding/comforting them?  I can't see that it's "teaching" them anything, and if the only reason is that I'm tired...well, what does she care?  She's a baby! 

I'm not trying to be judgy or start an argument, but this just stumps me.  It's one thing to have a healthy, fed, changed, tired, comfy baby who just wakes out of habit and maybe let them cry a little to see if they can self-soothe...but to know they're suffering and deliberately leave them to cry?  I feel like getting up with sick/teething kids is what I signed up for when I decided to have them, kwim?

Totally!  I'm with her on the CIO when he's feeling fine, because I do think he was waking out of habit, no longer needed the bottle at night, etc.  We finally broke him of that and he had started to turn a new leaf.  I just feel bad letting him cry now when I know the likely culprit is the teeth.  Though, last night he did CIO at the end but it was only for like 5-10 mins.  I was glad the crying didn't last long...

hopefulmom

I've had 3 different pedi's throughout the years and they have all said teething will NOT wake a child up in the middle of the night.  Not sure if this is true but it really has been in our case.  I always gave Motrin before bed if they were cranky and teething during the day.  Unfortunately, once you start something (only takes a couple of nights) it becomes expected (rocking, holding, drinks, etc.) multiple times a night sometimes.  My pedi's never mentioned CIO.

Yodajo

hopefulmom:

I've had 3 different pedi's throughout the years and they have all said teething will NOT wake a child up in the middle of the night.  Not sure if this is true but it really has been in our case.  I always gave Motrin before bed if they were cranky and teething during the day.  Unfortunately, once you start something (only takes a couple of nights) it becomes expected (rocking, holding, drinks, etc.) multiple times a night sometimes.  My pedi's never mentioned CIO.

I think there are a slew of women on this board who will disagree with that statement.  Its almost laughable.  Dr. Sears lists night waking as one of the five signs your baby is teething.

I think when a child is not feeling well or is in pain, all bets are off.  You know your baby and what cries need attention and which don't.  I hope everyone is back to getting some sleep soon! 

Angela814

MelandJeff:

I for one, can not resist picking up a crying baby. Period. It hurts my heart

 

That being said, I have a 3 year old who A. Still does not sleep through the night and B. Still sleeps with me and MH.

This is me too. I thought I was the only one!

When DD was teething, I usually didn't have to give her any pain medicine. I just nursed her back to sleep each time she woke up. She was in bed with us by that point of the night anyway.

GrowingFamily

I highly recommend the book "The No Cry Sleep Solution."  I got my copy used off of Amazon for like $3   I have applied its theories to our 2 youngest children & have had success.