Your Guide to Teething & Sleep

No matter how we parent to sleep at bedtime, regardless of what sleep associations you use to support your little one back to sleep in the middle of the night, and despite following your baby’s cues and tuning into their natural rhythm, there will be times that sleep is interrupted by things we cannot avoid. This is normal and okay!

One of the interrupters of sleep parents struggle with most is teething. Teething is something that almost every parent will agree is both heartbreaking and exhausting. It feels so horrible knowing that your little one is in pain and that there is not a whole lot you can do to make things any better for them. Just like us adults all react differently to pain or discomfort, babies will react differently to the discomfort caused by teething as well. If your little one is teething it is common to notice that bedtime gets trickier, naps may get shorter and it’s likely you may be tending to your baby more frequently than before the teething began. You may also notice that your little one seems to be coping okay until it’s time for sleep.

Today we are going to chat all about teething with some help of an expert - Dr. Helen Mo. You can find her on instagram as @the.dentistmom. Using Dr. Helen Mo’s expertise we are taking you through what teething is and what it looks like in terms of tooth eruption, signs and symptoms of teething as well as teething toys to use and other ways to provide relief. We have also included some of her wonderful graphics to complete this guide to teething for you. Additionally, we are also going to be giving you a few of our tips on how to cope in terms of sleep and teething. (All images below belong to Dr. Helen Mo @the.dentistmom and have been used with permission).

What Is Teething?

As Dr. Helen Mo shares, first teeth will erupt in what is a very wide range of normal and that every once in a while some babies are even born with teeth! If your baby reaches 18 months without having any teeth erupt then it is a good idea to consult with a pediatric dentist. She also shares that even though there are general guidelines of order of tooth eruption, that it is very normal that you may see teeth erupt late, early, out of order, crooked, paired or solo, with gaps, or straight! Below we have attached a guide but remember, just as with baby sleep, baby teeth eruption can happen in a wide range of normal! We’ve also included the parent edition she created for those of you who might need a giggle today.

Next we are going to share with you what Dr. Helen Mo explains teething itself often looks like for little ones.

First, she has simply defined teething as when teeth start to erupt. The pain or discomfort that your little one might experience associated with teething is happening as a result of teeth physically poking through the gums. This can be a process that typically lasts a few days. On average it takes 2 months for a tooth to fully erupt but teething itself is only when the tooth is physically poking through your child’s gums. The height of teething symptoms are typically occurring during the few days before and after it takes for this to happen (again, it will be a bit different for every baby!). Below is another one of Dr. Helen’s visuals to help make sense of this for everyone.

Signs and Symptoms of Teething

When we think of what teething might look like, often people think of diarrhea, rash, drooling, hands in the mouth and fever. Dr. Helen Mo actually helped us to clear up a few of these misconceptions. She shares that teething actually gets blamed for a lot of the uncomfortable behaviours our children have in the first year of life. Again using her expertise, we’re going to talk through what normal signs and symptoms of teething look like while also clearing up a few misconceptions.

Let’s start with fever, rash and diarrhea. While it is normal for teething to cause a small elevation in the body temperature, teething should not cause a true fever or 100.4 F or higher. You may notice a bit of a rash around your child’s mouth from drool but rashes in other areas of their body are important to not write off as teething as they could actually be a sign of something more going on. The same goes for diarrhea, that although some looser stool might be present, teething does not cause true diarrhea. So if you’re like us, you’re probably wondering how these symptoms came to be so well known as signs of teething. Dr. Helen Mo explains that these often occur at the same time as many other possible transitions or developmental milestones such as starting solids which can impact bowels or transitioning to childcare (lots of new germs!).

Drooling is also often associated with teething but this too can be attributed to a few things. Again if we look at other areas of development, babies’ salivary glands start to develop around 3-4 months of age but typically do not master swallowing or have fully developed mouth muscles until about 18 months so it is no surprise we see the increased amount of drool throughout infancy.

We also often assume that if a baby is chewing on their hands or feet that a tooth must be cutting, but again this is a normal part of development as it is actually how babies learn. Babies hands are how they explore the world around them and learn about their environment and all things sensory.

So what are the signs and symptoms related to teething that we need to be looking for? If your little one is about to cut teeth through their gums you are likely to notice a loss of interest in eating or drinking, general crankiness or fussiness, difficulty sleeping, swollen gums and tenderness, repetitive rubbing of eyes, ears and cheeks and excessive amounts of drooling.

It is important to consult your child’s doctor if you notice a fever about 100.4F, diarrhea, rash beyond mouth/chin area, refusal to nurse to at all, ear pulling (can also be a sign of ear infection) or prolonged fussiness as these can all be signs of something more going on.

Pain Management for Teething & Teething Toys

Different babies will find relief from teething in different ways/ You may find you need to experiment with different shapes and textures to find what your baby likes best. Below you will find a guide on different options based on your baby’s age and stage!

It is important to touch on safety when it comes to soothing teething pain.

If you are using over the counter painkillers be sure to consult with your doctor and follow dosage vs. weight recommendations
It is recommended to avoid amber teething necklaces as they are a choking hazard
Be sure any frozen toys are thawed slightly to be sure they are not too cold
Always supervise baby when they are using teething objects in their mouth and avoid teething toys with small pieces
Avoid teething gels

Sleep & Teething

It is very normal for sleep to be interrupted when your little one is cutting a tooth (or two!). When we look at teething through the lens of sleep it is important to remember to stay responsive. Your little one is going through a hard time and it is important as ever to welcome dependence and provide as much extra support as needed. Try not to worry about creating “bad habits” by changing how you respond during times of teething. It is okay if you turn to different sleep associations that you were not using prior to now to provide support during this time (example: maybe you’ve just been doing bum pats in the crib but now babe seems to need more rocking).

You may find that naps happen better using motion or a carrier. Your baby may even enjoy a contact nap while teething when they previously seemed indifferent. Safe bedsharing may also be something that you choose to do during this time.

Now is also not the best time to work on making big changes when it comes to sleep. When things get thrown off it can be helpful to your child a bit of time to naturally get back on track before trying to “fix” anything. Remember that this is a hard time for them and they just need you to be there for them!

If it feels like a little too much, remember it is so important to ask for help and use your village as needed. When sleep is interrupted it is essential that you ask for help from those around you so that you can take care of yourself as well. Teething is hard, but you are not alone. Hang in there mama, you’re doing amazing and your baby is so lucky to have you!

Categories: : Sleep Without Sleep Training, Motherhood, Parenting, Normal Infant & Toddler Sleep, Teething