Teething??

My son had very similar problems. He is usually a great sleeper, except when he is teething. He was a mess when he cut his first molars. Hang in there, as this too shall pass.

Have you tried teething tablets? They are perfectly safe and best of all they WORK!!! My little boy is 2 now and I do not knoe how I would have gotten through him teething without them. The only place I was able to find them was at WalMart in the baby department next to the pacifiers and bottles. Good Luck!!!

M. L.

Teethig is a difficult time. When my 2 daughters were teething i would rub the tylenol on their gums and that would always seem to work better then just giving it to them from the dropper. Also you can try teehting tablets

Hey B.! My daughter was prone to teething fevers, loose stools, irritability! Everything. I also found the natural teething tablets helpful. Try a number of different chewables until you hit on one that works. Strangely enough, for the first year molars, since they are so far back, my daughter chewed on her hard plastic drum sticks, just a little bit, because she could get them back there and rub it!

Also, my first pediatrician, he was incredible, suggests using an alternating program of pain relievers. Tylenol dose and then the next dose, Motrin. Alternating kinds of meds make them more effective. Escpecially if your little one is in terrible pain! Those molars are the biggun's!!

Good luck to you and your little one!

Sounds like teething to me. Hopefully your baby will go back to her old sleeping routine soon, but be patient. Don't be surprised if it comes with a clear, runny nose and diaper rash. Have you ever tried Teeting Tablets? They're homeopathic and saved me and my babies. You can find them at Walmart. Just remember to not let your baby have food or drink 10 minutes before or after giving them. Don't touch them, put them in the lid, then straight to your baby's mouth. I would give 2-3 doses 10 minutes apart and then one every hour. Just a thought. But it worked for my little ones. Good luck and remember, this will pass quickly.

Sheryl
Mother of five (6 yrs - 16 yrs)

Hi B.. My name is T. and I'm an RN. I just read a comment about teething tablets being poisonous and I wanted to comment on that. My niece was at my house when she and my daughter were around a year old. There were some teething tablets in her diaper bag and my daughter got ahold of them and ate them all. It was a brand new bottle, so she ate alot. Of course, I panicked and called poison control who assured me she would probably be fine but watch her for over excitability or over drowsiness. She didn't experience either...you couldn't tell she had taken anything. She acted perfectly normal the rest of the day. She didn't even get a stomachache. Unless your child is allergic to something in them you shouldn't worry about her being "poisoned" by them any more than you would any other type of childrens medication. As for the wikipedia article, you would freak out if you indexed the ingredients in ANY medication. They can all be toxic and even fatal in high dosages. For example, acetaminophen (Tylenol) causes liver failure. If you start eliminating things from your child that are "toxic" you would have to put them in a bubble and not give them anything. Even tap water contains toxins. As for the teething tablets, the belladonna contained in them is such a small amount they would have to consume several bottles at once to get any of the effects listed in that article, unless of course they are allergic to one of the ingredients, which was probably the case with the previous mentioned article. I used teething tablets on both of my children and they worked wonders. They worked better than anything else I tried. Also, just a word of warning about the topical anesthetics like orajel, if you use them please only use a tiny amount. One little drop is enough to numb a baby's entire mouth and if you use too much you will numb their esophogus and cause asphyxiation (succocation).

To answer your question, it sounds like teething to me. Don't be surprised if she runs a low grade fever or gets diarrhea with it also. Hang in there...it's only temporary. She'll be back to her normal self in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, try to keep her as comfortable as you can. Cutting teeth is very painful and anything you can do to alleviate her pain is better than nothing.

If you have any more questions or just want to talk about anything I said, feel free to e-mail me anytime.

It could very well be teething. But, here's something to keep in mind...Years ago, when I was a new parent I read this in a parenting magazine and found it to be very accurate...When children, of any age, get to those milestone ages, they tend to "change" their behavior. Just like an adult having personal problems, financial problems or major changes in their life that may cause mood changes and possible feeling not in control of their situations....also, can apply to a child. If you pay attention, you'll notice mood changes of a child, different than what you're use to, right BEFORE they are getting ready to have major changes in their little lives, that they are confused on how to feel! EX: beginning to walk, beginning to talk, potty training, new sibling.... these are because the child, subconsciously, is facing a BIG task for them. So, when when your child is going through a personality change...instead of getting upset about it, think of it as some type of exciting new milestone
they are getting ready to accomplish! This may sound silly, but it's accurate! I would notice my children going through mood changes right before they would start walking, talking, etc., then it seems to pass as it is accomplished! At least until the NEXT ONE! :-)

My daughter did the same thing only she also had a high temp. The doctors insisted that she had the flu or some kind of infection because they said a temp that high would not be teething but wothout fail every time she got her teeth in she had the same symptoms so I am convinced. It always started out with her not wanting to sleep and being fussy though. A few days after that she would get the temp and not want to eat although she would chew on anything and once the teeth were in all symptoms subsided and she went back to normal. It is probably fine and something that is only a temporary inconvenience, nothing to worry about but if it doesn't get better I'd take her back to the doctor until they figure out what is going on. Give her lots of love and try giving her cold things to chew on (teething ring or we sometimes used the pedialyte popsicles to also keep her hydrated with the fever although you have to watch them closely when they are that young.) Good luck.

That definitely sounds like it could be her 1st yr molars. My dd got hers at 11 mos and she was fussy like crazy. She drooled a lot too during that time and even spit up quite a bit. It lasted for about 3 weeks and then they started popping through the gums. I hope those teeth come in quick so you can get back to your regular routine soon. Good luck!

Teething can indeed be the culprit, but sometimes it is common there is some joint aches and pains at growth spurts, although usually there are fever bursts that accompany this typically in the evening and in the early morning with no other symtoms.
Also, you don't mention if your daughter goes to day care or any other care. If so perhaps she had an incident there that caused her stress or alarm. Not to alarm you, but even if a pacifier or toy was taken away from her (while she was really contently resting or relaxing) by another child unexpectedly or something of this nature and it was an abrupt and unexpected action, to her in her short life, this would constitute a type of trauma. At any rate, if this is a possibility I would ask at the facility if anything unusual or "out of the norm" has taken place.
At my granddaughters day care, this had happened unbeknownced to my daughter but when she press for info at the day care she discovered there was a new little boy enarmored with my granddaughter and would routinely take her toy or pacifier away from her to gain her attention.
My daughter immediately had that attended to and stopped, as the caregivers thought it was cute, but my granddaughter was not as impressed. But YOU have to probe and ask these kind of questions.
In all, her new behavior should change and return to "normal" after a short period of time after she has had a chance to either break surface on molars, pass a growing spurt or forgets or adapts to an incident she experienced. If however it continues for what you consider an unusually long period of time, you should consult your physician again with your concerns. Hope this helps a bit. Jeanette

My 18 month old just cut his first molars at 17 months. It is probably that. We do the same thing when he starts teething. We always think it's an ear infection and go them checked. Every time, it has turned out to be teething for us. After a few days of the fussing and trouble sleeping he gets really nasty diapers and sometimes even a runny nose. Also watch for her fingers in her mouth a lot or wanting to eat more especially things that require chewing. Our son likes bagels especially when teething. If he'd especially fussy, I'll give him some Tylenol or Motrin, but I try not to do it unless he seems really uncomfortable. I haven't tried the natural teething tabs, but I might after reading the other responses. Good luck. Hopefully it will pass in a few days. His sleep always got better after a few days. Of course, right now it seems that he's getting one tooth after another so we've had lots of ups and downs. Good luck!

The only thing worse than the one-year molars are the two year molars (or so far anyway!!) My son was miserable while they were coming in. He would wake up in the middle of the night screaming and would be inconsolable until the pain med we'd give him would kick in, then he'd pass out. All during the day he'd have his fingers in his mouth and would drool drool drool. This all went on way before the teeth emerged, as the most uncomfortable time is when the teeth were decending thorough the jawbone, long before you know what's going on. Only weeks later would we see the tell-tale swelling in his mouth, and days before they broke through he'd get feverish, have a runny nose, and loose stools. We learned pretty quickly to give him a dose of ibuprofen at bedtime, that worked wonders! Usually during the day there was enough to distract him, but when he'd be especially fussy or cranky I'd give him a dose around naptime or a few teething tablets, and he'd take super long naps. We're waiting for the 2 year molar's to arrive, just finally noticed some swelling in his mouth the other day.

No offence, but your problem is a RELIEF to me!!! My daughter, who is 18 months, went through the same thing. She started out the same but then it became so bad that she would wake up 4-5 times per night!! I spent several long nights in a rocking chair with her trying to get her back to sleep. The weird thing was, it last about 2 weeks and abruptly ended. She went back to sleeping all night and her normal routine but I hadn't done anything different. AND she still hasn't any molars. I don't know what the problem was, but when I talked to other moms about it, they had gone through the same thing. Just hang in there.

Just a word about teething tabs. When K was teething she had some really bad side effects from them. She didn't sleep for nearly 2 days other than very short naps and she was getting sick. I ended up taking her to the ER and the Dr. had never heard of teething tabs. I gave him the bottle and he about flipped out, he proceeded to yell at me about poisoning K. I was only giving her half of the dose and only when she really needed it.

Teething tabs have Belladonna in it. Please read the Wikipedia article from the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belladonna

My recommendation is, if you use the teething tabs watch her for side effects and if she isn't having any problems continue with the tabs but if she is having a problem stop and just use other methods such as chew toys and rubbing the gums with just your fingers.

I HAVE 3 CHILDREN AND MY YOUNGEST IS 3 ALMOST 4 YEARS OLD AND MY OLDEST ONLY GOT THE RUNS REALLY BAD WHEN SHE WAS TEETHING, MY 2nd DAUGHTER NEVER REALLY CRIED UNTIL I WASN'T IN THE ROOM OR SOMEWHERE THAT WAS VISIBLE TO HER, ON THE OTHER HAND MY SON WAS DIFFERENT. HE WAS JUST FUSSY HE WOULD YELL A LOT WHEN HE WAS TEETHING, HE NEVER REALLY CRIED, BUT I DO KNOW THAT YOU CAN USE TEETHING RINGS THAT ARE VERY COLD NOT FROZEN BECAUSE THE ICE HURTS THEM. YOUMAY HAVE TO HOLD IT AND YOU CAN GIVE YOUR BABY SOME INFANTS TYLENOL BUT NO MATTER HOW BAD SHE CRIES DON'T GIVE ANOTHER DOSE UNTIL IT'S TIME BECAUSE TYLENOL HAS ACETAMINOPHEN IN IT AND TOO MUCH OF IT WILL DESTROY YOUR LIVER. GOOD LUCK!!!

The molars are the worst for the little ones.

Both of mine were irratable, fussy, and they made them ill.

We survived with tylenol and baby orajel.

YES!! YES!! YES!! I have a 14 month old, and she started doing the same thing (and still is). It has lasted about 2 weeks. It seems like every tooth that could possibly come in DID all at once. She was/is very fussy and even runs a slight fever from time to time, but that is normal while teething. Good luck, and try to get some sleep!! :)

Hey there, I have three kids... a set of twins that are 5 & a 1 year old baby girl. All three of my kids at 1 year old made the change to only 1 nap a day. & you might try making her stay up til at least 8pm. My 1 year old goes to bed around 8-8:30pm & wakes around 8am. She only takes 1 nap a day & that is around noon to 3pm. That seems to be perfect. I think a 1 year old only needs about 15 hours of sleep a day if I remember correctly. So its very likely she is getting a little too much sleep & its causing her to wake up! The teething is also likely, but I would try changing her sleep schedule & see how that works for you! Good Luck!

I would give her ibuprofen at bed time and throughout day when getting terribly irritable (doctor's typically recommend/but call to find out proper dosage), also homedics teething tablets and gel work wonderfully. Our dentist said to use the all natural teething tabs and gel rather than ambisol because the ambisol actually toughens gums and makes the teething process take longer . . . which you clearly don't want. There is also a neat leap frog teether that vibrates when chewed on that might soothe her gums. The symptoms you are describing are quite typical and hopefully the molars will cut quickly so she will be back to her old self. Rice cakes and bagels are also good for teething just remember to feed her yogurt or get lactobacteria granules (you put it in her food or a drink once daily) to fend off yeast infections (due to excess yeast in breads and sugar in juices, ect). My eldest teethed extremely young (6 teeth by 6 months) but my other two dragged it out . . . Hopefully by giving her the Ibuprofen and teething tabs she will go back to bed or you could give it to her during a night time diaper change and maybe she would stay asleep. Sometimes the tabs are good enough and you won't need the Ibuprofen . . . you never want to give it unnecessarily, of course you know that :)

Good luck . . .let me know if the tabs work.

B.,

When my daughter was teething I gave her children's/infant Mortin and that seemed to take the edge off. (You may already be doing this and the Motrin has worn off by 5:45 am.)
Good thing teething is temporary!

Bless their heart, cutting molars is a tough job for a little one. Our son had blood blisters on all four of his molars at the same time and they all broke and popped through at the same time. That was an adventure. Lots of Topical Orajel, Ibprofen, frozen teething rings, and melba toast is what we found to work. Don't feel bad about giving some Ibprofen before your little goes to sleep. Teething can be painful for them. This is temporary and you will have you sweetie back again soon, sleeping and happy! Blessings, A.

My 15 month old stept thru the night and then her ears were bothering her then her teeth. So i give her teething tablets. When she wakes up and i now its her teeth give her 2-3 and they work great...

Try teething tablets and Baby oragel NIGHTTIME!!! You can use it during the day as well....it will help relax the gums and will give your baby some relief, I also used tylenol with both of these. All safe to use at the same time. The oragel works wonders and will help her sleep more, too. Hope it helps!!

Hey there! I have a 13 mo old that hasn't cut his first molars yet but I can just bet that it is a doozy! My niece is 16 mo and just cut her first molar. Talking to my sister-in-law, she said that for about 2 weeks my niece would wake up in the middle of the night screaming and not wanting to go back down. As well, a lot of her normal routines were thrown off a bit (napping, disposition) during that time. She said that now, however, my little niece loves having that molar in and chomps away at her food on that side! Good luck and hang in there it should just be a temporary thing!

It may be that she needs more food during the day to get her through the night. Their needs are changing so fast right now it's hard to keep up. If you feed her at 5:45 does she go back to sleep? I agree with the other moms about the teething tablets, they work great for teething pains.

Teething is a cause for them to be fussy or irritable, but usually there's another sign if teething is the culprit (low grade temp, sometimes diarreha (sp.) From time to time children will change their routine, get off track for no reason only to return to it in a few days. I will say she is gettig plenty of sleep, 12 hours at night plus 2 naps during the day is a lot. She may just only need 1 nap during the day and that may help her sleep more at night.

I have 5 children who range in age 8 to 3 They all got very fussy and irritable when they got their molars.Some even had los of appetite.One of them also had extreme swelling with hers.You should look in her mouth.I f she is getting her molars the gums will be very red and a litle swollen. It is very painful for them I always use teething tablets and motrin for my children.I hope this advice is useful to you.

Since she's fussy it's probably teething. Molars are very rough cutting. If she'd changed her sleep routine she'd wake up all happy and wanting to play. We've been there. Very annoying.

My son went through the same thing a few weeks ago and it passed after a week. I also had to start feeding him more at night soon before bed with something filling like oatmeal or spaghetti because I think he was waking up from hunger. He's almost twelve months now, and right now sleeping great.

Another thing to consider is what time is your daughter going to sleep? I read in the No Cry Sleep Solution that 7-8 is the best time for most babies, and then they wake up from 6-7, getting about 12 hours sleep. I used to wait until 9 to put my son to bed, but now he goes to bed before 8 most nights.

For short term teething, dose with tylenol and get those teething tablets. Some bad nights I'd do tylenol, teething tablets, and gas drops. There's this stuff called gripe water that my pharmicist recommended for fussy babies, as well.

My son also sleeps with a "lovey" with floppy ears and he chews on the ears when he's teething. See if your daughter gets comfort out of gnawing on something with her molar-area. Maybe you can give her something safe to gnaw on at night.

One last thing... I found that my son has entered the "clingy" stage, he does better with a nightlight, and he's more aware of noises like our pets moving around at night. We have to stick our cats in the garage because they tend to get playful around 5 am. My son also has a noisemaker in his room with various sounds - it's set on rain or something like that. i like white noise when I sleep, too.

Both of my boys responded OK to tylenol and topicals, but during the day, I would let them gnaw on frozen french fries. The cold helps to numb the area and the temporary firmness of the fry would help cut the tooth in. Of course always watch to avoid choking, but the warmth of the mouth and gnawing usually thawed it to mush with no worries. I hope this is of some help. All children are different. I have a few friends who swear by their "teething necklaces". Not sure where to acquire one.

These are difficult ones to come in and it can be a challenge both for baby and parents as well. When mine were going through this, we would keep a wet washcloth in the fridge and they enjoyed sucking on the cool cloth (helped relieve some of the pain). Orajel worked well also. You can also check with your local health food store and see what they may have that is natural to help soothe the gums.

Wishing you luck and sanity.

Hey B.. I'm a 32 yr. old mother of two. An 8yr old boy and an 8mo old girl. I'm also an Army wife. So, my daughter has just cut her two bottom teeth & it's been a battle. She wakes up a little earlier, has very runny diapers and isn't too pleasant. =) But the same happened with my son and thank goodness-it WAS/IS a passing thing. I would change his diaper, grap a pacifier(if you use them) and lay him in bed with me. It didn't start a co-sleeping habit and I could usually get him back to sleep. I did this with my daughter the other day & it worked so.. good luck and take care! *L.

My child was awful when he got his molars but I don't remember him changing his sleep habits that much. Stay consistent and give her motrin regularly.

I think it's funny that all the books seem to imply that once a baby sleeps all night, that will continue. In my experience (I have a 2.5 year old) some toddlers are constantly changing their sleep routines. Just when you think you know their routine, everything changes. We have gone through several periods when my son started getting up around 5 am. The good news is that these, too, shall pass. There may be many reasons your baby is getting up that early. The time change always affects mine...so make sure the room is really dark. Teething is also a possibility, but I always noticed more problems going to bed than waking up early. I think the most likely culprit is that she's getting too much sleep and needs to cut back a little. As kids get older, they need less sleep and usually start by cutting out their morning nap. My son lost his morning nap around 12-15 months. That definitely made him sleep better at night. If your daughter fights her naps at all, or seems to have trouble falling asleep as fast, that may be why. Or, if her afternoon nap is late, she may be going to bed too early. When my son takes a late PM nap, he often won't go to bed until 9pm or so to compensate. Hope this helps!

Teething Tablets at Walmart work great. All natural. Good luck. Hold her,and love her she will groww up tooo fast!!