What does everyone do while teething?

[lilflav]

Hello, our problems have started up again    I have been attributing them to teething, one came through about 2 weeks ago & it seems there have been another 2 waiting to come out since then, I can see them.  Her sleep has been very up & down since then.  Several nights she has fought going down to bed & she has had some lengthy nws.  I start to feel bad letting her cry, so I started taking her out & nursing her.  Now she will just lay there in bed with her eyes wide open until I finally rock her.  The longest she has layed there was 1.5 hrs.  She is becoming ot which I am sure is making the situation worse.  She is starting to wake more & more in the night again, and I am not sure if she is in pain or if she is taking advantage of the situation.  I know when these teeth come through I will have a few nights filled with crying.  I am not sure how to handle the situation, it's been going on for a while now, and these aren't even her canines or molars yet!!  I am giving her Motrin, oragel, & teething tablets before bed & at wakings (if time appropriate).


Here is her schedule:

Wake-7:30-8:00  (after having about 10/10.5 hrs night sleep)
Nap- 12:30/1:00-2+ hrs -we usualy have about 5-5.5 hrs on either side of the nap
bed-7:30-8 (a few 8:30's since fighting going to sleep)

She is 16.5 months old, thanks all.

[becky1969]

When my son was teething I always had to put him down for naps/bedtime 30 minutes early because he would get OT more easily.  And this appears to be true for lots of babies and toddlers.  The fact that she's fighting bedtime suggests to me that it would help in her case too! So I'd try a bedtime of 7 pm and see how that works for her.  You may be REALLY surprised.  The problem with toddlers is they don't look/act sleepy until they are out of the sleep window, so we often think there's no way they'll go to bed earlier and then they surprise us!

As for the NWs, comfort is the key when pain is an issue.  If teeth are coming in, then I would absolutely cuddle her and give her some extra attention for now.  Don't worry about it becoming a habit -- what you're doing now isn't helping int he moment, so better to help her sleep NOW and then worry LATER about breaking any habits that form.  And this extra cuddling won't nec. bite you in the butt! Without teeth to bother her she's less likely to wake in the night and so therefore won't need/ask for cuddling.

That's my 2 cents!