Night sleep when teething

[LizzyG]

I guess I'm just looking for some support more than anything. My daughter has been putting herself to sleep ever since she was 6 months old. Now she's just turned 13 months and getting a molar and up for 2-3 hours a night. I tried co-sleeping but she just lied next to me and poked my face. Last night I tried CIO and she screamed for over an hour before she finally fell asleep. I never want to do that again. She will be my only baby and I want her to know that I love her like crazy and will always be there for her. The only reason I tried it last night was because the night before it took her forever to fall back to sleep with my presence, I thought I was disturbing her.  So no more crying but I have a feeling these molars are going to be awful.

[jessmum46]

Hi LizzyG, (((hugs))) I know how frustrating it is when LOs just won't settle.  I'm glad you've decided not to let her CIO again - you probably know that we don't support that here, though we all understand how hard and exhausting it is when things go off track.  Molars are pretty horrible and it's worth keeping in mind that when a good sleeper goes bad, there is usually a genuine reason, and once that is resolved they tend to go back to being good sleepers.  Have you tried medicating for the teeth?  I found that pretty essential, especially for those big ones.  The other thing to consider besides teething is what her routine is like, does she need an adjustment?  Long night wakings can also be related to having too much daytime sleep so if you wanted to post your routine here, I'd be happy to take a look

What's your plan for if she wakes tonight? 

[LizzyG]

I should have went in instead of let her crying continue. I feel awful about it today. My dh wanted to go in and I told him no, it was just terrible. Tonight I plan on going in, resettling her and sitting in the chair in her room if necessary. Her routine is pretty good, she's definitely not getting too much sleep. She wakes up at 7, naps from 12:30 until 2/2:30 and is asleep at night about 7:30. I gave her Tylenol before bed last night and she woke 5.5 hours later, so right when it wore off. I gave her more straight away but then got it in my head to just leave her alone. She doesn't seem upset about it today but I feel so badly!

[LizzyG]

She woke up at 3:30 this morning and never went back to sleep. At first she looked like she was going to but after about an hour she started rolling around more and talking to herself. I was sitting on the chair and if I tried to leave she would start crying. After another hour I just got her up. She was asleep last night at 7:30, so she only slept 8 hours last night!

[jessmum46]

Oh nightmare!  Poor you, you must both be shattered.  I'm not sure if you've tried but I always found ibuprofen far more effective than paracetamol so may be worth considering (obviously follow manufacturers dosing instructions).  Hope you both get a catch up sleep today.

Just out of interest how long has she been on one nap?  My LO would have been totally OT on that routine at 13 months although she was also on one nap.  Wondering if that could have any impact?  I think we had a 6/6.30pm BT most days with a similar WU time....

[LizzyG]

I've found the ibuprofen to wire her which is why I've been giving her the Tylenol. I'm not sure if the molar was bothering her last night though since she only cried if I tried to leave, that's how she's been before nap and bed as well lately. She was perfectly content to lay down as long as I sat by her and she was in a decent mood all morning. She only napped 1.5 hours though and I'm not sure if she'll take another. My experience with early bedtime with her is she'll only sleep 11.5 hours max. So if I put her down at 6 the latest she'll go is 5:30. She started refusing a second nap most days when she was 10 months old. At 11 months she was transitioned over but never got past the 1.5 hour nap, a lot of days it was just 1.25 hours and an 11.5 hour night She would take a 2 hour nap maybe 2-3 times per month. She's been getting by great on that for 2 months but now this happened.

[jessmum46]

I found that teething discomfort did seem to manifest in separation anxiety type behaviour, so to me that all fits.  I would just do what you can to reassure her though this period, make sure she is as comfortable as she can be with whatever pain meds you choose to use, and then once the worst bit of teething is past she will hopefully go back to sleeping as normal.  If not, you can always use something like WIWO to get back on track