10.5 waking up in night(teething) don't know how to comfort her without breast

[Lovejoy]

i bf my daughter wake up and bedtime feed.  she normally sleeps through but she had a cold a coupld weeks back and then her teeth seem to all be coming through,  hubby tries to comfort her to no avail - we offer water, teething gels/medised/teething rings (she won't take dummies - never has)  and so i end up offering the boob - but i don't want her to be "rewarded" for waking up - and when i give up nursing her i won't/don't want to offer the breast - so what can we do???

thanks

[mom-2-3]

Hi,

If she wakes up and cries at night, I would go to her, but not feed her.  With my ds, if he is crying hard, I will pick him up, and lay him down once he has calmed.  If I need to I will rub his back or his head to help relax him once he is in the crib.  Does your dd have a comfort item?  This is a good way to offer security without having to stay with them.  My dd and ds both have a small dog/cat and a taggie blanket.  My ds with snuggle his dog and suck on his legs or ears for comfort, or on the silky tags on his blanket.

Good luck, Heidi

[Glynis]

I'm going thru this w/ Samuel right now.  His first teething w/out nursing.  I rub his chest or pick him up & rock him until he settles. Not a habit I want to get into, but I know he's not himself & hurting.  I try giving him a teether, too & he throws it aside.  Be strong though & don't bf her or she will get used to that.  Good luck.

[CLJK]

MOTRIN!!!!!  It lasts 6 hours and I usally give it at the beginning of the night to make him feel comfortable and don't have to give it to him again.

Have you tried raising one side of the crib matress?  Sometimes the pressure on their gums from the protruding tooth will be the source of the pain.  When they lie flat on their backs it makes it can make it worse.  I know it's hard when they sleep all over the crib, but try a riser or a rolled up towel under the mattress (as if you are trying to help them with a stuffy nose).  If LO falls asleep on the other end of the crib, try moving them after they are really zonked so their heads are at the elevated end.  They may not stay there, but it is worth a try.  This helped my LO when he cut teeth #1-4, but he was only 4 months at the time, so didn't move around much.  Teeth 5&6 didn't seem to bother him as much as he never woke up with them.

[Peek-a-boo]

Oh . . I'm having this problem with an 8.5 month old right now.  Once giving him a bottle of cold water helped . . . the second time I tried it--didn't work.  I feel your pain!

Bethany