How to Help a Teething Baby Sleep
Helping a teething baby sleep can be challenging, as teething can cause discomfort and irritability. We’ve all been there and hate seeing our little ones uncomfortable, especially around sleep time.
If you’ve sleep trained your child, you may feel like you don’t know how to support them when they go through phases of disruption; on one hand, you’re scared to undo the changes you’ve made to your child’s sleep because you don’t want to go back to that sleep-deprived place again and on the other hand, you want to be able to do SOMETHING.
There’s a middle ground, for sure.
Here are some things you can try and tips to help a teething baby sleep:
Gentle Gum Massage: With clean hands, gently rub or massage the gums for a few minutes. The pressure can help alleviate the pain.
Cold Teething Toys: Chill a teething ring or a damp washcloth in the refrigerator (not the freezer, as it can become too hard on the baby's gums) and let your baby chew on it. during bedtime routine
Pain Relief: Consult your pediatrician about over-the-counter pain relief medications, like infant acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
Comfort: Hold or cuddle your baby. Sometimes just the act of being close and offering comfort can help them relax. Babywearing can help your naps!
White Noise: Use a white noise machine to provide a consistent background noise which can help mask other disturbances and help your baby to sleep.
Consistent Bedtime Routine: Keep a routine so the baby knows it’s time to sleep.
Check for Other Discomforts: Sometimes, the baby might be having other issues like a wet diaper, hunger, or an upset tummy.
Consultation: If you're unsure about what's best for your baby or if your baby seems to be in excessive pain, always consult with your pediatrician. Remember, each baby is unique, and what works for one might not work for another. It may take some trial and error to find out what soothes your baby the best!
Teething will continue off and on for the next couple of years! The only true sign of teething is swollen/red gums with little white nub under the surface. Offer comfort when needed but stay consistent with the schedule, routines and sleep! Once your baby is feeling better, you’ll want to immediately get back to your normal routines.
It may take a day or 2, but stay consistent! If your child has developed a sleep association while teething (rocking or nursing to sleep) use your sleep training method to re-sleep train them once he or she is better. Responsive sleep training methods help a lot whenever you're working through something like a regression, teething or just getting over a sickness.
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