How To Help A Teething Baby Sleep

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Teething is a natural part of a baby's development, but it can be difficult for parents to know how to help their little one get through the discomfort and still get enough sleep. Many parents have misconceptions about teething and how to help their baby rest, such as believing that teething causes fever or that giving a baby something cold will soothe them. In reality, there are more effective ways to help your baby sleep while they are teething. For example, providing gentle massage and even distraction techniques can be much more beneficial than relying on cold items. Understanding the facts about teething and how to best help your baby sleep is essential for any parent - read on to learn more!

TL;DR

Teething can be a difficult time for babies and their parents, but there are ways to help your baby sleep through the discomfort.

  • Provide teething toys that are safe for your baby to chew on.
  • Give your baby a gentle massage with a warm cloth.
  • Offer a cold drink or food to soothe the gums.

By following these tips, you can help your teething baby get the rest they need while also providing comfort and relief from the pain.

How uncomfortable is teething for babies?

Does teething affect a baby’s daytime and nighttime routines?

How does teething interrupt a baby’s sleep schedule?

What helps a teething baby sleep?

Teething is very uncomfortable for babies, and it causes a lot of pain due to the inflammation in the gums while teeth are emerging. Teething affects the daytime routines of babies a little bit, but it has a much greater impact on the nighttime routines since the pain and inflammation increase while baby is asleep.

In this article, we’ll discuss how to help teething baby sleep better. You’ll find some tips and tricks from experts as well as from parents just like you who have spent time looking for solutions for their teething babies’ pain.

If you’ve been wondering how to help a teething baby sleep, we’ve got you covered in the list below. Take your time checking out the information we’ve put together so you can get a better idea of how to approach the teething experience with your child.

Keep in mind, of course, that every baby is different, and your child’s teething may not be exactly the same as your friend’s child’s. This is why it’s also important to work closely with a trusted pediatrician to ensure you are managing teething the best way possible.

Read through this information the next time you find yourself searching “how to help my teething baby sleep.”

How to help a Teething Baby Sleep Through the Night

What can you do to help a teething baby sleep?

1. Don’t change sleep habits while your baby is teething. Keep things as normal as possible and try not to significantly alter the time your baby goes to sleep or the number of feedings you provide during the night. The more the routine stays the same, the better your child will be at adjusting to the teething process.

2. Consider giving your baby an extra nap during the day if they are not sleeping at night. Make sure to do this early enough in the day that your child will be able to go to sleep when bedtime comes, however. Try to keep this additional nap at about one hour to 90 minutes in length, as a longer nap might interfere with nighttime sleep too much.

What are some expert pieces of advice to help teething baby sleep?

1. Don’t worry if your baby’s temperature is a little elevated while teething. This is completely normal. As long as your baby’s temperature does not go above 101, there is no cause for concern, and it shouldn’t even be considered a true fever if it is caused by teething.

2. Stick to a sleep schedule. Once again, focusing on your regular sleeping routine is one of the best ways to ensure your child does as well as possible during teething.

3. Use the same sleep props as you always do. If your child always gets a snuggle, a bedtime story, and a lovey to hold until they fall asleep, then don’t change any of this while teething. And if your child needs to be rocked back to sleep when they wake up in the night, don’t change this either.

What are some ways to help teething baby sleep that come from parents?

1. Help teething baby sleep through night by giving your child ibuprofen. Some parents prefer to stay away from medication for babies at all, and if this is true of you, then that’s okay. However, if you do choose to give ibuprofen, talk to your child’s pediatrician to find out the safest dose for your little one.

2. Chill a wet washcloth and give it your baby to chew on. This can help relieve the pain and pressure associated with the teething process, and it can take down some of the inflammation in your baby’s gums at the same time. Just be sure to supervise while your child is chewing on the washcloth.

3. Freeze baby food. This will give your baby the same kinds of benefits as a chilled wet washcloth, but it will also provide your child with a soothing snack to enjoy. If your baby is having trouble eating normally due to the pain of teething, then frozen baby food may be just the thing to help.

4. Use gel teether toys. Of course, there are plenty of commercially made gel teether toys for babies who are teething. These toys are filled with baby-safe gel material and can be put in the refrigerator or freezer to chill. Then they are given to the baby just like the chilled washcloth to help relieve pain and pressure.

What are some things you should never do to help baby sleep while teething?

1. Do not use numbing gels. These gels are intended for adult use only and are not safe for use on babies. They contain a lot of ingredients that can be very harmful to a child’s body and can cause a severe reaction. Additionally, they do not last very long.

2. Don’t use amber teething necklaces. These can pose a choking hazard and do not provide enough benefits to outweigh this risk.

3. Do not use whiskey on a baby’s gums. This is a very old-fashioned method of controlling teething pain, but it is unsafe and should not be used—even if an older member of your family tells you to do it.

Conclusion

Did you learn everything you wanted to know about how to help a teething baby sleep at night? The information in this article really only scratches the surface, but it can give you a good framework to help you get started learning more. You may want to use this information to dig deeper into certain topics, or you might have found the answers you were looking for right here. Either way, it’s important that you are taking the time to learn!

Now that you know how to help teething baby sleep through the night, you should understand just why this is so important. Here are some teething baby sleep problems to think about:

  • Bad for baby’s health: The longer your baby goes without sleeping well at night, the more likely they will be to become physically ill or catch colds and other ailments that might be going around.
  • Bad for the whole household: Of course, the whole household may be losing sleep, and this is bad for everyone involved.
  • Bad for baby’s behavior: A baby will quickly become fussy and more irritable than before when they are not getting enough sleep at night. Bad sleep habits may also begin to form.

With the help of this information, you can better understand why it’s necessary for your child to get a good night’s sleep—although you probably already recognize that based on your own lack of sleep! Once you fully understand the sleep problems to consider, you can recognize when it’s time to employ some new teething tactics or when you might need to bring up the issue with your child’s pediatrician.

By learning as much as you can about how to help baby sleep while teething, you can be prepared for whatever might come your way!


5 Tips to Help a Teething Baby Sleep

  1. Teething can cause discomfort and pain for babies, which can make it difficult for them to sleep.
  2. To help soothe your baby's teething pain, try giving them a cold teether or a cold washcloth to chew on.
  3. If your baby is having trouble sleeping due to teething, try giving them a warm bath before bedtime.
  4. You can also give your baby an over-the-counter medication such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen to help reduce their discomfort.
  5. Make sure that the room is dark and quiet when you put your baby down for bed. This will help them relax and fall asleep more easily.

ALSO: Consider using natural remedies such as chamomile tea or lavender oil to help soothe your baby's teething pain.


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About The Author

Laticia J. Ferraro works at BabyNeedsRest as Editor-In-Chief, specializing in content related to infant care, parenting and baby sleep research. She has been fascinated with baby sleeping research for as long as she can remember and has a great deal of enthusiasm and passion for the topic. Laticia has previously worked as a research assistant, an editing assistant, and a ghost writer for various other publications online. She is presently working on BabyNeedsRest on a regular basis, as well as on her own parenting article content across the web.

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