Reply To: New Frequent Wakings

[Emma H]

Hi Maddie,

I’m so sorry to hear that teething has been so rough.

Teething can definitely disrupt sleep, and it’s understandable that you’re doing everything you can to comfort your little one.

I wouldn’t be too concerned about creating a new sleep association at this point. Since she is going down for naps and bedtime as usual, it shows she knows how to fall asleep on her own, which is fantastic.

I would expect that once the teeth pop through and the teething pain resolves, the time between night wakings will lengthen again.

To help her through this stage there are a few things you can try:

1. Pain Management: It’s great that you’re using painkillers. If you feel that the pain relief is wearing off before the recommended time, you can consider alternating between ibuprofen (Nurofen) and paracetamol to ensure your little one has continuous pain relief throughout the night. If you’re interested in this approach, please talk to your little one’s doctor about how to do this safely. Additionally, you might try cold teething rings or gently rubbing your baby’s gums before bedtime to help ease the discomfort.

2. Try Comforting Without Feeding: When she initially wakes up at night, see if you can comfort her and get her back to sleep by rocking her in your arms instead of feeding her. This will help reduce the number of night feeds and lower the chances that she will continue to wake up at these times due to hunger once the teething pain has resolved. However, if you can’t get her to fall asleep this way, then go ahead and feed her.

3. Gradual Withdrawal: If she doesn’t naturally start to extend the time between overnight feeds once her teeth pop through, you can help her do this by slowly reducing the amount of time you hold or feed her over several nights until she can settle more on her own.

4. Remember, teething is temporary. Once the pain subsides, you can gently work on re-establishing any routines that might have been disrupted. Babies are resilient and can adapt, so don’t worry too much about bad habits at this stage.

I hope this helps!

Emma