how bad can teething get?

So my boys have always been great sleepers 12 hours straight. The last few nights, one DS is waking up screaming. First it will start where he screams for 5 seconds, then lays back down, goes to sleep and wakes back up in about an hour and does it again. Then around 3am it becomes more frequent and does it every 5 minutes. We let it go for about 45 minutes or so and then go in. Have given tylenol, teething powder, rocked him etc. But as soon as we lay him down, screaming again. (highly unusualy for him) I have never even had to do CIO w/ them. But after another 30 minutes or so, when he still hasn't stopped, we put him in our bed (and our bosy have never slept in our bed---i really have tried to avoid that) and then he falls asleep--for the last couple of hours!! no waking or anything, so obviously comfortable.

My question--does screaming get that bad w/ teething? His upper gums are really red and bumpy so sure a few are going to come out soon. But then why does he sleep so soundly in our bed--just b/c he is comforted? I just want to avoid a major bad habit of that, but not sure if i can aovid it, if he does this for a few days. My DH thinks he is just waking up b/c he wants to be in the bed, but I think it is b/c something is bothering him, i.e. his teeth.

Any suggestions? thoughts?

 

First off I'm sorry you're having to go through this! :grouphug:

If this is somewhat new then I would take him to the ped to see if maybe he has an ear infection. It causes a ton of pain when laying down and sometimes it will only show with a slight fever.
If you're sure that he's healthy and it's just teething then I would try Motrin. Tylenol does nothing for my kids and have heard that motrin is better because it also relieves the swelling.
My only other thought is gas... Maybe try some gas drops before bed.
GL! I hope something works quick so you guys can all get some sleep.

 

Teething can cause night waking. I initially thought before I got to the end of your post that he might have an ear infection because sometimes laying down will really bother the ears when there is an infection...but you said that he does fine in your bed. It could be that the teeth are waking him and he feels comforted in your bed. Have you tried to sit in the room with him until he falls asleep?

Teething is rough :hug:

 

thanks!! I really don't think he is sick or ear infection----100% normal during the day, no whining, nothing at all!! guess won't hurt to check it out, but definitely no fever, eating normal, etc.

 

My son is a completely different person when he is teething...his sleep is definitely disrupted. And I agree that Tylenol doesn't really cut it around here...I would try Motrin if things aren't improving!

Good luck!!

(DS had a really, really, really, really hard time cutting his first molars. He had "eruption cysts" and the teeth took FOREVER to break through. I am so not looking forward to second molars!!!!!)

 

:hug: teething blows the big one! especially when it interrupts sleep. we just when through 4 months of sleeping crap - mostly due to teething although there were a few other causes as well. not counting this last week, the girls STTN maybe 6 times in the previous 4 months. at the worst of it, when they both were cutting about 4 teeth each, including molars, i was usually up & down with one or the other for hours on end. it was almost worse than when they were newborns.

all that being said, i think PPs have given some good suggestions (motrin also works better in our house too). the other thing i found is that there was a fine line between doing whatever was necessary to help us all sleep & maintaining good sleep habits. there were nights i would do anything to get them to sleep - walking, bouncing, rocking, sleeping on their bedroom floor with them, bringing them into our bed with us, etc but what i did always try to maintain was that the lights stayed off/dim, i didn't play with them, i tried to avoid talking (other than shhhh-ing) & even eye contact so that even though things weren't completely according to the regular routine it was still clear that night time was sleep time & not play time. that seems to have payed off this week in that now that they FINALLY have no new teeth coming in & are healthy, they've gone back to STTN with very little intervention from me or DH.

sending many sleep vibes your way! :lazy:

 

I am right there with you! :hug: For the last few weeks my ds has been waking often, one night he wouldn't go to sleep until 4am and I'm pretty sure he just exhausted himself then! Motrin works much better for teething here too!

Well today I checked, and ds has one molar coming through, and dd has THREE molars coming through at once! They've both had slight fevers (around 99-100), runny nose and ds has had a congested cough....all typical teething signs that my kids get!