Tylenol every night?

DS's night sleep is getting worse and worse, and I want to rule out teething as a cause of it. Is it ok to give Tylenol every night?

 

If it is teething, then you could tylenol. I found that tylenol didn't work as good as Motrin or Orajel for teething though.

 

I used Motrin for teething, seemed to work better. I did use it everynight when they were showing signs of teething...like fussy, restless, etc.

 

The fact that their sleeping becomes worse and worse, doesn't necessarily mean they're teething, so you could be giving them Tylenol for no reason, which I guess if you do it every night would be no good. I am definitely pro-meds and have no problem using them, and also sometimes when I am not really sure, however night after night is not a solution in my opinion.

Could they be overtired? Do they nap well? May their bedtime be too late? Could the fact that their sleeping is getting worse and worse due to other reasons?

I personally think teething is way too often used as an excuse for everything and very often sleep. I am NOT saying they can't be uncomfortable on certain nights / periods due to teething but not for long periods in a row and certainly not only at night (and certainly not for months or for the fact that kids still don't sleep through the night at 12 or 18 months - I've heard that one too -).

I usually use Hyland's Teething Tablets first if I "suspect" a teething issue. They work OK, and I try to rule out other issues (early bed time for a few nights in a row usually works wonders too ).

JMHO.

 

I agree with sofiesmom - I'm pro meds too - but I would make sure that's the issue. Usually discomfort from initial teething doesn't last that long. I mean they will be a little fussy and usually in the most pain right before they break through. Maybe try the tablets to see if this may "calm" them - there are no "drugs" in these and then when they are really in pain do the tylenol / motrin thing. Good Luck!!

 

QUOTE
Could they be overtired? Do they nap well? May their bedtime be too late? Could the fact that their sleeping is getting worse and worse due to other reasons?


It's only DS who's having a hard time, and he's the one gnawing frantically on everything that comes his way. The nurse who comes for EI also thinks he's teething big time right now.

I don't think he's overtired. We put him to bed (or try to!) at 7, and he sleeps until about 6:30 am. (A bedtime earlier than that is impossible, because we already start the bedtime routine pretty much as soon as DH gets home from work, and it takes 2 people.) There are a couple night feedings (though they've been getting more frequent lately). He naps 3-4x/day, always within 1.5-2 hrs of waking up, always in the crib (not in the stroller or car seat). Naps are usually 45 min, though sometimes as long as 2 hrs.

He's just been getting harder and harder to put down at night, takes a lot longer to settle down, wakes up more frequently. His cries don't sounds like ordinary protest cries (which I hear PLENTY of some days at naptime!), but more urgent, like something's really wrong. That's why I want to try Tylenol or Motrin or something. If it doesn't help at all, then I'll know it's not teething, and can try to figure out what is going on.

Btw, this behavior is a change. For a while, he was doing great at night - getting the first feeding later and later, or only taking one feeding, and sometimes STTN.

 

Have you tried Hylands Teething tablets? I am not pro-med, but not anti-med either. I just try other alternatives before giving meds to my kids. These seem to work well for my girls... It also isnt good to give the same med everynite. The body will build up resistance to it and it will be ineffective.

 

Since he seems to be having other signs of teething, I would try Motrin & see if it helps. You should be able to tell the 1st night if it makes him feel any better. Both my kids weren't very obvious when teething, and waking up in the night was one of the 1st signs. I think there is a limit on how many days to give Tylenol/Motrin, etc, so I would call your dr to find out & get the right dose.

The teething tablets worked pretty good for us, too. My ds would gag really bad if I gave him Orajel, so that wasn't an option for him. The other thing I did when they were teething really bad was give them something to chew on that would be safe if they wake up in the midddle of the night.

 

It's not a great idea to give it literally every night (it's hard on their little livers) -- but you could certainly give it at night for a few nights in a row and see if it helps. We definitely go through phases where we are giving them Tylenol a couple of times a day for a few days.

We use Tylenol and Motrin interchangeably during the day, but we do tend to use Motrin at night. I've never noticed that it works better, but we don't worry as much about giving them too much (since Tylenol is more toxic if accidentally overdosed than Motrin is).