Talk to me about teething!

[PebbleTTC]

Baby is 6 months old and so cranky, waking up crying during the night staying awake crying, dummy isn't settling him back to sleep.

Could this be teething? His cheeks are pink and warm but not constantly all day just on and off.

I have tried putting my finger in his mouth but can't feel anything but don't know what they feel like before they come up

[PebbleTTC]

Also don't know if this is related but when I breastfeed him he pushes himself off breast and flings his head back and cries

[BotBotticelli]

Yes sounds like teething to me. Have you tried a dose of calpol (or better still baby nurofen)?

Try it and if your baby settles and seems much happier within 10-15 mins then it probably was teeth.

My LO has just cut his first 2 teeth (he is almost 6mo) and last week in the couple of days just before they appeared he wouldn't settle for his naps without a shot of calpol and would wake up screaming in the night and need it once as well.

In my experience you can't see anything on their gums until the tooth starts to break through. By which point the worst of the pain is over. So it's guess work. But with my older son (3yo) there was always a couple of days just before each tooth appeared where his daytime sleep went to shit and he needed the drugs!

[PebbleTTC]

Thanks BotBotticelli. Yes calpol or nurofen does make him better but I was afraid that was just the taste that settled / distracted him. I hope it is teething and not another sleep regression!

How long can you give pain relief for? Is it ok to do it a few days in a row?

[BotBotticelli]

Yes deffo OK to give calpol or nurofen for a few days in a row. As long as you follow the dosing guidelines on the bottle.

Think of it like this: if your baby had a bad virus or cold you might give calpol a couple of times a day for 2-3 days. It's no different to that.

And I don't think that the sweet taste of calpol would settle a baby: if it cheers her up then she is probably in pain.

If you're worried about over using pain killers then maybe try to limit it to a couple of times every 24h when you really need jt: in our house that's usually at 4am (!) and when my LO is screaming his head off and refusing to nap.

Like I said, we normally have 2-3 days like this then the symptoms go off again. This happens a couple of times then the tooth appears.

That's just my experience.