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Original poster

DD has only ever slept through the night with painkillers

100 replies

Yadhap · 11/11/2020 08:45

Expecting to get flamed by some for this but would really appreciate anyone who could help me make sense of this.

DD is 14 months old. Was a decent sleeper from birth but all went downhill at 3m and she was absolutely dreadful until 12m when she started sleeping bigger chunks each night (maybe only waking once).

We give her calpol/nurofen before bed when we think she’s teething. She has 8 teeth and currently has two molars coming through. They are halfway out but not all the way out despite the fact they first little sharp edge appeared over two months ago. She always seems to be teething - I think hers take a while to move but I’m always hesitant to blame everything on teeth.

In the last couple of months she’s slept through the night a few times but ONLY when she’s had calpol/nurofen before bed. So for example, in the last seven days she’s slept through the night after having calpol before bed but the two nights we didn’t give her anything she took ages to go to sleep and also woke in the night for 1hr and we ended up having to give her calpol to get her back down.

Can anyone help me make sense of this? Surely if she was in that much pain she’d wake again when the calpol wore off? Can teething really cause this? Or is it a complete coincidence?

I feel like I give her too much calpol. I don’t have an issue giving it to her if I know she’s in pain but if I gave it to her every night she’s teething I would have had to give it to her every night for the past two months as that is genuinely how long these molars have been coming through.

OP posts:
Callardandbowser · 11/11/2020 08:49

I know what you mean. My DD really suffered with her teeth coming through and for the first 2 years of her life I started to just think she was a fussy, grumpy character.
Calpol helped.
She didn’t sleep through the night until she was 3 years and two months old but thank god she just suddenly started sleeping 7–7 from then on and my mental health and marriage thank our lucky stars for this.
We didn’t do anything different I think it was just developmental.
It’s a shame because I would have had had more children but that 3 years of sleep deprivation nearly killed me.

Callardandbowser · 11/11/2020 08:50

Calpol is just paracetamol and innocuous as a medicine. Don’t beat yourself up.

Original poster
Yadhap · 17/11/2020 22:25

Asking the question again as she had slept through 8 out of the last 10 nights - the only ones she didn’t sleep through is when we didn’t give calpol.

We thought we would try no calpol before bed tonight and she’s just woken up. This can’t be a coincidence. Why is my baby in pain everyday?

Can anyone help?

OP posts:

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Whitegrenache · 17/11/2020 22:30

I remember my ds going through a long period of only sleeping if is dipped his dummy in calpol - I don't think it was the medicine but rather the sweet taste and association with it being soothing that really made a difference. He is now 11 and manages to sleep fine on his own 😀
I'd try to limit the amount but continue to use it as a soother. Paracetamol is not a nice drug so less taken the better

Tararararara · 17/11/2020 22:34

If you genuinely think she's in pain, you need to see a doctor. Teething I'd unlikely to cause this. There is evidence all painkillers can be psychologically addictive, even to children so best to avoid over use, and certainly not as a sleep aid.

It's probably that the Calpol wears off once she's in a deep sleep so she doesn't wake as much. It's very normal for children to wake regularly (and need support to go back to sleep) even when there is nothing wrong.

Chaotica · 17/11/2020 22:46

DD was like this. My other DC was not. We worried about giving Calpol every night. DD is fine now but she's an incredibly light sleeper (at 14) and always has been. I think it probably was her teeth and she just noticed more than most.

Angelik · 17/11/2020 22:51

this much calpol/nurofen is not normal and definitely not healthy. If your baby is in pain then you need to find out why. Could it be the ritual around giving medicine ie. cuddles, there theres, this will make you feel better? You are in danger of using it as a comforter. You need to find something else.

Original poster
Yadhap · 17/11/2020 22:53

Her teeth have always seemed to bother her and each one takes ages to come through entirely.

I don’t mind her waking at night - she has been a terrible sleeper for most of her life, but she seems to need calpol to either fall asleep or stay asleep and given it doesn’t have sedative properties I can only assume it’s pain related? I don’t think it’s a habit thing and she often protests at having to take it....

OP posts:
BumbleFlump · 17/11/2020 23:03

teething comes and goes so anyone giving their child calpol every night is doing it for other reasons (not suggesting you are every night OP but it does sound like you might be considering it)

parenting is fucking hard, i know. but i honesty don't think all this can be attributed to teething

Original poster
Yadhap · 17/11/2020 23:05

I truly feel like shit for it

OP posts:
CeeceeBloomingdale · 17/11/2020 23:05

Some kids are not in pain, they are just lousy sleepers. My youngest was 7 when she started reliably sleeping through

jessstan1 · 17/11/2020 23:07

I honestly didn't know Calpol had a sedative effect; you live and learn. The only time I ever attempted it to use it with my baby was when it was prescribed and he always brought it up so was pointless.

You don't know your daughter is in pain. She is only fourteen months old so could just wake up and want a cuddle or, better still, to be asleep with mum and dad in their bed.

LabiaMinoraPissusFlapus · 17/11/2020 23:09

Have you tried having her in your bed with you to sleep? Babies and toddlers want to be with their mum at night!

RandomMess · 17/11/2020 23:10

One of my 4 was dreadful with her teeth we knew about each and every one of them!

We used teething powders, teething granules and anbesol (not sure if that is now not recommended). I think that plus pan relief took the edge off the discomfort.

She definitely suffered with and acidic tummy so the powders and granules help with that discomfort and reduced her acid urine.

Original poster
Yadhap · 17/11/2020 23:11

She gets all the comfort she could ask for - she gets unlimited breastfeeds and cuddles no matter when she wakes up. She hates coming into our bed so that’s a non-starter.

If she does wake up - I don’t reach for the syringe first thing, I do everything I can to settle her. The other night I did 3 hours of feeding and cuddling her and she only settled 20mins after calpol which I ended up giving out of sheer desperation as nothing else would work.

OP posts:
Fancycrackers · 17/11/2020 23:12

This much calpol cannot be healthy for your baby. Find another solution and stop the calpol addiction. Don't fall for the "sleeping through" myth. Some babies and young children just don't do this but they will get there eventually.

DimidDavilby · 17/11/2020 23:14

You need to stop love. It's not healthy for her. Calpol usually does have a sedative affect on mine, you can't be coming to rely on it though.

Some babies just don't sleep through the night. It's shit I know but it's not forever.

ISBN111 · 17/11/2020 23:15

Have you tried any of the teething powders that are available?

BikeRunSki · 17/11/2020 23:16

OP, Don’t best yourself up. My DD was a terrible until she was about 3.5. She got her first tooth quite young - 6 months ish, and she grizzled about every mm of every tooth. You know how everything seems worse at night? I think teething is the same. We got through a lot of Calpol, and then we didn’t need it once her teeth were all through.

I once took a 9 year old on Cub camp (I’m a leader) who couldn’t the sleep without Calpol. When his parents returned the medical form I questioned why he needed Calpol at bedtime, in case there were any conditions I wasn’t aware of. No conditions, just part of the routine his mum said. Confused.

UniversalHadIt · 17/11/2020 23:17

DS has constant bacterial tonsillitis for 18 months and took max doses of calpol and ibuprofen every day for week long spells, probably once a month because he would spike fevers of 41 with it.

Used to worry me horribly. Doctor said there was nothing else we could do though.

I would recommend speaking to your GP, for either guidance or reassurance.

Yubaba · 17/11/2020 23:17

You really should speak to your GP. Paracetamol is shouldn’t be used long term without medical advice. Long term use in children can lead to liver and kidney issues and has also been linked to asthma.
It’s not an innocuous drug at all, it even say on the leaflet not to give for longer than 3 days without speaking to your dr.

JaJaDingDong · 17/11/2020 23:19

Calpol is just paracetamol and innocuous as a medicine. Don’t beat yourself up

No medicines are innocuous. That's a stupid and dangerous statement.

Too much paracetamol can damage the liver. Stick to the daily maximum dose as given on the bottle, but I would gradually reduce it if you can - so 4ml instead of 5ml for example.

travailtotravel · 17/11/2020 23:20

Can you try a fake Calpol like placebo? Eg go through all the motions but its water or coloured or whatever?

FrankiesKnuckle · 17/11/2020 23:21

Paracetamol does not have a sedative effect.

Being pain and discomfort free will surely aid better sleep.

You are not doing anything wrong.

JaJaDingDong · 17/11/2020 23:21

And calpol is liquid paracetamol. It doesn't contain a sedative.