Teething and Breastfeeding

[pudding25]

I hopw someone can give me some advice. DD is 12 and half wks old and we think she may be teething (dr also suggested this).
She has been sucking on her hand for a while now but started sucking harder. She also seems to be dribbling. Over the past few days, she has been unsettled and the past couple of evenings, crying uncontrollably until I have her some calpol.
She has also been feeding for a few mins then coming off and screaming. It is all very upsetting. I hate seeing her like this.

Do you think it is teething? Is she going to be like this from now on until she gets her teeth? I think I will have a breakdown...

Do you think the way she is feeding is to do with her teething?

Any advice welcome please as I am distraught.

DD went through a few days where it became painful to feed - as you describe, she'd feed briefly and then pull off screaming . I think it was just with her two top front incisors, but I guess it varies with different children.

If its any consolation, it didn't last long at all between the feeding/pain and the teeth appearing - and as soon as they appeared things got back to normal. I carried her a lot in a sling so she got lots of cuddles which helped keep her generally calm. Our Dr told us not to be afraid to use Calpol if it helps - teething hurts.

We also had the problem that she would only take a nap if she could feed to sleep - and suddenly feeding was painful, poor soul. She'd get sooo tired A couple of times I did have to wrestle her back onto my breast and hold her until she decided milk was worth the pain (< 1 minute, but still ) just so she'd get some sleep.

Have a big glass of wine and get a hug. You can get through this. It will pass.

That sounds just like DS when he's teething (his first one came through at 4 months)- it upset me a bit that he'd take a bottle of expressed BM but not BF - he'd come off screaming. I put on bonjela a little bit before a feed, it really helps him get through the pain to feed - otherwise he bites hard (like he did 5 mins ago!). I'd recommend Ibuprofen rather than Calpol as it helps with that kind of pain better- I've only just realised this, as we got some advice from a pharmacist. It takes a little while to work but then it works like a dream. Nurofen is from 3 months so it sounds like you're just in time! Early teeth is mostly annoying but it does mean that my DS is quite a good eater (we're doing BLW, he's 7 months old now).

Oh, i don't know if she is teething after all. Today, she fed fine at each feed. She is still unsettled though and would not have any naps at all until I took her for a walk at 4pm. We have just started taking her out of her basket and putting her in the cot for day naps which probably doesnt help but she was playing up before. Maybe it is just a crazy developmental phase and not teething.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring in the crazy world of my child!