Does Teething Affect my Baby’s Sleep?
Have you ever heard the story of Catherine O’Leary’s Cow?
Back in 1871, the Chicago Tribune reported that the cause of the great Chicago Fire was a cow, Catherine O’Leary’s cow to be precise, kicking over a lantern in the barn while it was being milked.
Unfortunately, the Tribune admitted later on that it had completely fabricated the story, but that didn’t stop people from blaming Catherine and her cow for one of the greatest disasters in US history.
What does this have to do with teething?
Nothing really, except that they are both victims of some unnecessary scapegoating.
Teething gets blamed for just about every ailment imaginable when it comes to babies. Baby has a fever? Probably because she is teething. Baby’s crying more than normal? I bet it is sore gums from those teeth coming in. Baby has runny poop for a couple of days? I have heard that diarrhea can be caused by teething.
Now, all of those things are potentially the result of a tooth coming in, that’s true. But most parents are too quick to blame teething for any and all issues as soon as they notice that first tooth appearing below the gumline.
And this is especially true when it comes to sleep.
As parents, we inherently want to prevent discomfort in our babies, and that’s a good thing. So the natural reaction when baby starts crying in the night is to go in and do whatever we can to soothe them, which can actually lead to baby being unable to get to sleep on his/her own without that comfort.
So let’s say you have been sleep training for a couple of weeks, everything is going well, and then suddenly, you start to see a regression. Baby is waking up crying two or three times a night. You are going to look for a reason why they are slipping back into old habits. And if there is a tooth coming in, that provides a quick and easy answer.
And, of course, it is not fair to leave a baby to cry if they are actually in pain and not just looking for Mommy to come nurse them back to sleep, so you give in and decide you will get back to sleep training once this whole teething thing is over with.
Cut to a year later, and baby is still getting rocked or soothed to sleep every time they wake up, because hey! I think there is a tooth coming in!
So… just a couple of things to bear in mind before you give up on your sleep training routine due to incoming chompers.
First, teething symptoms last for around eight days, so if you are looking at two weeks of baby crying through the night, it’s either due to some other ailment, or baby has once again learned that crying when he wakes up will bring his favorite person into the room, and she will help him get back to sleep.
Second, teething symptoms are not nearly as uncomfortable as parents typically imagine they are. We hear about teeth “breaking” or “erupting” through the gums, which conjures up some cringe-worthy images, but it is not actually quite like that. A baby’s gums move out of the way to allow for incoming teeth.
Long story short, according to many experts, teething does not cause a significant amount of pain. I am not suggesting that you ignore teething altogether. Just bear in mind that new teeth are not the villain they are often made out to be. And remember, baby is going to be a lot happier while going through the process if he is getting full nights of uninterrupted sleep. So do not give up on sleep training or put off sleep training just because of teething and please please PLEASE do not go back to your sleep props and being controlled every night by your baby.
Sleep Well!
