Teething and Baby Sleep

Does Teething Affect Baby Sleep?

The honest answer is: it depends. Teething doesn’t always hurt. Babies can struggle while cutting some teeth and not really be bothered by others. But here are some basic guidelines:

How Long Teething Pain Lasts

When it does hurt, teething pain only lasts 2 or 3 days before the tooth cuts through the gums. It might hurt the day or two after, but it’s usually much less painful once the tooth is out.

A lot of parents blame poor sleep on cutting teeth, but if you haven’t slept in weeks or months, it’s not because of teething. Longterm sleep issues are more likely to be caused by sleep associations. Check out my article How To Sleep Train Without Crying it Out for more information on that.

Teething Symptoms

Teething pain isn’t fun, but there’s a difference between the discomfort of cutting teeth and signs of something more serious.

It can be normal for a baby that’s teething to be more irritable and fussy, less interested in eating solids, and to need more support for sleep (more on that later).

Inconsolable crying, refusing the breast or bottle, or being unable to sleep even with help are not teething symptoms. Neither is coughing, congestion, vomiting, diahrrea, or fevers above 100.4°F, 38°C. You should check with your pediatrician if your baby is showing any of these symptoms.

What to Do If Your Teething Baby Can’t Sleep

If your baby is in pain for any reason, it is always ok to comfort them and support them with sleep. Don’t leave your baby alone in pain. Here are some steps you can take to help your baby sleep while teething:

1. Manage Teething Symptoms

Talk with your pediatrician about what they recommend for managing pain. They may recommend infant tylenol, or infant motrin after 6 months old. (Check with your baby’s healthcare provider before administering medications.) You can also try teething toys, massaging their gums, and cold, wet rags for them to chew.

2. Offer Comfort to Soothe Teething Pain

Comforting touch, holding, rocking, baby-wearing, and extra nursing/bottle feeds can help soothe a teething baby. If they need help falling asleep or need you more at night than usual, remember it’s temporary. As long as your baby is in pain, you can help them with sleep however they need (safely, of course).

If you previously sleep trained but your baby can’t fall asleep on their own right now, it’s perfectly fine to support them. A few days won’t affect a strong foundation of independent sleep skills. Most sleep trained babies go right back to their usual sleep routines on their own once they’re feeling better.

Extra night feeds can be helpful while your baby is teething. It’s comforting, and they may need the extra calories if they aren’t as interested in solids during the day. Sometimes, nursing or offering the bottle more often at night can soothe teething symptoms enough for them to get back to sleep without more labor intensive interventions.

3. Stay As Consistent As Possible

It’s ok to adjust your approach to sleep for a few days if you need to, but try to keep things as “normal” as possible. Follow your usual bedtime routines and sleep schedules. If you have to readminister pain relievers at night, keep the room dark. As soon as your baby is feeling better, go back to your usual approach to bedtime and night wakings to get back on track.

3. Gentle Sleep Training (when your baby isn’t teething)

All babies wake an average of 4 to 6 times a night between sleep cycles. So do adults, but we know how to get comfortable and go back to sleep before we fully rouse, so we don’t usually remember waking. Babies with strong independent sleep skills can do the same, which can make teething easier because they can get back to deep brainwave sleep states before waking enough to be distracted by the discomfort. They may still need support when they aren’t feeling well, but usually cope better with cutting teeth.

I don’t recommend sleep training when your baby is teething, but once the pain has passed, you can prepare for the next round of teeth by laying a solid sleep foundation. Don’t know where to start? I can help! Check out my custom sleep packages.

Summary

• Teething pain only last 2 or 3 days before the tooth cuts through the gums, possibly a day or 2 after.

• Long term sleep issues are not caused by teething, as teething symptoms only last a few days at a time.

• It’s normal for a teething baby to be more fussy and irritable, and to be less interested in solids.

• Fevers, congestion, diahrrea, vomiting, and inconsolable crying are not symptoms of teething, and should be addressed by a pediatrician.

• You can help teething pain with pain relievers approved by your pediatrician; gum massage; teething toys; cold rags; and holding, rocking, wearing your baby.

• If your baby is in pain, you can support them to sleep however they need, as long as it’s done safely. Offer more night feeds, especially if your baby is eating less solids.

• Set a strong foundation of independent sleep skills with gentle sleep training when your baby is feeling better. This will help when they cut more teeth in the future.