Three ways to manage teething and sleep

How does teething affect sleep? The only thing worse than a baby who won’t sleep is a baby who is also sick or teething and not sleeping! 

Fortunately, teething doesn’t affect all babies negatively. Some babies are hardly affected by teething while others can struggle to get comfortable which may result in a sudden disruption in sleep. 

Generally, our rule of thumb is to treat teething like you would treat sickness (see How to handle sleep when your baby is sick), meaning that this isn’t the time to start sleep training or practice long periods of self-soothing. Your baby will probably need extra snuggles, and may even need more sleep than usual.

But that doesn’t mean healthy sleep habits have to completely go out the window. In fact, we tend to give teething too much credit! While teething can absolutely impact your child’s sleep, it shouldn’t completely derail sleep for long periods of time, so if this is happening there may be something else going on in addition to teething. 

Here are a few recommendations to help your teething baby get sleep while teething:

1. Let your baby chew on safe objects such as gel rings, your finger, and a pacifier.

This will help soothe their aching gums. We recently tried the Como Tomo teethers and would highly recommend them! They’re the perfect size for babies to hold from any angle, and are just big enough to reach baby’s back molars. They’re easy to wash and disinfect, and, because of their bright color, are easy to find in the diaper bag!

2. Consider medicine.

If your baby is under 6 months, you can give them Tylenol, and if they’re over 6 months, Ibuprofen can work too (with the approval of your pediatrician). You can simply rub a little on their gums or give your baby the lowest recommended dose.

3. Continue to encourage independent sleep.

It can be tempting to pull your baby into your bed or hold them for all naps, but remember that your baby still needs their quality sleep, now more than ever! The best and safest sleep is always in a crib or bassinet, so while a few extra minutes of rocking and snuggling is encouraged, still place your baby in their crib for sleep.

Also keep in mind that teething typically only lasts for a few days. Once you can see teeth popping through, your baby is typically past the worst of the pain. 

Teething pain will typically not wake up a child from deep sleep, so if your child is suddenly waking up every hour during the night, teething is probably not the cause. The reality is, teething is often coupled with other developmental changes, which may be the main reason for your baby’s new sleep concerns. Check out five milestones that might affect your sleep and also the five most common sleep regressions, which could be the main culprits. 

Of course, some babies struggle with teething more than others, and it can also depend which tooth is coming in (molars take longer, which affect toddlers around 13-19 months and again at 23-33 months). If your baby is one who seems to be highly affected by teething, remember to follow our three tips: use teethers, potentially give baby-safe medicine, and continue to encourage independent sleep (while still giving some extra TLC)!