Many parents wonder if teething could affect their baby’s sleep. Teething often begins just as the baby begins to sleep through the night. This can be frustrating for many parents, especially new parents, as they thought the whole grueling night was over, but all of a sudden it comes back. However, that doesn’t mean that everything your baby has achieved with independent sleep has to go to waste.

Teething can begin between four and six months of age. However, it may take a while before the actual tooth appears.

Teething can take up to two years of age and can cause young children to wake up at night. Some babies have mild signs of teething, such as drooling and chewing on everything, while other babies may have moderate signs, such as dizziness and crankiness, as the tooth erupts. Thus, one baby varies from another in that one may have a peaceful sleep, while another may have numerous nocturnal awakenings during teething.

You may hear some experts say that teething won’t disrupt a baby’s sleep, however, every baby is not the same and will have different pain tolerances.

Understanding how teething affects them and having sympathy for them would be your job as parents. And don’t forget too that you may want to make sure they get enough sleep.

There are two areas that are affected in your baby’s sleep by teething:

1. Wake up early in the morning. When teething, your baby may wake up earlier than usual and have a hard time going back to sleep.
2. Difficult to nap. The teething baby takes longer to fall asleep at nap time and shorter nap time. It is also possible that he will skip his nap as well. This can happen for a few days to a week. Just remember that it’s temporary so you don’t have to stress.

Here are some notes you need to know to manage your teething baby’s sleep problem:

• Since a baby’s teething can take up to two years of age and can be intermittent, it’s best to have a plan for how you’ll handle the situation, which in this case is your loved one’s sleep problem. You need to consider not only your loved one’s condition where you are tired of having a restless night because they are in pain, but also you and other family members who may also have a disturbed night’s sleep. The spike will last around 2-4 days and at these times, your baby will need extra tugging until the tooth comes out of his gum.
• You can give him Motrin, or if you’re in Australia people always use Bonjela and those two have proven to be quite effective. However, before giving your baby any medicine, check first with your child’s doctor about dosage and other factors.
• Expect your baby to want to feed more if you breastfeed, as it provides comfort to your mind as well as your gums.
• You can still continue your baby’s sleep training during the teething phase. But maybe be a little nice and flexible with him in those 2-4 days of peak time.