Nightime teething pain-what works, is safe etc.?

[gracemamma]

My DD is 4 months old today- hurray!
But unfortunately her teething pain is increasing and is keeping her up alot. She is waking up crying every hour from 8PM-1:30AM and then starting again a few hours later.
She is ok during the day-some fussing and crying but is easily distracted (look! there's the kitty!) but nightime is getting tougher.

What works?
Do y'all recommend Baby oragel? Hylands teething gel? Others?
Baby tylenol? (Does this wear off during the night?)
I've read the threads about amber necklaces so will get one of these.

I prefer more natural remedies and read in Dr. Sears baby book that he doesnt recommend the orajel because of concerns about chemicals (I havent read a box yet), but my Dad is saying he use it on me and it really worked.

I really appreciate any and all recommendations. Our baby was sleeping well until a few days ago (up to nurse every couple hours but would settle right back down) so I'm a bit concerned about the future for sleep with a whole mouth-full of teeth to come in!
Thanks!

[Carhootel]

Oooh. rough nights stink. Sorry.

We like the Hyland's teething tablets a lot, and the amber teething necklace, we haven't used much else. I also like more natural remedies and would avoid orajel based on other things I've read. I would give tylenol/motrin very sparingly though, partially to see how much it helped and also because I think it's humane to give some pain relief for what they are going through. I take tylenol or ibuprofen when I have a bad headache and don't mind giving relief for bad teething pain.

Also, you may find that some of that stuff won't work because you might be dealing with other reasons for the sleep disruption - You may want to do some reading about the 4 month sleep regression because that could be a big part of this. There are lots of normal developmental things happening at 4 months that can be disruptive to sleep.

Oh and I also want to assure you that if she doesn't get any teeth for a while that doesn't mean she's not teething. My ds started about 3.5 months and didn't get a tooth until almost 8 months, it felt like FOREVER. Hugs to you, I know it can be rough.

[gracemamma]

OMG Carhootel! From 3 1/2 to 8 mos like this with no teeth in sight! How hard! Even if they come quickly, going through a mouthful in this way seems very rough!
Hylands teething tablets is what you used- not the gel? Do they have this at whole foods or pharmaca or do you need to get them online?
Ive heard about the 4 month sleep regression in posts here but not in any of the books I have- including the NCSS and the book about 90 minute sleep windows (forget the name). Do you have any particular resources you recommend?
Up until this week I felt so lucky concerning sleep when reading the posts here. Sigh.
Thank you for the helpful info!

[AKislandgirl]

I had an early teether too. Our experience has been that different teeth seem to bother her more then others. Hopefully you will get some easy ones in there! The teething tablets worked better then the teething gel for us. We get them at our regular grocer or the health food store. Also wearing an amber necklace really has helped. I agree with pp about tylenol/motrin. If the pain is really bad enough to wake her up then I use tylenol (this seemed to work better for my dd then the motrin). Often half a dose is enough to help. I've never given more then 2 doses in a 24 hour period. HTH

[Blueone]

Hylands teething tablets! The amber teething necklace was a godsend though. I love that thing. He was happier within half a day. Also try filling a paci with water and freezing it. That helps a lot. But my son hates cold things so he's desperate when he wants it.

[cinderella08]

My DD began teething at 3 months and her 1st tooth just popped through and she is 11 months old. We used Hylands when I could see the tooth on the surface, but she's had an Amber necklace since she was 3 months old and I can't sing it's praises high enough!

[LadyCatherine185]

Teething totally sucks. As do frequent nightwakings. What you described sounds completely normal for a 4 month old. There is also a really common 4 month sleep regression.

Not to scare you, but once teething starts, it is a looong process. My DS has been teething on and off since 4/5 months old, and is now working on his canines at 15 months old. We don't get much sleep around here, ever. He is a crappy sleeper, but it seems almost directly related to when a tooth is about to pop through. And you can't give them tylenol/motrin/orajel every night for 10+ months, unfortunately.

I recommend cosleeping, if you are not already, so that you can make nightwakings easier on both of you and you don't have to fully wake up and get out of bed. Make your bed as comfortable as possible for you. Keep it very dark, and have some white noise. These are all things that have helped me. Taking naps when baby naps, and DH takes DS in the mornings while he gets ready for work and I get to sleep for another hour or so. For me, accepting the nightwakings and not trying to change them, but changing my attitude and not trying to change my baby has been the most helpful.

Good luck!

[Blueone]

oops, sorry for the double post.

[gracemamma]

Thanks so much for all the good ideas and support! I love MDC!
Yes we have been cosleeping since she was born and this helps soooo much! Besides the wonderfulness of baby snuggles, it is so great to nurse her immediately so she and I dont have to wake completely.
Last night was better- she didnt wake up quite so much but nursed a ton-from 4-7 it as like every 10 minutes she wanted some and then would fall back asleep.
So I guess I need to just accept this is the new reality & realize it is a long time before teething gets done.
Any rec.s on either learning more about this sleep regression &/or
lengths of amber necklaces to get at this age. I am ready to order from inspired by finn and even have a coupon code ready but am curious about which lengths have worked best from 4 mos. on.
Thanks so much!