Molars, Nighttime Nursing

[Refuging]

My 15 month old is getting her first molars and they're driving her insane. She doesn't want to eat many solids right now, and she wants to be latched onto the breast all the time. I've heard that many people have the opposite experience---that their babies have nursing strikes while getting the molars. Not mine. We cosleep (after a failed attempt to move her to her own space), which I normally love, but right now she's frantically nursing all night, switching back and forth from breast to breast, crawling all over me, and rhythmically scratching whichever nipple she's not nursing from. My back is so sore from being twisted all night that I can't even stand up straight (I walk around like an old lady). I was just wondering if any of you have had babies that nurse more while teething, and how long these difficult nights last before the molars finally pop through. I go to sleep by 8:30 or 9, just because I know I'll be up most of the night. Unfortunately I work full time (but i have a home office, so I can go and nurse her whenever she needs it), and neither my baby nor I are very rested.

Anyway, so yes. How long does this molar teething last, and do you have any tips on how to save my back and help my daughter sleep (hylands tabs don't seem to help, tylenol doesn't help) during this time?

[aglenn]

I don't have any advice, but am going through the same thing with my 13-month old. It's been really bad for several weeks now. I have heard from some friends that it took up to 2 months for the molars to come through, but we're already approaching that and still no end in sight. Yawn.

[Anna GS]

My son is like that and he gets crazy about wanting to nurse all day and all night when his mouth hurts. And he does that back and forth from one side to another over and over and over, scratching at me, picking, kicking. He just got 2 out of 4 of the last molars and it felt like it took forever, but maybe the worst part was about 3 weeks to a month. BUT I'm not sure it takes the same amount of time for all kids. It did get better for us, but we still have 2 more teeth before he's totally done.

[MrsH]

Aw I know, those molars... and canines. Ugh! My daughter (17m) also nurses a lot more during teething. I actually started giving her a bit of cow's milk in a sippy cup to try and get her some fat/protein that wasn't from breastmilk, hoping it would help satiate her a bit. She doesn't love it but does drink some. Who knows if it helps?

I think there might be another brand of homeopathic teething tablets that are slightly different than hyland's. Worth checking out maybe? I've also heard great things about amber teething necklaces. The only other thing that helped was that I'd go to bed and sleep from 9-midnight-ish and my husband would comfort my daughter. It got me the three hours of uninterrupted sleep before being up the rest of the night. Good luck! It will pass, though not fast enough of course.

[voxana]

I know how it feels my 17mo does the same thing when his molars are coming in. One doctor told me that breast milk is specifically soothing to their sore gums and so that is why they want to nurse sooooooo much. It helped me to realize that my milk was actually helping to sooth his pain. Personally I haven't had any luck with the homeopathic tablets.I know some AP mamas who give children's ibuprofen every so often, just so that they and their little one can get a good night's sleep...but that's up to you if you want to try that.

[sarahsmiles]

No good news here. I remember DD going through this, from consulting my journal. DS is now doing it. He's 15 months and has all but the second year molars. He MUST be working on those, although there's no sign of there. I can't think of any other reason for this. It's driving me crazy and I'm considering night weaning. It's been about 2 months now. Some nights are better than others, and the worst is the early morning hours. Ugh.

[Refuging]

Funny I wrote this in October. It's February and this is still happening. Sigh.