Teething Questions...

[mrs.t]

I have a few teething questions:

1. Does DC feel pain once the tooth has cut through the gum? My DS's gums are swollen but nothing has come through yet. He's having miserable nights and I'm hoping he can sleep once the tooth cuts through.

2. Which tooth came in first for your DC? My DS's gums are swollen a little to the left of the bottom center, I thought the middle ones came in first?

3. Did your DC go through misery with every new tooth? Or was it just the first ones?

Thanks for any replies...I feel so bad for my little guy

[Knitting Mama]

Cecilia's cutting her first tooth right now too. It's on the bottom center, the one to the left of the middle. Right next to it felt pretty swollen though, so that could be why your boy's feels swollen further away from the center.

She seems to be in a lot less pain now that the ridge is out; while you can't see the tooth yet you can sure feel the sharp ridge! She slept well last night for the first time in ages.

Most of my friends with similarly aged babies say that the second tooth follows the first very closely, and that it's miserable again right up until the tooth breaks through. Until it's actually cleared the surface of the skin, it must be pretty painful, poor loves!

[mrs.t]

Thanks Aimee! Seems like we're always at the same stage with our DC being one day apart

[Knitting Mama]

Yep, it does seem so!

[P.J.]

I'm right there with you ladies. Max got his first tooth in the last few days. It has broken through and the very first couple millimeters are out. It's the bottom left (his left) one. I can feel it and have seen it, but it's hard to catch a glimpse of it as his tongue is almost always over that spot. Poor little guy has suffered so much. There was one night (night before last) he was up all night, crying so much. I felt so bad for him!

My question is: how long does it take for one tooth to be finished coming in, and does the pain go away after the top is out or until the whole thing is finished emerging? It seems like the worst is over (for this one tooth) now that it's broken the surface, but he's still super duper whiny and grumpy and will bust out in a full-on cry at the tiniest thing.

Yeah, not fun.

[Knitting Mama]

He might actually be cutting the one next to it as well; I hear they often come in pairs!

[NSmomtobe]

The first two (bottom middle) seemed to be most painful for my son. He cried for 2 weeks before each one pushed through, two weeks apart (so for an entire month). Since then, he has had 4 top teeth come in with little fuss.

[braidmama]

Ds cut his first tooth last week! Bottom left of the middle. Its adorable. We're calling him Little Fang. He was up all night for a couple of nights and it was definitely brutal on all of us. Now he's about to cut the bottom tooth on the bottom right of the middle. Woo! 2 teeth! He seemed fine after the tooth cut through so hopefully it stays that way! Good luck wth your lo!

[Burnindinner]

DS1 did the middle bottom ones pretty much together. Those seemed better once they broke through. But some teeth keep hurting as they come through, like eyeteeth and molars. DS1 was not a calm teether though!

[fullofhope08]

I'm with all of you too. DS is cutting his first tooth. We're into 1 1/2 weeks of fussiness and chewing on everything. Sleep has been rough - up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours all night and naps are short. But, in recent days, sleep is improved - not sure if this means he's coping better with it or if it's just a breather in this process of cutting a tooth.
the best thing I have found to help him is getting out of the house every day. He seems to do better if we're out and about rather than cooped up at home. any other strategies?

I have heard that babies tend to cope better with later teeth - here's hoping this is our experiences too. can't be easy for them.

[Snapdragon]

right there with you guys! Ds has 2 teeth in- the bottom middles- but the second one is still working its way up. He has been crying way more- and seems in pain, and waking up much more often to nurse at night. I tell myself- this will pass! It is hard to see the baby hurting, isn't it?

[Tattooed Hand]

DD's incisors stopped hurting once they broke through, though if she kept hurting it meant another one was on its way. All top 4 came in within 10 days of each other and it was ugly. there were several less difficult days and nights in there but she was in misery for 3 weeks.

Now something(s) are coming in at the back and it is bad. WAY worse than her incisors and have been coming in for longer (going on 5 weeks now). Her naps are almost non-existent and she has to sleep in my lap if I want her to get more than 30 minutes in a row. And night time sleep is also awful - we are waking every 30-90 minutes all night long and she FREAKS if I am not there.

I am worried about giving her pain meds (Hylands does nothing for us at night) so often, but she literally will cry and scream for hours without them and not be able to sleep.

I grew up hearing that only the first couple hurt and that is SO not the case with DD.

[SeattleRain]

My babe is a few months younger than yours but he seems to be teething as well. He has a little nub on the bottom left area and he's pretty whiny and drooly. Seems a little early (4 mos) but oh well! It took us a few days to figure it out but I gave him some Tylenol last night and he got the first good night of sleep in the last week and a half.

I'd highly recommend some painkillers. If I was having oral surgery, I'd take some tylenol or ibuprofen so I don't know why I would make DS suffer without it. I'm getting some Hylands gel tomorrow, but I'm sticking to Tylenol at night. If he's hurting, he's going to need to get his sleep.