eye teeth (canine) woes

[fullofhope08]

hi all,

our 17mo son has always struggled with teething - is content during waking hours but the minute he stops to sleep or take naps, he seems to realize he's in pain and struggles fiercly to fall asleep and stay asleep. I still nurse him through the night when he wakes. when he seems to not be in too much discomfort, he's up twice through the night for 10 minutes and goes right back to sleep. His 4 eye teeth look like they're getting close to breaking through and man, it's not a pleasant place to be here in our home. He is up for 1-3 hours at a time when he does wake up now...I'll nurse him and try to put him down. he'll either instantly wake up or wake up 5 minutes later and we have to try it again. I will give him tylenol or advil when he seems to be really struggling but he'll still be up 45 minutes past getting medication. Dh and I both work so daytimes are getting pretty difficult and I'm worried I won't be able to function soon. I also give him homeopathics which seem to help a bit but don't make it all better.

As for naps, he usually has one a day, in the morning. It's usually a 30 minute process to get him to fall asleep, in his crib, with rubbing his back. This weekend, it's taken 1.5 hours yesterday and well over 2 hours today. He's obviously in agony, pushing his hands against his mouth, hitting his head against the side of the crib, and crying. I try to rock him but that doesn't even console him. I've given him medication both mornings after multiple tries with homeopathics - Hyland's teething gel, traumeel. But he still cries well past the time the medication should work. I feel so badly for him and feel like there should be something to help out there...  anyone have any suggestions or have the same experience? I was always warned these were the worst teeth for them to cut and I don't think I had realized how bad it could get. the other issue is that ds is a very slow teether. Just because they look like they're right below the gum line doesn't mean we'll see them soon. I've seen teeth hover just under the gums for weeks, which his gums stretched white...for weeks! His top two look like they will cut through soon, but I hesitate to get my hopes up as we could still be in the same place 2 weeks from now.

Just had to vent and see if there is anything else we can try. I hate giving him medication, particularly multiple times a day. I may just have to accept this reality for a few weeks...but I hesitate to do it when it seems to not even do the trick. why fill his body with crap when it doesn't even help?

thanks for listening  :)

Renee

[neonalee]

Oh mama I hear you! Which ones are eye teeth? I have both canines trying to break through (white gums) and he's been working on them for over 2 months now I swear. Didn't get bumps until a month ago. And I see big bumps for several teeth behind these already coming. DS is often a bit cranky and night are miserable. We had been trying to get away from nursing to sleep but I'm somewhat giving up on that as he is more likely (not guaranteed) to sleep better/longer when he does. I keep a teether in the fridge which he'll take sometimes. I'm not sure if I believe it or not but I'm getting an amber necklace. I'll try almost anything at this point. Mostly nursing is what helps here though.

I talked to a lactation consultant and she also helped with getting a deeper latch so DS will get more milk while nursing. She suggested making sure he eats good at dinner as well. These 2 things also seem to be helping our nights.

We are also both working full time. We cosleep and if I can't pat him back to sleep in a few minutes I'm defaulting to nursing on bad nights. On nights that doesn't do it we bring out the meds. Thankfully it's only been a couple times. That stuff can be hard on them as well. In the meantime I hope I don't become resentful of the nursing. Good luck with your LO, this is hard for everyone.

sent from my phone using tapatalk, please excuse typos.

[fullofhope08]

I totally feel your pain too Neonalee. it looks like our LOs are about the same age and going through this same experience. I tried to get a good look at ds's mouth tonight and it looks like the two canines may be breaking through! (phew!) there are little dots that look like the start of his teeth. I may have felt one of the tips but i can't be sure. But yup, this has been going on for at least six weeks with on and off hard nights. I know these aren't over yet and there are still the other two, but progress is always celebrated. Ds has an amber necklace...can't say for sure if it helps as I don't take it off of him...if there's any benefit, I'm not going to expect him to go without.
I also understand your struggle with night weaning. Tis has been on my mind too. I decided to put this off until these four teeth cut (I think this is it until his two year molars as he's already cut the other molars). So once things settle, I'll be doing the same. I dread it but I think it's time. I agree, i think nursing is sometimes the one comfort we can offer when they are in pain.
Renee

[neonalee]

Oh canines ARE eye teeth, I missed that! We haven't gotten the molars yet. but the amber necklace is in the mail at least. Today hasn't been bad. I'm so grateful that EVERY night isn't bad. By the way, I've discovered 2 easy ways to get a look in his mouth. Either holding him upside down or horizontal above my head. Both make him LOL

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[lucy_v]

Originally Posted by neonalee 

I talked to a lactation consultant and she also helped with getting a deeper latch so DS will get more milk while nursing. She suggested making sure he eats good at dinner as well. These 2 things also seem to be helping our nights.

sent from my phone using tapatalk, please excuse typos.

neonalee, would you mind sharing any suggestions that helped your DS get the deeper latch? I've got a 19 month old who is also working on canines, and her latch has become very shallow and painful for me!  (Also, completely off-topic, but since you use tapatalk, could you let me know.... is there a search within forums feature anywhere? I can't find one...) TIA!

[P.J.]

I don't have any advice, but DS is getting his canines / eye(?) teeth and feeling it. He has 12 teeth already and except the first all came in easily and without fanfare. But the last few days I've noticed a couple canines coming through and he's been sticking his finger in his mouth a lot and today he was super cranky and his cheeks were all red. I've just been using homeopathics but if it gets real bad we have ibuprofen and acetomenophen. I also put his amber necklace back on (I also don't really believe it works but it looks cute and can't hurt, right?)....he used to take it off all the time so I removed it around 10 months.

Just wanted to say that we're with ya. We'll get through this, it will pass.

[neonalee]

I've given up on search using tapatalk unfortunately. I save it for when I'm at the computer (at work). On another forum I visit search is painful because you can't narrow it down much.

Her words were something similar to "squish it like a pancake in one hand & with the other pull him in close". Basically stuffing as much of the boob in his mouth as possible, especially at the top. So, I'm nursing lying down on my right side. I squish my boob with my left hand. My right hand pushes at the top of his back/bottom of his neck. Oh & make sure he's opening really wide. He will also get more milk nursing this way & will start to do it on his own. Especially if you unlatch until you get it right. I don't cuz he has a fit but I will unlatch a couple times. He's getting better. She also said changes take at least 2 weeks of consistent work. Good luck!

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[lucy_v]

Thanks so much for the info!! I will give the pancake method a shot. :-)