First year molars are big bullies. Help!

by Sarah James (Subscribe to Sarah James's posts) Oct 13th 2007 2:01PM

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I'm operating on about two hours of sleep. Coffee. Need coffee.

I'm pretty sure due to his excessively swollen gums, Wito's first molars are attempting to break through.

First year molars aren't messing around, people. They scoff at the pansy, itsy-bitsy front teeth that pop through the surface, ready for biter biscuits and visits to the park. First year molars are blunt bullies lurking in the dark, ready to pummel you when you least expect it. Down with first year molars!

Take last night, for example. At 12:30 am, I was right in the middle of a lovely dream starring George Clooney as my college quantum physics teacher, when BAM! I shot up in my bed, completely disoriented, jarred awake by Wito's hysterical cries. I jumped out of bed, ran into his room, and he was VIOLENT- thrashing about and screaming at the top of his lungs.

This is not typical Wito behavior. I assumed he was experiencing a night terror, but the crying only intensified as he attempted to shove his entire fist in his mouth. I carefully placed my finger inside his mouth to feel his gums, and the child went completely berserk. He punched me in the face! Yeah, you heard me! Domestic violence by a toddler!

No amount of rocking, soothing or shushing would calm him down, so I brought him into my bed. He eventually fell asleep, somehow managing to monopolize the entire bed with his right foot shoved into my kidney for the next 6 hours. I, of course, was too concerned that he would fall off the bed to sleep myself. Well, that and the renal failure I was experiencing from the kidney jabs.

Help! Any teething wisdom you would like to share? Especially concerning the night wakings?

Comments (17)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Lindsey 10-13-2007 @ 3:11PM

I feel ya. We just got our first two molars here...with a case of an ear infection on top of it.

We've always had great success with Hyland's Teething Tablets. And, if nothing else, Motrin is your friend at midnight.

Nicole 10-13-2007 @ 3:58PM

Motrin before he goes to bed, and Hyland's teething tablets.

bethany 10-13-2007 @ 5:57PM

I third the Motrin before bedtime and the Hyland's. I will add that Motrin, given in the proper dosages, is your friend all day and all night. If you had a toothache giving you grief, you wouldn't make yourself wait till bedtime to take pain relievers, would you? And if you give him the Motrin a little earlier it might give the swelling a chance to go down before bedtime.

Rattling the Kettle 10-13-2007 @ 6:11PM

This, too, shall pass. I don't like medicating infants for the sake of my own sleep, ya know?

Jora 10-13-2007 @ 7:39PM

There is a liquid homeopathic remedy at Whole Foods by Boiron which seemed to help Charlie (nothing life-changing though, I'm afraid). Some people swear by the Humphrey's homeopathic teething tablets (over the Hyland's). I never had much luck with either, but a few mothers told me the Humphrey's saved their lives. Worth a try! I think you can get them online only.

Christie 10-13-2007 @ 7:33PM

We are on our two year molars and they are not pretty either!! Hylands teething tablets and motrin before bed...Hylands also makes a gel and I only use that if it is an emergency....I do not want to get bit!

Snuggling always worked the best with my son! Good luck and I do feel your pain literally :)

Eva 10-13-2007 @ 8:19PM

My kid is working on these molars, too. She has absolutely forgotten how to sleep through the night as a result. What's really bad is that her teeth take FOREVER to come all the way in so it's been like this for WEEKS. Dear lord preserve us. We don't do medicines for this kind of thing. Just wait it out.

Jenni 10-13-2007 @ 9:11PM

Yes to the Motrin, but here's a trick someone once told me: while giving the Motrin, rub a little of it directly onto the swollen gums, this gives a little immediate relief while waiting for it to hit the system. Don't know how well it works, but it calmed my little ones.

Emsmum 10-13-2007 @ 10:31PM

Motrin before bed, and an Camelia, which is available from your pharmacist. It's in the herbal/naturopath section. The combo seems to work...and my daughter got all 4 one year molars at once....I guess there is something to be said for getting it all over at once, but man, were those a horrendous few days and nights!

Gry 10-14-2007 @ 3:36AM

We are right there, right NOW. She's pushing 3 at once, plus fever.. Last night was horrible! Can't wait to get this teething business out of the way, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind either.

Amy 10-14-2007 @ 9:55AM

RTK - You're not medicating them for the sake of YOUR sleep, you're medicating them so that they're not in excruciating pain. Wouldn't you take medicine if you had a terrible toothache?

Motrin is great, so is Tylenol. You can alternate them, giving one every 3 hours, so that one kicks in as the other wears off. I never had any luck with teething tablets.

The other thing you can do is pick up a mesh feeder (they have them at One Step Ahead, as well as many grocery stores). We put lots of things in them - ice cubes, pieces of cold melon, and the most effective: frozen bananas. When your bananas get overripe, toss them (peel and all) in a Ziplock bag and stick 'em in the freezer. When the molars come a knockin' (or just for a snack), take a sharp knife and cut the peel off. Slice it into pieces that will fit in your mesh feeder, and let your baby chew away.

One note, you want a naked baby for this, because they'll drool banana juice all over their shirt, and that stuff stains. A lot.

You can also use the frozen bananas for banana bread. It's a great way to not waste bananas.

Amy @ http://prettybabies.blogspot.com

Michelle 10-14-2007 @ 12:56PM

Just wait for the 2 year molars! Those are mean "sumsabitches". My son FINALLY got his 4th one. He had been working on them for over a year. Fun times. The Hyland's teething tablets are a miracle. I call them baby crack. Also, one of the toy companies makes a vibrating teether. That seemed to soothe, too.

Judy 10-14-2007 @ 1:30PM

I, too, agree that medicating a toddler deep in teething pain is for his or her benefit, not your own (that's just a bonus). On the recommendation of a dentist friend who had her baby about eight months before ours arrived, we gave our munchkin the appropriate dose of ibuprofen a half hour before bed time. That usually soothed him enough to sleep through the night. The rare times he woke up in pain in the middle of the night, we'd rub his teeth with orajel so he could get back to sleep while the second dose of ibuprofen kicked in.

On a note about teething pain - one of my friend's little boy was going through a very clingy phase. She couldn't even walk out of his sight. It turned out that teething pain from his molars coming in was contributing a LOT to the clinginess. When she started using ibuprofen instead of tylenol, he became a lot less clingy and more like the confident, playful little boy we were used to.

lisa 10-15-2007 @ 7:23AM

There is a nighttime orajel...that works wonders...my son was cutting about 4 teeth at one time and THAT stuff ROCKS! Also with some tylenol or any pain medicine your comfy with...:) GOOD LUCK! Hang in there it comes fast but once those suckers pop out IT passes fast to:)

Lisa 10-15-2007 @ 2:54PM

Okay, so I already wrote a comment on Whoorl, but I will write here as well! I think that we're on the same schedule here. I don't know anything that works great (even the Motrin/Tylenol). What is the worst part is that his teeth take FOREVER to come in as well plus he does not like to eat or drink much when he is teething--lovely. Teething plus multiple falls while learning to walk on his own is fun!

Karen 10-16-2007 @ 12:16AM

Lots of cuddles, Hyland's teething tablets or homeopathic chamomilla, and lots of nursing on demand have worked really well for my last two.

If you are lucky enough to still be nursing at this point, that is what worked best in the middle of the night - just lie next to your little one and nurse the pain away while you both fall peacefully asleep.

Jennifer 11-07-2007 @ 6:17PM

What are Hyland's teething tablets, and where can I get them?! I have twins both trying to get their first year molars, and OMG!!! Motrin/Tylonol works great for one, but the other just seems to be so miserable. She also wakes up in the middle of the night and only goes back to sleep after a long time of crying and only when I am holding her in my bed. Normally, she hates sleeping anywere but her crib, so she doesn't sleep well and, of course, I don't either. I completely agree about giving them medicine for pain if they are hurting this much, but it just doesn't seem to be enough for her. Do the teething tablets last all night? Thanks for the info:) I hope all of your babies feel better soon!