4mth old crying in sleep

I'm pretty sure my 4 mth old son is teething, he's had a couple of nasty nappies, he's alot grumpier than usual, chews on everything he can get to his mouth, and is dribbling - sometimes alot, sometimes not at all, and during the day he's not sleeping well at all at night he's fine sleeps right through. I also *think* I can feel one or two teeth starting to come through (how long do they normally take to come through once they break the surface?). This has been going on for about two weeks, I think.

Panadol seems to help sometime and then other times it doesn't, it also seems to wear off way too quick, I'm talking a few hours before he can have another dose.

Could his be caused by something other than teeth and I'm just mistaking normal gum's for teeth coming through?

Why is he crying and whimpering in his sleep? Could it be because his mouth hurts or nightmares or something else?

It's heartbreaking to listen to because he's normally such a happy little boy and he sounds so sad. He gets such little sleep lately, I don't want to wake him up, which seems to be the only way I can get him to stop and calm down.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

My DD2 would do this to. I would pick her up and rock her a bit while still sleeping and she would stop crying. They seem to feel the teeth long before they come out. You will see the white under the gum when it is about to come through.

Lol! If only he'd let me look! Whenever I try to get a look he pokes his tongue out and I can't see. :doh:

He wakes right up if pick him up.

I just gave him some Bonjela a few minutes ago and he seems a bit happier. It seem to work pretty quickly though, doesn't it usually take a little while to have an effect? Maybe he just liked the taste lol.

:bump: anyone else?

Sorry Heva I don't have any advice for you, but I could've have written your post word for word. My DS is also 4 months and going through everything yours is... Sometimes I think it is teething, then other times I wonder if it is a developmental stage... I'm looking forward to hearing what the other ladies have to say.

my DD cried in her sleep a lot around the 4-5 month mark. She still has no teeth at 6 months, so it wasn;t that. We figured it was developmental. There is a huuge "wonder week" at that age and again at 5 months. Baby is learning lots and lots of things. So no wonder it's upsetting to them.

Have you read The Wonder Weeks? it's a great book that explains developmental stages in the first year or so. So much is going on in their brains that keeps changing how they perceive the world. It's a really interesting read, and handy for predicting when it is going to be a smooth time and when a rough time for your baby. So far it has described DD perfectly.

DD loved to eat bonjella! I don't think I ever got it on to her gums, she would suck it off my finger straight away.

She also cries or whimpers in her sleep sometimes. It is very sad to hear, but I don't do anything if she stays asleep. I figure that if something was really bothering her she would wake up. If he seems upset in his sleep you can always pat or rub his tummy or do something to try and sooth him without waking or picking him up

Teething is such a difficult thing. It is so hard to know if that is what is bothering them. All you can really do is comfort them and treat them for pain if you think it is appropriate. Some teeth take ages to break through and others you don't even notice until they are there. Also some seem to cause lots of pain and others none.

I always had people tell me DD was teething due to red cheeks, dribbling, chewing things etc. It turns out she was just a red cheeked, dribbly, chewy baby. She didn't get her first tooth until she was 10 months.

So my advice is not to worry about the teeth and focus on the things you know for sure. If he is more upset than usual look at ways to comfort and entertain him. If he is tired try to work on those daytime sleeps. I always found a long walk in the pram was good.

I also think it is worth looking into wonder weeks. This can be a tough time developmentally for bubs.

We went to the doctor yesterday for his 4 mth check up - a bit late I know :redface:. He said that it most likely was teeth because of the symptoms and had a look and a feel and said he could feel a tooth just starting to come through. So hopefully he's right.
I forgot to ask him about the sleep crying though :wall:. I always forget something. lol.

If the Dr thinks he is teething then most likely the crying in the sleep will be related, both my girls cry in their sleep when they are teething. I go in and look at them and to comfort them but they are asleep. If you want to give them some pain relief try nurofen, its the swelling of the gums that upsets them and the nurofen helps stop the swelling as well as providing pain relief. This is what my Dr told me and it works so much better than panadol.

Maybe that's why the panadol only works sometimes... I've just given him panadol and bonjela and it doesn't seen to be helping at all. :(