Are you familiar with the story of Catherine O’Leary and her cow? If not, then it is about a story which had been published in the Chicago Tribune in 1871 which alleged that a cow owned by Catherine O’Leary was the cause of the great Chicago Fire. Apparently, the cow had kicked over a fire lamp in the bar which caused a fire that later spread.
I know you’re probably thinking what a cow in 1871 has got to do with your baby’s teething.
Honestly, nothing except that both the cow and teething are blamed for something they’re not responsible for.
In the past and still today, teething is often blamed for all those times your baby is feeling under the weather. Whether your child has a fever, an upset tummy, a rash, teething is usually the first culprit to be brought up.
The thing is, all these things could very well be blamed on teething, but in most cases not.
And this is especially true when it comes to sleep.
When it comes to sleep problems, parents are way too quick to blame teething for their child’s sudden sleep problems. And let’s face it, when our child wakes at night upset and crying, our first urge is to rush in and calm them down by any means possible. This then results in your child depending on you to do it every single time.
Let’s be realistic, if your child is crying as a result of pain, we should always find the cause and tend to it immediately.
But now, because you truly believe teething is causing this, you decide to start nursing your child back to sleep and decide to go back to sleep training once your child has overcome the teething phase.
And now months later you’re still doing it because the “teething” is causing your child too much discomfort.
But before you decide to give up all the time you invested in sleep training your child, here are a few things to consider.
When your child is having a new tooth emerge, the symptoms usually stick around for a week or so. If your child is still fussy after a few weeks, it may be due to something else, or your child has now fallen back into old habits of wanting you to come in and soothe them.
Another thing to note is that teething symptoms are not as uncomfortable as we believe it to be. I know, hearing words like “cutting through gums” creates unnecessary panic for parents but trust me it’s not as bad and I don’t believe mother nature to be that cruel. As humans, our bodies are created to go through these changes without many problems.
So, according to research and many experts, teething cannot cause the amount of pain to disrupt your little one’s sleep.
As a mom myself, I’m not saying you should completely ignore the teething phase because it can be mildly uncomfortable for your child. Just remember that teething isn’t always the cause of all those things your child goes through as they develop. And more importantly, if your child is sleeping well, teething won’t cause them too much upset.
And if your child is sleeping well, it means you’re sleeping well and that’s a win-win situation for all.