Midnight Baby Support information pages

Teething 

When do babies start teething

Some babies are born with teeth others usually start to show symptoms of teething around the age of 4 months old. Initially they experience discomfort when their teeth start moving into place. At around 6 months old they will start to experience pain and discomfort as their teeth start to crown . Teething can come and go from then onwards as their teeth come through upto the age of 2 yrs old. 

Symptoms of teething 

• Redness or swelling to their gums 
• A high temperature 
• Dribbling more
• Red cheeks
• Rash or nappy rash 
• Ear discomfort, child may play or pull on their ear
• Sleep disturbance
• Putting everything in their mouth and gnawing on it or rubbing things on their gums 

How to treat teething 

• Calpol or paracetamol 
• Teething toys ( put them in the fridge first, your child will find this to be soothing.
• Treat their nappy rash with metanium or bepantion creams.
• Teething gels or Ashton powder 
• Cold foods such as cucumber to rub on their gums.
• Cuddles and comfort from you. 

What order do baby teeth appear in?

Here's a rough guide to how babies' teeth usually emerge:

• bottom incisors (bottom front teeth) – these are usually the first to come through, usually at around 5 to 7 months
• top incisors (top front teeth) – these tend to come through at about 6 to 8 months
• top lateral incisors (either side of the top front teeth) – these come through at around 9 to 11 months
• bottom lateral incisors (either side of the bottom front teeth) – these come through at around 10 to 12 months
• first molars (back teeth) – these come through at around 12 to 16 months
• canines (between the lateral incisors and the first molars) – these come through at around 16 to 20 months
• second molars – these come through at around 20 to 30 months

Most children will have all of their milk teeth by the time they are between 2 and 3 years old.

 New born Baby Sleep

• They usually sleep a total of about 14-17 hours per day.
• New born babies sleep in short bursts of 2-3 hours through the day and night.
• Most babies don't start sleeping through the night (6 to 8 hours) until at least 3 months of age.
• New born babies sleep in cycles of about 40 minutes.
• All new born babies will have different sleep patterns , they are normally nocturnal and spend most of the night awake and sleep more in the daytime.
• A baby's sleep mostly is dependant on the size of their tummy and how much milk they can hold between feeds. In the early days their tummies are very small 5-10mls volume so they will feed every 2-3hrs and rest in between.
• You can help baby to adjust to day/ nigh time by making daytime bright, loud, giving them lots of attention , playing or cuddling between feeds, interacting with your baby. At Night time keep it darker low lights, less interaction, quieter and calm.
• For the first 6 months baby should sleep in your room in a cot, mosses basket or crib next to your side of the bed.
• From 3 months old you can start to establish a bedtime routine with baby, bath -feed - cuddle - story - sleep.

How much sleep does my baby need

Most new-born babies are asleep more than they are awake. Their total daily sleep varies, but can be from 8 hours up to 16 or 18 hours. Babies will wake during the night because they need to be fed. Being too hot or too cold can also disturb their sleep.

As your baby grows, they'll need fewer night feeds and will be able to sleep for longer. Some babies will sleep for 8 hours or longer at night, but not all. By 4 months, they may be spending around twice as long sleeping at night as they do during the day.

For babies aged 6 months to a year, night feeds may no longer be necessary and some babies will sleep for up to 12 hours at night. Teething discomfort or hunger may wake some babies during the night.

Babies will sleep for around 12 to 15 hours in total after their first birthday.

Most 2 year olds will sleep for 11 to 12 hours at night, with 1 or 2 naps in the daytime.

Most children aged 3 or 4 will need about 12 hours sleep, but this can range from 8 hours up to 14. Some young children will still need a nap during the day.

Co- sleeping

Co- sleeping is not recommended for babies under 12 months old due to the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) .

Baby should sleep in their own crib/cot.

Baby's position in cot/crib

1. Place your baby in the cot on their back with their feet touching the bottom of the crib.
2. Do not have any toys, comfort blankets or cot bumpers, pillows, pods , nests, foam incliners or duvets in baby's cot.
3. Any blankets used must be placed securely under babies arms to the bottom of the cot.
4. Baby should always be put in lying on their back.

For further information on sleeping please see the ;lullaby trust website on the link below.

  The Lullaby Trust - Safer sleep for babies, Support for families 

 Dummy Use

Whether it’s to do with breastfeeding, teeth or SIDS, here are some things to consider when deciding whether to give your child a dummy.

Sucking is a powerful reflex that babies have in the weeks after they’re born. Babies don’t just get nutrition from breastmilk it also satisfies their sucking instinct.

Babies who are not able to breastfeed for whatever reason, might satisfy their sucking instincts by using dummies. However any substitute for sucking the breast can put the relationship between the breast and the baby at risk. That’s especially true for a baby who has not yet mastered/ established breastfeeding.

Clinical research suggests that it’s best to avoid dummies in the first weeks after birth. As they are associated with shorter duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Some studies say this is caused by confusion between the way a baby suckles at the breast and the way they suckle on a dummy, but other studies disagree with this idea.

After breastfeeding is established, dummies can be used. Evidence shows dummies used for healthy babies who are breastfed don’t significantly affect the proportion of babies who exclusively breastfeed at three months. So the use of dummies should be limited to soothing babies after breastfeeding is well established.

Many studies have suggested dummy use and breastfeeding are important factors for preventing cot death (also known as SIDS [sudden infant death syndrome]).

It’s unclear how dummies might protect against SIDS or even if they do actually reduce the risk of SIDS at all.

Experts do not specifically recommend using dummies to protect babies from SIDS. That’s because even studies that reported a remarkable reduction of SIDS with dummy use still say that actually recommending dummies is open to debate. Any association between using dummies and reduced risk of SIDS could be down to lots of other factors, for example:

• Dummies might prevent babies from rolling onto their front.
• Sucking on a dummy may keep babies’ tongues forward.
• A baby that sucks on a dummy might be more still at night, so less likely to become covered by blankets.
• Parents may check on their baby more frequently if their baby has a dummy.

The main advantage of babies having dummies is that they can satisfy their sucking instincts if they’re not breastfed. Using dummies can calm babies and help them to fall asleep. Dummies can also be used to sooth babies at other times, for example to help reduce pain during hospital procedures.

As discussed above, another advantage could be that dummies might protect against SIDS although more evidence is needed.

Using dummies can be helpful and convenient but there are some disadvantages. The most important concern is that use of dummies can decrease how often as well as how long babies are breastfed for.

Another disadvantage of using dummies is that they might also transport bacteria and fungus, which can increase the rate of infections, particularly otitis media - middle ear infection. Mums whose babies used dummies reported more episodes of coughs, wheezing, earache, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis among babies up to six months old.

Dummies might also affect how baby teeth grow.

Dummies can also delay baby's speech as the dummy prevents them from correct pronunciation.

Some studies have found harmful effects on the way teeth grow if dummies are used for a long time. Effects of dummies on baby teeth include overbite, malocclusion, cross bite and open bite.

Using an orthodontic or flat dummy is much better for your baby’s teeth, so that can help. These dummies are much better designed than dummies were in the past.

It’s also suggested that parents wean their children off dummies by two years old and discontinue using them before they turn three.

If you think using a dummy is affecting breastfeeding (fewer daily feeds, weight gain affected, or difficulties in attaching to the breast) or if you want to wean a younger baby from a dummy, you could try the following:

1. If the dummy is being used as a sleep cue, then introducing a different sleep cue can help.
2. Give extra attention to your baby by cuddling or nursing instead.
3. Try different ways to soothe your baby, such as carrying them in your arms or a sling, or increasing skin-to-skin contact with them. This helps them to feel better.
4. You could restrict your baby’s dummy use to certain times only, such as in the car.
5. Rewards might work better for an older child – your local children’s centre or health visitor can offer support with this. Some areas even have ’dummy fairies’ at Christmas.
6. Try picking a good time to stop using a dummy – when your child is feeling well, things are stable and they’re happy.
7. Have a go at hiding the dummy away so your child doesn’t see it.

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