When do they..........

I was wondering if anyone has had their child start teething early? My son is only 12 weeks - but for the last week he has been grizzly and pull at his ears all the time. Someone told me that babies pull their ears when they are teething. He was 17 days overdue when he was born, and I wonder if that has anything to do with him doing things early. He first smiled at 3 weeks. I know that Drs class premmie babies by their due date - maybe its the same with overdue babies? One thing we haven't mastered is SLEEP!! He doesn't nap during the day - if he does it will be for 15 minutes, and he still wakes every 4 hours for a feed during the night. Does anyone know any ways that I can stretch it out a bit more? I would really love some sleep?

Hi Marti,
My little guy was grizzly at about 12 weeks, we blamed it on a growth spurt and then on teething but as strange as it sounds one day he stopped being difficult. He also wouldn't nap during the day which drove me crazy as the more tired he became the more grumpy he was. We had to use controlled crying as a method to get him to sleep and it worked. Most of the time he goes down without a fight and it does him and me the world of good.

Have you started solids yet? He should be 4 months by now. I found my baby girl slept better during the day and night after she started solids at 4 months (although she didn't much like it at first). As far as teething goes they're not supposed to do that till about 6 months but it sometimes happens earlier. I've heard of babies being born with teeth. My oldest daughter, on the other hand was really late with her teeth. I suppose if he's grizzly and pulling at his ears the main thing to do would be to have his ears checked to make sure they're not sore.

I have started him on solids - a few weeks early. He just has some farex of a night, and then about an hour later, I give him a bottle and its off to bed. But........................... he still wakes up - although he may go 5 hours!! I think he is just a little fat pig!

Hey Marti, to answer your question yes from the sounds your bubs could be teething. My little girl got her first tooth at 3 months 1 week. The maternal and child health nurse was the first to pick up on it as bubs gums were all hard. Good luck and heres hoping he's a good teether......... Keep smiling Sarah and 9 m/o girl

My baby has just started to act like he is teething, he 14 weeks old.. he sleeps fine, except for a few bad nights when he got up at 3.30 and wanted to play... He gets really grumpy, chews everything, and breast feeding him has become a nightmare. This has occured for the last 2 weeks but still no damn tooth, how long will it take before it comes out?

hi i am tracy i have 2 kids, 3 three years and 1 year, I have found that teeth only take a couple of days to come through, so if they are grizzly and pulling at their ears it could also be another reason, like an earache or infection or even that they are playing with them they could hurt themselves and we all know how annoying an irratated ear is! This also interrupts sleep and feeding.

I was told when the pull there ears it means the are teething or have a ear infection but yes I do understand what your talking about my little boy started teething at 3 months and he now has 3 teeth!

My little one pulls his ears when he is tired. He also gets very grizzly. So by sounds of things he sounds very tired. My son was such a little bugger too, untill I started the Sleep, feed, play program where he fed every three hours so he would top himself up so he could go the long stretch at night. He has been sleeping through since 10 weeks. Good luck.

dear dawns mum,
my little girl has been teething for the last 4 weeks and is now 4 months old, she is not quite grasping things firmly enough to put a teething ring in her mouth to help ease the pain. as yours teethed early do you have any suggestions apart from rubbing the gums yourself, which at he moment is taking up a large amount of our play time
thanks michelle

My baby girl has been having what i see as teething symptoms for the past 6 weeks (since she was 3 months old) and everyone has been saying to me, she appears to be teething but it is too early. Just recently she has been waking up from her sleeps screaming and as soon as i comfort her she just sooks and manages to drift off again which i am putting down to her teeth too, because some days she is just soo cranky, yet a teether held by me settles her, so it's pretty obvious. My Mum said sometimes the teeth can just put pressure on their gums, but not come through which causes them discomfort. Try to hold a teether for your child is all i can suggest to see if it helps smile

I hope he feels better soon.

Hi Marti - I have a 3 yr old and 10mth old. Yes it is possible that your son is teething however it could be a number of other reasons that he is pulling at his ears. As mentioned, he could have an ear infection (is he running a temperature?) or otherwise, because of his lack of sleep during the day, being grizzly could be that he is overtired and by pulling at his ears it could be his "tired" sign (my niece did this after my sister-in-law was convinced on a number of occasions her daughter had an ear infection we realised it was her tired sign. Although your son is only 12 weeks, I saw a sleep docter with both my children (try logging onto www.silentnights.com.au) controlled crying may be your answer for getting your son to sleep for longer periods. Take heart it can be hard but boys tend to learn quicker than girls that crying wont get them anywhere so they may as well go to sleep. Also, if your baby is on the large side, perhaps starting solids as someone else suggested may be worthwhile. Start slowly and perhaps in the evening intially but if you find him too tired start first thing in the morning. Go slow introducing only baby cereal first. Hope this helps>