Finding sleep with a teething baby

As you may know, a baby teething and sleep are two things that just don’t go together. My little angel who had been sleeping through the night for a good 4-5 months, reached 9 months old and bam - she started waking up 2-3x a night again. I had no idea why until I peeked into her mouth to find new shiny teeth! Poor girl was uncomfortable at night and the whole house was not getting any sleep over it. I was especially having a difficult time finding peace at night. I felt like I couldn’t go to sleep because she might wake up, and then when she did wake up and I was able to calm her back down, I couldn’t relax enough to get myself back to sleep. My brain would start racing with ways to help with teething, beat myself up on why didn’t I sleep train, or think about what I have to do for work tomorrow and how I’m not getting enough sleep...you get the picture. After many nights of this, I had to try something to help me get back to sleeping.

I knew that the over-the- counter medicines would not work for me. The Advil PMs and ZZZquils were too potent for me, and I hated that groggy feeling in the morning. Every time I took one of those, I couldn’t get out of bed. That would not work for me as a new mom.

When she did get herself back to snoozing, I then had a difficult time getting myself back to sleep...the alcohol and its effects kept me up.

So, I tried melatonin first, which was very relaxing when I was getting into bed, however, I still found myself waking up in the middle of the night, even when my little one wasn’t waking up. It couldn’t sustain through the night. Then, I tried having a glass of wine to settle my mind after she went to bed. However, when she did wake up in the middle of the night, I was very irritable while I was helping her back to sleep. I felt terrible physically, and mentally I felt terrible because I wasn’t being patient with her. When she did get herself back to snoozing, I then had a difficult time getting myself back to sleep...the alcohol and its effects kept me up. And don’t get me started on the hangover the next day. Even a glass of wine could set me on the couch for the next day (my tolerance went out the window after not drinking during pregnancy).

Then, I decided to call my cannabis doctor here in Florida (where medicinal maurijuana is legal).

I told him about the slight insomnia I was experiencing and that I was having difficulty getting back to sleep after my little one would wake up. I had tried vaping, but in my experience, it would hit me too hard too fast because I had a hard time taking in just what I needed. My doctor suggested trying a low dose with gummies. They come in either 10-15mg THC doses, which is typical one serving for an adult. I went out and got myself a package of Green Apple 10mg THC gummies.

After I put her down for the night, I decided to take half a gummy. I’ve had the not so great brownie experience so I wanted to try and avoid that if at all possible.. The 5mg THC dose got me relaxed in 20-30 minutes, enough to decompress from the day but not so stoned that I couldn’t get myself off the couch. I was happy to get to bed. Then, she woke up in the middle of the night. I was able to get up and help her, in a relaxed state. I wasn’t irritable, I was calm, which made the whole task easier.

The best part was after she was able to get back to sleep, I could too - quickly. In the morning, I was well rested despite being awoken in the night, I felt like I was able to unwind from a busy work day, and - no hangover. It’s been a no brainer for me ever since.

I’m keeping my eye open here in Florida for more low dose cannabis-infused edibles as I find that a better option for me at night. I would love to see some teas, tonics or even gummies with selected sleep inducing ingredients. But for now, I’m enjoying having cannabis in my cabinet to help me get through this period as a mom.