Ferber and teething: when to pause and how to restart

You are three nights into the Ferber method and it was finally getting easier. Tonight your baby is drooling through their sleep sack, gnawing on the crib rail and crying in a way that sounds different. Now you are wondering whether to keep going or stop.

If your baby seems to be in pain from teething, pause the Ferber method for that night and comfort them. Sleep training is for a healthy baby protesting a change, and a sore baby needs you. Once the discomfort eases, usually within a night or a few, pick the plan back up. After a short pause you can often resume at the night you were on. If your baby has a fever, that is not teething, so treat it as possible illness and call your pediatrician if you are worried.

Why teething and Ferber often collide

The timing works against you. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says first teeth usually come in between 6 and 10 months, and that some babies feel teething discomfort weeks or even months before a tooth appears. Six months is also the age many families choose to start sleep training. So a lot of parents end up running the chart while a tooth is on its way.

The NHS notes that growth spurts, teething and illness can all affect how a baby sleeps. That is worth remembering on a rough night. A bad night during teething usually means something else is going on that night, and the method may still be working.

Teething or protest: how to tell the difference

At 2 a.m. it can be hard to know whether your baby is hurting or simply objecting to the new routine. A few clues help.

Signs that point to teething, based on what the AAP describes:

• Swollen or tender-looking gums where a tooth is coming
• Much more drool than usual, sometimes with a rash on the chin or around the mouth
• Chewing on hands, toys, the crib rail, anything within reach
• Fussiness during the day as well as at night, including at feeds

Signs that point to ordinary protest:

• The crying starts at bedtime or after a waking and follows the same pattern as previous nights
• Your baby is their usual self during the day, eating and playing normally
• The crying settles between check-ins, the way it has on earlier nights
• Gums look normal and there is no extra drool

Protest crying from the Ferber method can be loud and long, especially on Nights 2 and 3. Our article on why Night 3 can be worse explains why. Teething crying often sounds more uncomfortable, comes with physical signs, and does not follow your usual pattern.

If you genuinely cannot tell, go in and check. Looking at a baby you are worried about is never a mistake, and a calm look in the mouth and a hand on their forehead will often tell you more than the crying does.

Fever is not a teething symptom

This one surprises many parents. The AAP says extensive studies show fever is a false symptom of teething, and lists fever, persistent diarrhea and excessive crying as signs of illness rather than teeth.

So if your baby is hot, do not put it down to a tooth. Stop the plan for the night, comfort them, and follow your pediatrician’s advice.

How to pause Ferber for teething

A night or two off keeps most of what you have built. The aim tonight is to comfort your baby while keeping as much of the routine the same as you can.

1. Keep the bedtime routine. Same order, same length, same words. Familiar steps are reassuring for a baby who feels off.
2. Use the comfort measures your pediatrician suggests. The AAP lists soft teething toys, a chilled damp washcloth, and gentle gum massage with a clean finger. It says moderate use of acetaminophen can help on restless nights. Ask your pediatrician whether a pain reliever is right for your baby and what dose to use for their age and weight.
3. Avoid the products the AAP warns against. That includes numbing gels with benzocaine or lidocaine, homeopathic teething tablets, liquid-filled teething toys, and teething necklaces of any material.
4. Comfort fully when your baby is in pain. Pick them up, rock them, hold them. The AAP’s sleep guidance says you can attend to your baby, including comforting them if they are sick.
5. Put them back in their crib. When they are calm, lay them down on their back, drowsy but awake if you can manage it. If they fall asleep in your arms on a hard night, that is fine.

When you put your baby back down, the safe sleep basics still apply: on their back, on a firm, flat surface, in their own crib or bassinet, with no pillows, blankets, bumpers or soft toys. It is tempting to bring a miserable baby into your bed, but the AAP’s safe sleep guide recommends room sharing without bed sharing. You can sit beside the crib for as long as they need.

Our guide to teething, illness and when to pause covers colds and vaccinations as well.

How to restart Ferber after teething

Each evening, look at how your baby is doing before bedtime. If they are eating normally, their mood is back to usual and the gums seem less sore, you can pick the plan back up that night.

A simple way to decide where to restart:

• Paused for one or two nights: resume at the night you were on. If you stopped on Night 4, run Night 4.
• Paused for three to seven nights: step back a night or two in the chart. A baby who was on Night 4 might restart at Night 2 or 3.
• Paused for more than a week: start again at Night 1. Many families find a second run goes faster, because the routine is already familiar.

Night	1st wait	2nd wait	3rd wait, then every wait
Night 1	3 min	5 min	10 min
Night 2	5 min	10 min	12 min
Night 3	10 min	12 min	15 min
Night 4	12 min	15 min	17 min
Night 5	15 min	17 min	20 min
Night 6	17 min	20 min	25 min
Night 7	20 min	25 min	30 min

Waits are in minutes. After the third wait, keep repeating the third value until your baby is asleep. If your baby wakes later in the night, start again from that night's first wait.

The Ferber method chart explains how the waits work and why they restart after a night waking.

Expect the first night back to be a little bumpy. Your baby has had a few nights of being held to sleep, and some protest is normal. That is different from pain. If the crying sounds like discomfort again, or the teething signs come back, pause again. Some teeth arrive in stages, and it is fine to stop and start more than once.

When teething lasts longer than expected

Most teething pauses are short. If the discomfort drags on for many nights, or comes with ear-pulling, fever, diarrhea, or a baby who is not acting like themselves, check in with your pediatrician. It may be something other than a tooth.

And if teething seems to come and go for weeks, you do not have to put sleep training on hold for the whole stretch. Run the plan on good nights, pause on sore ones, and keep the routine steady throughout. If you would rather wait until things settle before starting at all, that is a reasonable choice too. The method page explains how the plan works when you are ready.

One thing to do tonight

Before bedtime, take a look at your baby’s gums and decide in daylight what you will do if they wake up sore: where the teething toy is, whether your pediatrician has okayed a pain reliever and at what dose, and which adult will go in. Write it on a sticky note by the crib.

The Ferber app keeps a history of every night you run and suggests the next night from that history, so after a teething pause you can see where you left off before deciding where to restart.

Common questions

Should I stop the Ferber method if my baby is teething?

If your baby seems to be in pain, yes, pause for that night and comfort them. Ferber is for a healthy baby protesting a new way of falling asleep. A baby who hurts needs you. Once the discomfort has eased, you can pick the plan back up.

Does teething cause a fever?

No. The American Academy of Pediatrics says studies have found fever is not a symptom of teething. If your baby has a fever, treat it as a possible illness, pause sleep training, and call your pediatrician if you are worried.

Do I have to start Ferber over from Night 1 after a teething pause?

Usually not. After a pause of a night or two, many families pick up at the night they were on. After a longer pause, stepping back a night or two in the chart gives your baby an easier start. After more than a week, starting again at Night 1 is reasonable.

How do I comfort a teething baby without undoing sleep training?

Comfort them fully when they are in pain, then put them back in their crib on their back, drowsy but awake if you can. Keep the lights low and the room quiet. A few nights of extra comfort during a sore patch rarely erases what your baby has learned.

Sources

1. American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Teething Pain
2. American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): When to Call the Pediatrician: Fever
3. American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Getting Your Baby to Sleep
4. NHS: Helping your baby to sleep
5. American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): A Parent's Guide to Safe Sleep