Tips for teething
Can we just take a moment for the suckage that is teething?
I was going to say something about how teething may be as tough as breastfeeding, but after thinking about it for .2 seconds remembered that’s not the case at all. Teething, though.. wow. It’s still a biotch.
It’s unpredictable. Sometimes we’ll go a few weeks with no new teeth and a sunny disposition, but then a teething week will strike out of nowhere. My sweet baby will have on her fussy pants, and I’ll scramble around trying to find something to make her feel better. Usually I can tell it’s teething when she gets really drooly and start putting every toy in her mouth. Another tricky thing about teething is that you have no idea how long each spurt will be. Word to the world, too: teething lasts 2-ish years. <– something I definitely didn’t think about until Liv was here. Obviously I didn’t think she’d pop them all out at once, but two years is a long time!
While I definitely don’t have the whole teething thing figured out, I thought it would be fun to ask all of the mamas/nannies/friends out there to share some of their tips. Here are some of ours.
Tips for Teething
(Always check with your doc or pediatrician before giving your baby anything new, especially in regards to medicine doses and alternative treatments. The above portion contains some Amazon affiliate links. Thank you so much for supporting the blog!)
-Teething rings
Liv loves the icy ones
, and when she was really tiny, the Vulli teethers
and the above Sophie teether
These are awesome with frozen breast milk cubes, ice cubes, or our current technique: frozen berries. I’ll fill up the mesh feeder with different types of frozen berries and Liv will happily chew on the feeder. Make sure to do a bib with this one, since it can get a little messy.
These are a HUGE hit around here. I always have some on hand in different flavor combos (banana, berries and water; milk, banana, sunflower seed butter; mango, avocado, water, a splash of lime juice; strawberry yogurt, banana, sunflower seed butter)
-Teething strips and tablets. These are homeopathic remedies and really seem to work. We’ve been using the Humprey’s strips and the Hyland’s teething tablets
for quite a while. If they don’t seem to help, or Liv has a fever, I’ll give her Baby Tylenol (they make a dye-free version, which is something that important to me.)
-For drool rash: coconut oil! We use coconut oil for many things, and it’s especially helpful with any type of rash.
-Lots of snuggles. I’ve realized that the worst teething days are the ones where Liv just wants to be held. I strap her on in the BabyHawk and we’ll take a walk or lounge around the house together.
-Something we have but never used: amber teething necklace. I forgot about it for a while since Liv was so little, but even though it can snap out if it becomes obstructed, I’ve been too paranoid to use it even though she’s always in my sight. If any of my friends mention that they want one, we’ll probably give it away.
Any other teething tips to share? I’d love to hear them!
Liv has 4 molars now! FOUR. That’s a lot of big, honking, painful teeth to work out.
xoxo
Gina
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Actually if you think about teething can last even longer, because they get molars as they get older. Its harder when they are little but the 6 year molars hurt too and you can’t give a 6 year old a teething ring. I had my oldest getting his 6 year molars at the same time that my youngest was teething with 4 teeth coming through. I feel your pain. I think teething is the worst because sometimes all you can do is snuggle.
Heather
I’m with you on the teething! Everytime our little one is fussy my husband and I automatically say “Well, she’s teething”:) We have found that Ibuprofen works a lot better and longer than Tylenol…for those really painful nights. Also, check into the Hyland strips and tablets…our pediatrician strongly stressed to us not to use them if they contain belladona.
Meant to add that belladona is supposedly a “no-no” b/c its an unregulated sedative.
our ped said it was fine because it’s such a minuscule amount
Isn’t it funny all the different opinions (ever professional) you get as a momma?! Drives me crazy.
I also agree motrin(ibuprofen) is much more effective since its an anti-inflammatory and lasts longer (6-8 hrs) vs Tylenol.
Now that my daughter is older and is working on her 2 year old molars we have been wetting a wash cloth and then freezing it. Makes for a great flexible teether that I don’t have to worry about her hurting her other teeth on/biting through.
wash cloth one is great people have been doing it for years and babys love it!
Morals were the WORST for us. We used all the above things but our daughter goes on a hunger strike when she’s teething. Like wont eat any solid food- so our teething “treats” are smoothies! And I’ve just learned that a healthy attitude of “this too shall pass” is best:)
yikes, sounds painful. logan has 8 teeth, but no back ones yet. for the first 8, he had no interest in any teething toys, frozen or not. he hasn’t had popsicles before, but I can see him throwing them on the floor. he gets super irritable and a runny nose, and nothing helps until it’s over!
You could try using the amber necklace as a bracelet or anklet, wrapped around twice. I have heard that works well for some babies.
My son just got his canines but he’s already sticking his hands all the way behind his molars, so I guess the second set of molars is coming soon. Luckily he doesn’t seem too bothered by the whole thing (or doesn’t show it), but we do lots of cold smoothies and apple slices for him to chew on. A random guy on the bus once suggested a slice of frozen bread to chew on. I’m personally not a fan of giving my son Tylenol for every little thing, but if things get really crazy, we sometimes give him homeopathic Camilia teething drops.
Boy oh boy, we are going through teething right now also. My son is cutting four teeth at once. He got his first four all at once too. He just gets so clingy and while I LOVE holding him, it makes it very difficult to get anything else accomplished (although after reading The Last Time link, I don’t even care anymore about the other stuff I need to do).
Apple slices and teething tablets seem to help. He also enjoys chewing on a cold washcloth for a short amount of time. We sometimes give him Tylenol before bed if he really needs it.
I love the sophie teething ring and I am inclined to by an amber necklace. I think its worth a try!
Love the mesh feeder and baby pops idea! I will keep this for when I have my first child, hopefully this year! I love seeing the love in your family, it gives me hope for mine.
Have you seen these gum massaging sticks? http://www.amazon.com/Zo-li-Gummy-Stick-Baby-Massagers/dp/B0031B5CEE My niece loves them and she’s just a little older than Liv. I think they seem great because the end is smaller than typical teethers and they can really get it further back in their mouths. Just thought I’d pass it along!
My son is almost three and has had all his teeth for 6 months or so. Now he started chewing on his hands again! Someone told me his teeth could be through but still pushing up. Poor kid! I have been rubbing his gums(through his cheeks, don’t want to get bit) and he seems to like that.
If you’re wanting to get rid of the amber necklace, I’m happy to pay shipping! Our daughter is eleven months old, and she is such a happy and easy baby, but when she teethes her entire personality changes. I’ve been meaning to try the amber necklaces because if they work then I’d like to offer her something that helps her feel better. Let me know and hope Livi feels better soon 🙂
We’re working on teeth #3 & 4 right now…poor guy. He isn’t too bad, but we know when he’s teething because he shows very little interest in solids, wants to nurse alllll the time and will wake up for the boob around 3am (as opposed to his glorious 12 hour stretch). The Hylands tablets work really well for him, but we had a particularly bad day recently and some moms I know SWEAR by clove oil. You mix 1 drop of clove oil with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and rub on their gums. It acts like a natural orajel! It’s amazing!! (Whatever you do, be sure to dilute with oil and not water….water makes it stronger and will burn.)
Teething is soo hard. All at once it seemed like my son’s molars starting coming in. Made for a rough couple of weeks, sleep included. Hope Livi is feeling better.
By the way…where did you get those cute baby popsicle molds?
Yes, i am wondering the same on the popsicle molds, thank you!
I learn so much from these posts! I hope I can be as good of a mama (one day) as you are!
I couldn’t get my head to be ok with an amber necklace either but William has an anklet and it’s normally covered by a sock or tugged in his sleeping bag so he can’t get to it. He’s been wearing it for 6mths+ and he has never pulled it off. Maybe you can wrap the necklace around and try it?
Amy x
My youngest son is getting a set of molars through at the moment. It sucks big time, more so for him than me I guess!
We haven’t found much that helps him other than teething gel. Sometimes chewing on a clean toothbrush seems to help too. He always gets nappy rash so I use coconut oil on it.
I long for the days when my daughter was teething. She never had any trouble with it. In fact, we only knew she’d been teething once each tooth appeared. Then again, she didn’t get her first tooth until she was 13 months 🙂
We’re in the middle of a teething nightmare. My seven month old has cut 6 (!!!) teeth in the last two weeks – 4 on top and now the bottom two. Needless to say, there’s not much sleep going on around here. Since it’s summer here in Australia, the child health nurse suggested freezing the stone (with the fruit that’s left after you cut the cheeks off) from a mango and giving that to my daughter to chew on. It made for a messy but happy baby while it lasted!
My kids are well past the teething stage now (8 and 5), but I will second the frozen wet washcloth idea. They both loved that. Also, our pediatrician said there is something in pineapple that soothes sore gums. I used to freeze a piece of fresh pineapple and put it in the mesh feeder thing for them to gnaw on.
I don’t have any great tips, but I just want to give you the heads-up, plus a word of encouragement:
1. Her reaction/pain/etc. will get worse everytime she teethes, so just be prepared. You will breathe a huge sigh of relief once those last sets of teeth pop out!
b. As with most “phases,” it’s ONLY TEMPORARY. It will pass in a few days or so, and she’ll be back to herself 🙂 I really feel like teething is your training course on learning that saying “this to shall pass,” since it’s the first of MANY phases (tantrums, seperation anxiety, clinginess, etc.) that she will likely go through.
Just trying to pass along a little wisdom from my experience raising a generally happy/easy boy, much like Livster (he’s 5 1/2 now).
Good luck!
Ahhhhh, the TEETHING !!!!! Jack is getting his bottom molar and HOLY TEETHING it was!!!! Nothing, i mean nothing helped him feel better except being held…i felt like we had returned to the ‘newborn stage’ and i tried reallllly hard to enjoy it, but it was tough for 3 days!
I love your ideas….i don’t have any new ones since like i said not much seemed to help him…had to give a bit of Tylenol as well since it was so bad. Made the little guy feel better:)
What a beautiful pic of you and Liv snuggling, just precious!!!!!
Teething always seems to catch us by surprise, it’s always after the tooth comes in that we’re like, “Oh, that’s what was wrong with you.” Breaks my heart every time to think that he was in pain and we did nothing. You’d think after 10 teeth we’d figure it out!
When I DO realize he’s teething, we give him whole carrots to chew on since he doesn’t like the cold stuff (ALWAYS supervised, don’t want him to choke!). He walks around like Bugs Bunny, it’s so cute.
Our little one loved gnawing on frozen waffles when she was teething. She got all her teeth pretty early and now at just over 2 years we are done for a while (PTL!)….until baby #2 arrives in May 🙂
My son is cutting his last 4 teeth and oh my goodness it’s heartbreaking. I thought our teething ring days were over, but I got a couple out of the fridge or him this morning and he loved chewing on them. I think I’ll try some baby popsicles, too!
We have used an amber teething necklace since 3 months (he is 11 months now). We also use Camilia homeopathic drops, which can be found at Walgreens.