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 thatโs not the case at all. Teething, though.. wow. Itโs still a biotch.
Itโs unpredictable. Sometimes weโll 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 Iโll scramble around trying to find something to make her feel better. Usually I can tell itโs 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. <โ something I definitely didnโt think about until Liv was here. Obviously I didnโt think sheโd pop them all out at once, but two years is a long time!
While I definitely donโt 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
โMesh feeders
These are awesome with frozen breast milk cubes, ice cubes, or our current technique: frozen berries. Iโll 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. Weโve been using the Humpreyโs strips and the Hylandโs teething tablets
for quite a while. If they donโt seem to help, or Liv has a fever, Iโll 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 itโs especially helpful with any type of rash.
-Lots of snuggles. Iโve realized that the worst teething days are the ones where Liv just wants to be held. I strap her on in the BabyHawk and weโll 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, Iโve been too paranoid to use it even though sheโs always in my sight. If any of my friends mention that they want one, weโll probably give it away.
Any other teething tips to share? Iโd love to hear them!
Liv has 4 molars now! FOUR. Thatโs a lot of big, honking, painful teeth to work out.
xoxo
Gina
Some good reads:
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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 canโt 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
Iโm with you on the teething! Everytime our little one is fussy my husband and I automatically say โWell, sheโs teethingโ:) We have found that Ibuprofen works a lot better and longer than Tylenolโฆfor those really painful nights. Also, check into the Hyland strips and tabletsโฆour pediatrician strongly stressed to us not to use them if they contain belladona.
Meant to add that belladona is supposedly a โno-noโ b/c its an unregulated sedative.
our ped said it was fine because itโs such a minuscule amount
Isnโt 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 donโt 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 sheโs teething. Like wont eat any solid food- so our teething โtreatsโ are smoothies! And Iโve just learned that a healthy attitude of โthis too shall passโ 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 hasnโt 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 itโs 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 heโs already sticking his hands all the way behind his molars, so I guess the second set of molars is coming soon. Luckily he doesnโt seem too bothered by the whole thing (or doesnโt 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. Iโm 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 donโt 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 sheโs 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 Iโd 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, donโt want to get bit) and he seems to like that.
If youโre wanting to get rid of the amber necklace, Iโm 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. Iโve been meaning to try the amber necklaces because if they work then Iโd like to offer her something that helps her feel better. Let me know and hope Livi feels better soon ๐
Weโre working on teeth #3 & 4 right nowโฆpoor guy. He isnโt too bad, but we know when heโs 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! Itโs amazing!! (Whatever you do, be sure to dilute with oil and not waterโฆ.water makes it stronger and will burn.)
Teething is soo hard. All at once it seemed like my sonโs molars starting coming in. Made for a rough couple of weeks, sleep included. Hope Livi is feeling better.
By the wayโฆwhere 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 couldnโt get my head to be ok with an amber necklace either but William has an anklet and itโs normally covered by a sock or tugged in his sleeping bag so he canโt get to it. Heโs 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 havenโt 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 sheโd been teething once each tooth appeared. Then again, she didnโt get her first tooth until she was 13 months ๐
Weโre in the middle of a teething nightmare. My seven month old has cut 6 (!!!) teeth in the last two weeks โ 4 on top and now the bottom two. Needless to say, thereโs not much sleep going on around here. Since itโs summer here in Australia, the child health nurse suggested freezing the stone (with the fruit thatโs 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 donโt 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 โphases,โ itโs ONLY TEMPORARY. It will pass in a few days or so, and sheโll be back to herself ๐ I really feel like teething is your training course on learning that saying โthis to shall pass,โ since itโs 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 (heโs 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 heldโฆi felt like we had returned to the โnewborn stageโ and i tried reallllly hard to enjoy it, but it was tough for 3 days!
I love your ideasโฆ.i donโt have any new ones since like i said not much seemed to help himโฆhad 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, itโs always after the tooth comes in that weโre like, โOh, thatโs what was wrong with you.โ Breaks my heart every time to think that he was in pain and we did nothing. Youโd think after 10 teeth weโd figure it out!
When I DO realize heโs teething, we give him whole carrots to chew on since he doesnโt like the cold stuff (ALWAYS supervised, donโt want him to choke!). He walks around like Bugs Bunny, itโs 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!)โฆ.until baby #2 arrives in May ๐
My son is cutting his last 4 teeth and oh my goodness itโs 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 Iโll 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.