Teething 101

I feel like my little one has been teething for 80% of his life. Not only that but who knew babies could drool as much as a St. Bernard …. at least that is what it feels like sometimes.

Parents, if you are going though teething for the first time like I am you are probably just as lost. You feel helpless because you don’t know if your child is in pain with the teeth coming in. What is worse is that there really is no set of symptom that all children will show once those pearl whites start coming in. However, there are a few things that you can start looking for if you suspect your child is teething.

• Drooling – Normally this can be a big sign, however my son was a drooler since month one. So this threw us off.
• Ear Grabs – This yes, can mean that they have teeth coming in or it could mean they are tired, or have an ear ache. Again not a for sure sign.
• Loose Stools/Runny Noses- This tends to be an old-wives tale. That if they get a runny nose when it’s not cold season or their stools are loose it could mean they are swallowing more saliva. But again it could also just mean a cold.
• Red Cheeks – This may be a bigger hint, unless your child just got done running around or sleeping on its side.
• Not wanting to Eat – Your child may start turning away at meal time. Depending on what they are eating it could irritate the gums. If you are still feeling it puree food, this might not be a good sign to go off of.
• Swollen and Red Gums – Yes is a very good sign that maybe something is getting ready to make an appearance.
• Biting and Chewing on Anything and Everything – If your little one is starting to put everything in their mouth this is also a good strong sign that teeth are coming in. If they normally didn’t suck on their fingers and now you can’t get them to stop yes, teeth are coming in
• A Tooth is Visible – Yes this is for sure the best sign that you have a teething child. IF your child will let you, you can also put your clean finger in their mouth to feel it. Be careful because if they have both front and bottom teeth they are pretty sharp lol.

Now that you have an idea of what to look for if your child is teething. There are some things out there to help make this process a little easier on them and you.

 

I am a mom that loved this toy because my son loved it. Sofie the Giraffe.  He loved to chew on it for the first few teeth that were coming in. After that he seemed to loose interest in it. This teether is a little pricey, but we ended up getting it as a baby shower gift.

 

Another good teether we had was the Bumkins DC Comics Silicone Teether – Superman. My husband is a huge fan of Superman and wanted his son to not only have this but also calls it our family crest. Lol. I did find that my son liked to chew on this more when we kept it in the fridge. The price on this is a little more budget friendly and it’s made well. They do carry other superhero symbols.

 

This one I would for sure check with your own pediatrician Ours told us a good way to help our son if nothing else worked was to do a little Baby Tylenol. We didn’t use it very much, but some nights it was the only thing that would work. Also beware that there is dye-free Tylenol. My husband picked it up from the store one time, and we were like why isn’t it red like the last. Then we saw he grabbed the dye free one.

 

Another item that worked well was the RaZ-Berry. It’s a nice soft silicone pacifier, that has little bumps like a raspberry to help massage those achy gums. Our little one loved this one as well, even more so when we kept it cold in the fridge.

 

Since our son is a drooling machine when he is teething. He seemed to go through about 3-4 shirts a day. Thankfully we had a friend who told us about these Baby Bandana Dool Bibs with Teething toys. You’re probably thinking why not just wear a regular bib all day. Which you could, but I loved these because they still were pretty stylish. If we had a cute/funny shirt on him I didn’t want it covered up by a bib all day. These bandannas helped to cut down the shirt changing to maybe 1-2 a day. Plus he loved to chew on the toys.

These are just a few of my favorite things that have helped us get through some of our teething stage. However the biggest thing that we found that worked with teething is……CUDDLING. Yes, this we found was the biggest winner of them all. Our son just wanted that extra time to sit with us, and let me know that everything was going to be okay.

My son up late with teeth coming in.