First Time Mom - Abington,PA

With my oldest daughter (going on 3), the Dr. had me start to give her juice at 6 months. But with my youngest daughter (going on 2), he said that new studies came out and that we had to wait until either 8 or 10 months. As far as the teething... This was something that someone told me, that she got from a native american that had been passed down: Beef Jerky. I would get the strips, and the spices would numb her gums and the jerky itself was something for her to chew on. If you do this, WATCH VERY CLOSELY, they can chew pieces off of it and choke. What I did was let her chew for a little, and then tear a piece off every so often. HTH.

he is old enough for juice i think the correct age is 6 months, i am not a big fan of juice for my kids but to give them something different i give them juice. i water it down if i put it in a bottle and i will use it straight in cereal. frozen waffles do well for teething.

Hi J.,

I just wanted to tell you that you should ask your doctor when to give your baby juice. Juice is not something that children need. Most juice is mostly sugar. Most people give their children too much juice. Small children should have no more than 4 ounces a day which is not much at all. If you are going to give your child juice try to make sure that it is 100% fruit juice and don't be fooled by the "good source of" of this or that claims. You can get those vitamins and minerals elsewhere with less sugar. Once baby has a taste of the sweet stuff they are usually hooked so be careful.

About the pain relief, I used to give my son frozen bagels or waffles to gnaw on. It seemed to work but use one of those mesh things to keep your child from choking. My son once gummed a bagel and broke off a big piece. Luckily, I was right there to grab it from him. Frozen fruit, like bananas may work too.

Hi J.:

Since it's summer now I would give your son juice any time. They need fluids in them also. For teeth I would give him tylenol. I know alot of people don't want to but think about yourself if your mouth was hurting like that wouldn't you want relief. I would give it to him if he seemed cranky and around a nap time and at bedtime. It's not like you are going to be giving it to him forever just while he's in pain.

good luck

D.

Hello J.,
My name is M. and I am the mother of a 10year old and a soon to be 2 year old. I asked my pediatrician and he told me i could start him on 4 ounces per day at the age of 6 months. It was sort of a treat for him.Congratulations and good luck. I hope that helped.

Hi J.,

I recommend waiting to give juice as long as you can. It's important to keep your baby hydrated in the extra hot weather, but you don't even need to give water in normal weather if your baby is drinking breast milk or formula every day. Juice is really only extra calories and sugar--and it gets your baby used to the taste of sweetness on a regular basis. Also, you can always dilute the juice if you put it in a cup. Never give your baby juice in a bottle--it's not a necessary food and it sends a mixed message. Good luck!!

The teething thing...I got this from another mom when my son first started teething. She used to use frozen carrots...not the baby ones but the full size carrots. They can't bite off pieces as easy. You just need to supervise in case they do get a piece off. This helps the teeth come though the gums.

I also got this tip from another mom. My son all the sudden started to cry everytime I put him down at night and for his nap. This mom told me to put a pillow under the matress on the end that his head is on to elivate his head. It worked!! He was back to his normal sleep and no more problems. It has something to do with being flat on their back and the pressure of the teeth.

Good luck!

Frozen bananas for teething are great! They just sort of gnaw on them and get little slivers of banana off.

Regarding the juice, you can give him juice now. I would just cut it with water. I always do half and half and make sure you're brushing his little teeth with a soft toothbrush or even just a with a washcloth at night.

Hi. My little girl is 9 1/2 months and I have not given her juice and probably will hold out as long as I can. I give her water in a sippy cup. I have read and my dr said the same that juice is a lot of calories (and sugar depending on which you give) and she said I can give water as long as she will take it. She loves it! She doesnt know any better! Im sure if I started her with juice she wouldnt want the water any longer. I know there are a lot of moms who do give juice but this is just my opinion.

Good luck!

Sorry I can't help you with the juice question. I'm not giving it to my daughter until she is older and only as a treat.

I used teething tablets for my daughter that helped alot. I used little remedies brand but there is also a brand called hylands that is recommended. They used to be hard to find but now I see them everywhere including babies r us and rite aid. teething is the worst

J.

Hi! I too am a mom with a 5 yr boy. My response comes from my profession though and not as a mom. I am a pediatric dental assistant and have been in dentistry for over 12 years. Juice has a lot of sugar in it. We tell parents to water it down and don't let them carry it around in a sippy cup. Doing this just bathes the teeth in sugar causing decay. Have it with a meal and then be done with it. As far as the teething goes...sigh - you are doing what you can about the teething...although you could ask the pediatrician about possibly giving tylenol (I did for the molars and it helped)

My daughter is now 9 years old. I didn't start her on juice until she was close to a year old from what I remember. She really didn't like it that much either which was a good thing. I think babies need water with fluride in it before juice. If i were going to give juice, i would make sure to water it down quite a bit and not put it in a bottle, only a sippie cup. As far as the teething goes, I gave infant tylone, frozen wash rags and oragel, but all in all i made sure her hands were clean since I knew she was going to use her own fingers to comfort herself.

My daughter is almost 7mnth. I put juice in a sip cup (50/50 water and juice) and put the sip cup in the ref. Then she has something cold and hard to gum will teething and helps her learn the difference between bottle and cup. I also give her little pices over watermellon. Something cool and mushly for her gums. I give my daughter the sipcup at meal times. She hasn't figured out how to drink from it yet, but she is trying and helps bust her independce.

I started giving my son juice at 6 months. I dilute it 50/50 with water. My son just turned a year old and I am still diluting it I probably won't give it to him straight until at least 2 years old.

Both of my girls were drinking diluted juice when they were placed with us at 9 months old. My soon to be (adopted) son is 6 months and I have not given him juice yet. I have some on hand and I may mix it with cereal, or give it to him very diluted on the hot summer days. My doctor said to give it to him in a sippy cup or regular cup (my doc is not a fan of sippy cups) as a way of training him to drink from something other than a bottle.

My daughters, now 5 and 2.5 still get their juice diluted unless we're out doing errands. It's more refreshing that way. In fact, on the rare occasion that I drink juice, I dilute it too! Nothing is more aggravating to me than being thirsty and then drinking sugary juice that makes you even more thirsty.

Teething - lots of good tips here that I'll use as my son is getting his first teeth as well!

Best of luck,
K.

Hi J.,
my name is trish and im a mother of a 15 month old daughter and a 10 yr old son. I started both of my children on juice around the age of your son, just start out simple with apple juice and pear and "white grape" whitch is also good for gas.dont give it to him straight make the bottle half juice half water, with some kids thats my be to strong if so do 1 ounce juice and 3 ounes water.. Also for the teeth find him so teething rings you can freeze and that will help big time!!!

I'm another mom who's not a big fan of juice, I've heard too many horror stories. I started giving my son water in a sippy cup at about 10 months to get him ready for summer, but he was mostly just formula. Even now, at almost 2 he won't drink juice if you offer it to him (which at the times he's constipated it would be helpful if he did). But, nope, he'd much rather have his milk or water.

As for teething, I agree with the Infant Tylenol. The other suggestion I had gotten from a mom was to let him chew on the Tylenol bottle -- after it was empty and cleaned out. He got so much comfort from the rubber tip as well as the ridges on the cap. Just make sure you clean it out really well and super-tighten the cap. He carried that around with him forever. I catch him even now chewing on it as his incisors come in.

I hope this helps!
T.

i think 6 months is when you can start giving them juice but i'm not sure. check with your pedi first. also, there is a product called baby orajel (sp?) that you can get at a drugstore or BRU that will help with the discomfort of teething. it comes in swabs that look like q-tips. it will only be temporary but it may help a little.

Hi J.. My son was givin fruit juice at 4 months. His peditrician started him on cereal and fruits and vegetables at 2 months. My daughter on the other hand her peditrician said not to give her juice till she was 10 months and then only allow her 4 ounces per day. I say it is up to you as the parent. If you want to change it up for him during the day offer him a little bit of apple juice watered down some, between formula bottles. It wont hurt him. My kids are fine and healthy and they have been having juice since 2 months.
For teething give him a spoon. A clean teaspoon. The metal is cool and feel good on his gums.

Our ped recommended apple or white grape juice at 2 months, which I (and everyone else I know) thought was much too young. I started my baby on juice around 4 months.

As other posters have noted - no more than 4 oz a day, diluted 50% with water. Don't bother with the gerber or other bottled 'baby juices' - they are just diluted juice (i.e. you are paying for the extra water.) I buy organic juice and add filtered tap water.

Our baby is now 1 year old - will drink juice (still diluted) water and milk with equal gusto. We still haven't given her orange juice, but apple, grape, cranberry, peach, etc. she enjoys very much.

One more quick thought - you should also ask your dr. how much water to give your baby. Because they're so small, babies can get over-hydrated very easily (water poisoning - if you can believe it.) In fact, some books I've seen recommend not giving water OR juice.

I think you can give juice at that age.

Have you seen the Baby Safe Feeders? Gerber also makes one that you can get at the grocery store. They are mesh bags attached to a handle so babies can safely feed themselves without the worry of choking hazards. I put chunks of frozen banana in them when my daughter was teething. It worked out great for teething pain. Good luck! You can also give infant Tylenol for teething pain--especially at night to help with sleep.

At my pediatrician's instructions, I started my daughter on juice in a sippy cup at 6 months. Don't put the juice in a bottle so that she learns to drink from a cup. We used the Gerber juice and diluted it with water. As for teething you can give him Infant's Tylenol. Check with your doctor about how much to give him.

Jenny,
When my daughter was born, she had quite a bit of problems with her bowel movements so I was actually giving her prune and apple juice at one month. With my other son, I probably started around 6 months or so. The main thing that you want to remember is that juice doesn't contain as much nutrition as formula, breast milk, etc. so you don't want to "fill them up" on it. But I do find, in the summer especially, that some watered down juice is just fine to quench their thirst.