Teething - Saint Marys, OH

I just heard on national public radio that orajel thickens the gums and prolongs the teeting time. I think I'd try cold foods, like the cold bagels the other lady told you about. My granddaughter just got her first 2 teeth and is working on the upper 2 now. We had heard about the orajel and didn't use it. She didn't have too bad a time of it, thankfully. We used the cold teething rings, but I think I'll pass the cold bagel idea onto my son, as she loves to eat, and especially breads.

I started cereal with my girls around the age of 1 1/2 - 2 months old. The girls always slept all night. My mom told me that she did this with me and my brother. It worked on my kids and they are doing just fine. They will ask every now and then when they are not feeling well or as my two older ones say "my tummy is cold" They would be asking for a very small bowl of warm oatmeal. :o) I give my youngest warm oatmeal at night so she will sleep all night long because I will not send her to bed with a sippy cup.

Just be sure to clean the tooth with a lil' soft brush and baby tooth cleaner.

I never used any of the teething meds. They were never really fussy about cutting the teeth in. My youngest is cutting 4 in right now and she is just fine.

Good luck!!

Try a popsicle for a 'treat' during the day....of course, when they are that young, you have to hold it and offer it to them :) They love them and the cold helps numb their gums for a quick relief. I happen to like teething rings....the ones you put in the refrigerator...and I also used a pacifier so they had something to 'chew on'. I had one child that had teeth this young, and another that didn't get teeth at all, until 15months. So, age varies with that. I think you have to keep trying different things until you find something that works for you.

Also, I always gave my babies a little cereal before bed too, and it seemed successful with longer sleep time. Gotta grab that whenever you can!

Have you tried teething tablets? They are homeopathic and natural way of easing the pain. I am unsure about the dose for a baby so young but they really have helped my 13 month old this week.

My son is 19 months old now, and we know exactly what you're going through. He has all of his baby teeth except for his second set of molars. Those aren't supposed to come in until he's 2 years old, I think, but they seem to be coming in early, also. We've tried all sorts of things, but what really works for him is Infant's Tylenol. I think we may have tried Infant's Motrin sometimes, too. I had the frozen popsicles that pop out of the plastic in the freezer recently, and when my husband would eat one of those, our son would beg to have some too. I think it really helped his gums. I wish we'd had them when he was younger because I think he would have really liked just chewing on the outside wrapper with the popsicle still inside. Good luck!

The only thing that worked for our baby teething are Hyland's teething tablets. They are these tiny little tablets and are homeopathic (with the pink and blue label). Our daughter tried everything and these were so mild to give her compared to children's Motrin or Tylenol. They dissolve in their little mouths pretty quickly and work almost immediately. You can find them at Target Walgreen's and Wal-mart. Here is the link to read about them: http://www.hylands.com/products/teething.php
Best of luck with your little baby! I couldn't have survived teething without this product!
Just to add a note, I see Tisha R says her nurse said not to try this product and I think that is bad advice. We took these Hyland's tablets to our pediatrician (not the nurse) and he said that there are no harmful ingredients in them. Our dentist looked them over and also gave us the go ahead. Please save yourself some trouble and try them.

I swear by the Hyland's Teething Tablets.

Also - as age appropriate - frozen food chunks soothe sore gums. I make my own baby food and freeze it in cubes. They make a mesh bag on a ring that holds food and the baby sucks on the bag to get the food out of it and reduce choking. I put frozen banana chunks in it.

Also, gum massage works very well.

I have four daughters (14, 12, 9, 9) and we tried everything when they were teething! I found that frozen bagels were their favorite thing. They stay cold a long time and they could really chew on them. We also use orajel in the cotton swabs. It is much easier to apply. After I rub it on the kids gums I put a small amount on my finger and rub it on my tongue or cheek so I would know when it had worn off for the kids. Also we used a product called my safe feeder, a mesh top with a handle...we put all kinds of frozen pieces of fruit in it and the kids could only get a small amount out through the mesh so no chance of choking. Good luck!

There are teething tabs made by the company Hylands. they are a homeopathic way to treat teething. they also have all kinds of other great products! You can get them at local helth food stores or look up the Hylands website.

Hope this helps :-)

B.

1) A lot of my friends swear by Hylands Teething Tablets - check the label for age
2) I used a washcloth, with cold water (stuck it in the freezer for about five minutes) and let me son gnaw on that - he liked it better than the teething rings.
3) We also used tylenol to help him sleep at night - you'd need to ask your ped if that would be safe for your child (mine cut his first tooth at 12 months).
3) Cereal this early? The American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization and many other agencies are now advocating delaying solids until at least 6 months. You may want to check into this. I'm not going to start my baby (he's five months) until he's 7 or 8 months. My ped told me to start cereal at 3 1/2 months - I showed him a few articles and told him I was going to be waiting - particularly since my oldest developed many food allergies.

Hi J. - Teething is a trying time for mommy! I talked to the nurse at my doctor's office about this when my daughter started teeting a few months ago. I asked about the homeopathic pill and she advised against it because it is all-natural it is not regulated by the FDA so you really aren't sure what is in it. I asked about oragel and she said it would be fine to use but it is temporary relief, so I didn't end up using that either. What worked BEST for me was to let her chew on her baby washclothes. She would chew on them dry, and when she was particularly grouchy I would wet a clean washcloth with cold water and let her chew on it. She loved it. I would also take a damp washcloth and wrap it around an icecube with a rubberband securing the icecube inside. She would chew on it and play with it until the cube melted. She now has 3 teeth on the bottom and one on top and they are still coming in. When it got bad in the evening I would give her some tylonal before bed to help her sleep.

J.,
Dont worry, my son did the same thing. It made for a very difficult month or two. The good news is, at least he is going to get it over with all at once. It is difficult for you and him at that time, but some parents have a very prolonged process for just one tooth.
What we found that worked best was some tylenol and chewing on some icee's. These are the popcicles that are in the long plastic packages, that you have to push them up to eat. He did well with those.
Hang in there. It will get better.

J.,
I am a gramma now, but my oldest daughter who is now 28 yrs. also cut her teeth very early. Almost exactly around the same time. The lower two front teeth were in fully before she was 4 mos. old. I used to chill the corner of a washcloth and rub it gently over her gums. Sometimes though, through my 3 grandsons.. we found that they were cutting the teeth more than likely through the bones rather than through the gums. I dont know whether you are seeing the tooth yet or not. But they will swell and cause probably more pain than actually cutting the tooth in my experience. Talk to your pediatrician about what to do as far as orajel and so forth. good luck, I will keep your little angel in my prayers.

We gave our daughter teething tablets. They are in the pharmacy with the homeopathic remedies. They worked really well for us. They are made with chamomile which is a relaxing agent, so basically they just helped her relax a little so she could sleep more. She was just about 3 months when we started using them. They dissolve in her mouth and taste sweet.

Our daughter got her first tooth at about 7 months, and we used a homeopathic pill that dissolves almost immediately when put in her mouth. It was at Target and I can't remember the name, but it had a label that was pink and blue. I don't know how much it actually helped with pain, but it helped her enough so that she didn't focus on the pain and was able to sleep. If you can't find it ask the pharmacist if they know what it is. My husband got this on their recommendation.

Hi J.,

My daughter also got her first teeth early, she had her bottom two at 12 weeks. I did not use any orajel because I felt she was too young. Most of the time I just let her chew on things, that seems to provide more relief than anything. Occasionally I would give her some "Hylands Teething Tablets", a homeopathic remedy that is very popular and available in most stores. I held off on the cereal until she was 5 months old. I didn't think that teeth necessarily meant she was ready to eat!

Best of luck to you.

:) K.

There are all natural teething tablets you can buy. I usually buy them at Wal-Mart, but I am sure other places sell them too. They don't hurt the babies just help with the pain and soreness they are having. You just put them under their tongue and they dissolve...no choking! On my 3 older children we have also used dill pickles...the big fat ones. Our doctor recommended it and it did work. I wouldn't use anything but the whole ones to keep the baby from getting the seeds in its mouth. Hope this helps!

You could check at your local health food stores for homeopathic teething drops. I never used them because thankfully my kids never had issues with teething. But I have heard that the drops have been helpful from some other Moms. As far as his teeth coming in early, all kids are different. 6 mos is an average age for the first teeth to erupt, but not a strict guideline. He will probably get his permanent teeth a little earlier, too. Just be sure to keep his mouth clean, either by gently brushing his teeth and gums with an extra soft brush, or by wiping with a soft cloth or piece of gauze. Also once the teeth erupt it is a wise idea to start cutting out liquids other than water in his nightime bottles. Its never too early to start thinking about decay prevention :-)