Is This Symptoms of Teething?

Lynelle,

His yelling/talking is not usually a symptom of teething, but of a baby exploring his voice. Some of it may be for attention, but mostly it's to see what kind of a reaction he can get from you guys. When my daughter (15 months) did/does this I just look at her say "inside voice please" in a calm tone, then go back to what I was doing. She only got loud for a few days, then realized there were other ways to get Mom's attention.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

Most babies go through a stage (or 2) of screaming for the sake of screaming. They like to hear themselves and see the reaction. When you pick him up while he's doing it, it's a reaction so that is probably why he stops. There's nothing really wrong with it in my opinion, it's just a little annoying. All my kids did it and so did all the kids in my daycare. They all seem to eventually get bored and stop. Then move onto a new noise. They seem to do the screaming thing again around 18 - 20 months, again just for "fun". As long as they are not screaming in pain or anger, I let them go ahead and get it out of thier system. Stay calm, it will pass.

As far as the teething... My son's dentist saw him for his first teeth at the age of 4 months and told me that when kids are teething, there is an enzyme released in thier mouths that helps move the teething process along and that giving tylenol, while it definitly helps with pain (the fussiness is caused by pain so thats why they stop being fussy when you give it to them - the pain is gone) the problem is that tylenol reduces the enzyme released in their saliva and in reality, makes teething take longer. He told me I should try home remedies like ice, popcycles, frozen bananas and teething toys.

It doesn't sound like teething to me just normal baby figuring out their voice behavior, but every child acts differently. Typical signs of teething are drooling, chewing, swollen gums, tugging on their ear, some can have looser stools and runny noses too.

I personally feel worse giving such a young child tylenol or motrin. I've used the teething tablets with both my children, and it works! I have always given them a half or just one tablet which is less than recommended, but they didn't seem to need more than that. I know a kid who ate a whole bottle of them once and nothing ever happened, the concentration is really low his naturopath said. Years later he's fine still, never got sick, nothing!

My teething daughter loves the cold teethers but if he doesn't you can try a frozen washcloth, frozen pizza crust, other toys, or teething biscuits. Good luck!

Sounds like he just found his voice....lol! Once they realize how loud they can be they like to keep things at that level!

As for teething.....my youngest is not at all affected by tylenol or motrin and was/is sometimes up for hours in the middle of the night....it stinks....the teething tablets did pretty much nothing to help any of my kids.....they hated teething rings.....and the wash cloth trick did nothing.... I just gave them whole cold pickles to gum through out the day. They smelled and were a bit messy but it worked great for us. (I'm sure some folks will have issues with this method but I sat them in thier seats at the table and sat with them the whole time. None of mine ever got a chunk off until they had a whole big set of chompers.)
Even on his worst days just keep reminding yourself that this teething stage passes pretty quickly in the whole scheme of things and soon enough it will be over!

Enjoy the cute baby hollars..............they get much louder as they get older....lol!

I think the connection of him stopping when you look at him or pick him up may be an indicator he is just wanting attention. He is discovering a cause and effect of him actually doing something that gets results. If it gets bothersome - or that you cannot do anything without carrying him around - try letting him cry it out a bit. Establish a routine that will let him now you will take care of his needs: consider if he is hungry, needs to burp, wet or soiled diaper, bored and needs a toy to play with etc., then let him cry it out a bit. Start with one minute of ignoring him. then pat him on the back or gently touch his leg if he is in a swing or bouncy seat, then go back in 5 minutes, then 10. Then do your routine again (check the diaper, offer him something to eat, etc.) then give him 1 minutes, 5 minutes etc. He'll catch on that you are there for him.

Just in case it is teething also...he might just not be liking the same treatments for it now. My daughters both liked chewing on a wet baby wash cloth to soothe their gums and it kept them busy and quieter too because they thought it was fun. :) Just a thought.

It sounds to me like he has just found his vocal cords and is learning how to use them to communicate. It has nothing to do with teething, just the beginning of talking.

Motrin has always been a good thing for babies pain/fever, my mom told me that, and it works wonderful for my lil man.

Hi,

My son went through a period of time at around that age of high-pitched squealing as well. It wasn't crying, just screaming. I honestly think that he was just checking out his vocal chords. It didn't last that long. If this is what is going on- maybe you should get some earplugs. :-) Good luck.
I just read another comment and had to laugh... we called our son the teradactyl too. :-)

Lynelle, I agree with the other moms, it sounds like he is wanting attention, learning his voice and possibly hurting from the teething. You can look at other signs of teething such as loose stools and irritability(sp). sorry, i've worked all weekend! LOL!

I too, am a nurse and health care consultant, and was concerned about the belladonna, however, after speaking to my pediatrician, they assured me it was a very small amount and virtually harmless. My first two girls were wonderful with them! My son had heart problems at birth so I chose not to give them to him. I'm not sure I would advise the motrin right now...I just personally don't like to give little ones motrin unless they don't respond to tylenol. Otherwise, best of luck! And hope this all helps!

Sounds like the other moms have it down with the "finding his voice" advice but here's an excerpt from The no-cry sleep solution by Elizabeth Pantley, which lists the symptoms of teething as ones that "typically accompany the teething process (pg. 188)" so you can rule that out:

"difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
fussiness
drooling
runny nose
rash on the chin or around the mouth
biting
red cheeks
rejecting the breast or bottle
increased need to suck
swollen, discolored gums"

she says that to relieve symptoms:

"give [him] a clean, cool washcloth to chew on
let [him] chew on a teething ring that is either room temperature or chilled in the refrigerator (not frozen)
frequently and gently pat [his] chin to dry
offer a sip of cold water
rub [his] gums with a clean, wet finger
use a specially made baby toothbrush to clean the gums
dab petroleum jelly or a gentle salve on [his] chin in the drool area
breastfeed often, for comfort as well as nutrition."

hope that helps, good luck.

It doesn't sound like it has anything to do with teething, in fact it doesn't even sound like there's a problem. In general, way too many symptoms are attributed to teething, and teething in itself doesn't necessarily hurt anyway. And I agree that he may be expressing some separation anxiety, he's just letting you know that wants to be near you and have your attention, so give him lots! (And I most definitely wouldn't give him any drugs.)

He may just developmentally be where he's having seperation anxiety. My little one had it for about a month between 6 and 7 months, and just needed to be held by me or she would cry. My husband is very involved, but she wouldn't really go to him unless everything else was just perfect and it wouldn't be for very long even then. Hold him, wear him, cosleep and it'll pass.

The belladonna in the teething tablets isnt enough to be toxic. It takes a huge quantity of nightshade to hurt someone. I used the teething tablets with 2 of the 3 of my kids, the last one couldnt have milk products and the tablets are coated with a milk sugar. Boy did I wish that I could have given her some. They worked so much better than tylenol and baby oragel plus being natural. As far as the screeching goes i think all babies go through that its a stage of communication.

Sounds like he wants to be vertical and engaged with you.

Our son screeched at one point - we called him a terradactyl (I know that isn't spelled correctly...). Just a way to communicate I think. As for teething, we didn't really do anything - once in a while we gave him tylenol, but I don't think that it did much...we also used baby orajel...

hi Lynelle,
My name is J. and I have a 10 month old baby girl. Around 7 months with Ashlynn she begain to do the same thing. I was told it is the begining of separation and boy were they right. They were right on with that and all you can do is nothing....... It is completely normal but make sure you don't feed into it. Say a close friend or family member takes him and he begins to scream you can tell him your fine..... and continue for a few minutes without taking him back.... then as he gets older you can say I am not going to hold you all day I have things to do so you can play on the floor, and if he cries just let him. He will stop eventually. Believe me it was a rought couple of weeks but when she was 8 months she was just fine.

one thing that i used with both of my kids while teething was organic frozen peas and frozen blueberries. they make a nice cold "chew" option while providing some good nutrition. and don't be afraid of the homeopathic teething tablets. they are a lot better for your child than tylenol will ever be. i hope this helps.

Rubbing Oragel on my kids' gums seemed to help numb any teething pain temporarily. It works well on other types of mouth sores, too.

Hi Lynelle,

With teething, the main component behind the pain, is swelling. Using motrin or advil, something made of Ibuprofen, is a lot more effective than Tylenol. You can, however, switch them back and forth, as each can be taken 4-6 hours apart. So you can safely give your son Ibuprofin at Noon, Tylenol at 2, Ibuprofen at 4, Tylenol at 6...etc.

Yelling may be his way of telling you he is hurting and could very well be a symptom of his discomfort, but to cure that, I would move to Ibuprofen (and or a mix of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen [tylenol]) until his tooth comes through.

Good Luck,

D.

Lynelle-

I would say that the screeching and baby-babble are his ways of getting your attention. Little ones are masters at getting mom and dad's attention. Just think, after a while it'll go from screeching to impatient "Mooommeeeee!"

Don't be afraid to give him as much attention as you feel you can "afford" between chores. But be sure to luv up on Dad, too.

As for the teething, the pain and pressure can be a lot for a little one to take. I used a variety of remedies on my little ones. But my kids' favorite "remedy" was a cool wet washcloth. They liked the texture of the terry cloth, and I didn't have to say "no! don't chew on that!"

Best of luck!
-B. M.-

I don't think the screeching is related to teething...probably just developmental. As for when he actually is discomforted by teething, have you ever heard of using hazelwood necklaces? That’s what we use. They are an old native american remedy to help with teething pain. The hazelwood apparently has the property of absorbing the body's excess acid. We just discovered them and they have been a miracle for healing our 7 month's old eczema(they help with a variety of ailments from teething, to eczema, to acid reflux; all associated with excess acid production) and helping with our just turned 2 year old's teething (he's gotten like 10 teeth in the last 3 months including 4 molars..he was a late teether) The necklaces are designed to be safe for babies to wear in case that's a concern. I know it sounds weird, but it might be worth a try...they work great for us. The website where you can get them is www.hazelaid.com
Good luck!