Teething? If So, What Can I Do to Help Him with the Discomfort?

The Hylands teething tablets helped all my girls. They also liked the keys by Parents. They are sold at Target in the Parents toy item aisle.

We used Hylands teething tablets. They are just camomile but really seemed to help are kids. Then if that doesn't work Tylenol. Frozen waffles are good to chew on too!

Old wives' remedy that greatly assisted us in teething is a cold wedge of sweet potato or regular potato. Rub the slice back and forth across the offending gums. The fiber in the wedge will help to break down the gum so the tooth can come through.

And, a really cold washcloth to suck on!

Good Luck,
D.

Homeopathic remedies can help teething without any side effects. Hylands makes a teething remedy as well as Boiron. You can give the single remedy Chammomilia as well. Feel free to email me if you'd like more info.
L.

Well these are very compassionate responses and will help me as well if my 9-mo. old goes through some more tough times w/ his teething. As he was cutting his 5th, that's been the hardest time, but honestly, I didn't even know it was that until after the fact, but I just held him when he'd wake up and be screeming/crying during the night, and did dab orajel very modestly each time when the holding didn't seem to help, just to test the response. Each time he did eventually calm. I think holding and enduring patiently/lovingly is way underrated- yes, it was nighttime, but small price for him feeling the love/support of mom. Again, I do LOVE the practical soothing suggestions as additions.

Some of the teething rings (filled with water) can be frozen and used that way. Also, you can buy teething tablets (not medicine..don't remember the ingredients) they are in the vitamin/nutritional isle and they really helped my daughter. I do not think they had an age minimum?

Hi K.,

You can try this it worked great for my two children. Get a washcloth fill with ice from the frige tie the top with a rubberband or something so that the ice does not fall out, give it to your toddler and let him bite down on that it is cold and will relieve the pain and it basically feels good, both my kids loved it and it helped.
Good Luck,
K.

I found that carrot sticks & celery sticks helped. They are hard & cold. Just be sure the strings are pulled off the celery. Once he gets teeth, there is also the added benefit of any juice he may get out of the veges. My sister used frozen waffles: cold, and had built in drool cups. My son was a really bad teether, too. I had stock in orajel which I tried to use only at night, during the day I tried to distract him with toys, etc. Now we are going through the 2nd set of teeth. He is working on 4 right now. So I am right there along with you. If it helps, this set is not nearly as bad as the first set was.
Good Luck
T. A

My 12 week old son is doing the same thing! We just ordered two Natursutten teething rings from Amazon.com (one in a round fish shape, and one apple shape) that are NOT made in China and have no phlalates or BPA and are very safe. You put them in the fridge (not freezer) to cool them. We also have heard rave reviews about Hyland's teething tablets and are going to try those as well. Good luck! You are not alone!

My kids never liked any of the teething rings so I would put a couple of broken ice cubes in a baby wash cloth and tie it off with a rubber band. I would then wet it a little so it wouldn't stick to them and they would chew on it until the ice melted-stopped the crying and they were happy. Good luck with whatever you do! Teething is no fun!

this is not a hard thing but it was a life saver for my oldest. he never took a pacifier and refused teethers of all kinds. he had been given a baby gund stuffed animal/blanket his first xmas (when he was 6 months) and it is his official security item (he's 3 now). he would chew on the ear or tail when he was hurting and that would soothe him. i think it also helped because it was a soft cuddly thing that he could cuddle at the same time. before that we were at a complete loss. you can google it and find a bunch of sites that sell them. they have a flat blanket body and then the head is life a stuffed animal.
he link is the one that my oldest has (we bought 2 because they got dirty fast from him chewing on it). hope that helps or you get some answers that do!
http://www.amazon.com/Gund-Dog-Spunky-Comfy-Cozy/dp/B0009...

You can try a BIG FAT carrot actually. My son has loved teething on a carrot, its cold, hard and he gets a little bit of flavor from it. When he is done, shave of weear he chewed and put it back in the fridge. He is not going to be able to bite off the carrot and choke so you dont have to worry about that. Have you tried the homeopathic teething tablets and gel? They are made by Hylands. I know you can find the tablets at walmart and the only place I have found the gel is at Whole Foods. I take the gel and put it on his "gum brush" and rub all over his gums, it is a life saver for me! I know the carrot sounds strange but give it a shot when you are sitting with him and see if he likes it. Good Luck! Teething is NO FUN!!! Also, on the toys - I had no luck with any of the teething toys and I tried a bunch. The other thing my son liked to chew on was the corner of one of his washcloths, I would wet it with water (very cold from the water cooler) and he would chew, chew, chew! It will get better but a lot of times it gets workse before it gets better. Poor little guys, its a shame such tiny creatures ahve to go through such pain. And my son started at about the same age. Hope this helps!

My son loves those plastic links you can buy almost anywhere (we got ours in Babies R Us). I think ours are Sassy brand, but several companies make them. You can use them to attach toys to a stroller or something too, but my son absolutely loves to chew on them while he works on his teeth!

You get a bunch of them (maybe 20?) for only a couple of dollars, but you'll have to check about the made in China thing, because I'm not sure.

Hurricane Gel. It is not a perscription buyt you will ahve to ask the pharmacist about it becasue they may have to order it. The child is supposed to apply to gums and then spit out but it won't hurt them if it is swallowed. I just applied it to my oldests gums and it worked wonders. She teethed very badly. Also I gave her tyllenol. The only other thing that helped for me was Hollands teething tablets and you can give them 3-4 at a time. They dissolve if your baby can't chew yet obviously. Theya re great nd I found them at walgreens. Good luck!

My daughter cut her first tooth at just under four months, so I can totally understand what you are going through.
Aside from the usual teething toys, I found that a wet/frozen wash cloth from out of the freeze was a good teether.
Good luck.

Hi K.,
What worked for my guy was to get some washcloths from the dollar store (you want them to be somewhat thin so they'll fit in his mouth), get them damp, then put them in the freezer. Have him chew on the frozen cloth, it helps reduce his pain and gives him something to chew on. As the cloth unfreezes you can replace it with another cloth that you'll already have on hand in the freezer.
Also, Discovery toys (a home based sales company) has a great teether, it's called the yummy teether or something like that. It has all different textures for him to mouth and it tastes good too. The only problem I had and you will too is that your guy is still not able to hold things on his own so it will be frustrating when you do give him something that he has trouble holding. I just had to hold it for him. Best of luck.

If he is really uncomfortable, you could try Homeopathic Teething Drops by Disney Gentle Naturals; they are at Target. These really work! I was surprised; we were visiting friends when our son was having a lot of teething pain, and they suggested these (they had tried all the other products w/out much success). Obviously, you want to limit the number of times you have to use it, but it can really help him rest better when it is needed.

K.,

I would highly recommend the Chewy Tube (chewytube.com). It is a Tube in the shape of the letter T. It allows for chewing of all teeth (even the molars which your son should be getting.) As for teething early, he's teething at a normal rate. Some kids teeth as early as 3-4 months. Some don't start teething until 14 months. I would not recommend freezing a toy because there is a chance of frostbite getting on the gums because the toy can get too cold. Hope this helps.

Wet a baby washcloth and freeze it, then let him chew on that. You can also take a spoon and do the same thing---freeze it and let him chew on it.

Both are things you already have around the house.

you can freeze a wash cloth; freeze fruit and let him suck on that....the cold helps and he is getting a healthy snack too.

I strongly urge you to NOT use orajel! There have been several deaths in recent years related to orajel and it is currently being studied and considered to be taken off the shelves. What happens is that babies swallow the orajel, which numbs their throat and gag reflex. They then don't realize that they need to swallow, cough, etc. and the choke. I refuse to use this on my son for that reason, its just not worth the risk!

I have a few teething rings I rotate in the refrigerator. When he is really uncomfortable I give my son tylenol (and now that he's over 6 months have the option of Motrin). I bought an infant tooth cleaning kit (has infant safe toothpaste and a little finger numb for rubbing their gums) and my son loves it! He loves the massage on the gums and I figure its setting a good habit for brushing his teeth. A cold wet wash cloth is another good, and safe option.

I know there are teething tablets, but I also refuse to use them because the ones I have seen have caffeine in them! Who the heck makes something for infants and puts caffeine in them!?!?! Plus, their an herbal thing, which means not FDA approved, and I am very leary about things like that for myself and more so for my infant.

See if you can find "Teething Tablets". They're homeopathic (did I spell that right? lol), made up of just 3 herbs I believe (no caffeine). I give my son 3 of the tiny pills when he's fussy and they really seem to help. Plus, by his reactions they seem to taste good, too.

I want to address what one person said about herbs not being FDA approved. The FDA doesn't approve ANY herbs, but they are fine with scientists taking natural substances and chemically altering those substances to make a patented drug. For example, hormones from yams are used to make birth control. I had A LOT of side effects coming off of birth control, very painful ones. Yet, if a person takes natural progesterone derived from yams they will never have the first side effect. So, yeah, I don't put much stock in the FDA. They are paid by drug companies to make the public wary of natural medicine.

There are teething tablets that you can give your baby that are supposed to be very safe. I had some for my son but he really didnt have major problems with teething. they are little white tablets that disolve in their mouth right away and there is no limit to the amount that they can have so if you get some of those to keep on hand you will get some relief and they work almost immediately. Also try wetting a wash cloth and then stick it in the freezer so baby can have something nice and cold yet not too hard to chew on. i was told the plastic toy with the water in it was subject to be toxic so i didnt use those much but when i did use them i put them in the freezer or fridge first. the coolness is soothing.

It is most likely "pre-teething," which is to say the teeth are moving within the gums, but are no where near ready to break through the gum.

I used infant tylenol when my daughter was really uncomfortable. Later on, when it progressed to actual teething, I used Baby Oragel. My daughter only ever expressed real discomfort at bed time