How To Soothe A Teething Baby

Your baby is screaming!

She's not tired. She's not hungry. She has a clean diaper. She's not thirsty... sick... itchy... scratchy... She is one healthy, well cared for baby girl. WHAT IS GOING ON?

Through all this crabbiness & pain your baby's first tooth finally cut through!! Oh... This is why she was screaming... Duh?! 

Finally at eight months my Miss A has one little tooth on her bottom gums! No wonder she was being a little crabby butt lately. It's painful!

Let me share with you some of the ways we help to soothe her little baby gums.

Haha.. this is too funny!

Patience is the first key to comforting your baby. While I don't have a lot of it... I struggled to find a little more during this rough time for my baby. It was necessary to repeatedly tell myself why my baby was crying more frequently... that way I could give sympathy for my little one who is in pain and can't help but cry out. 

I fill Munchkin Food Nets (post) with ice cubes and frozen fruits. Awesome, natural, and instant cure! We bought a bag of frozen peaches and let her drool all over it happily.

I also put ice water in her sippy cup with a bib... She is messy and usually soaks her clothes but it's great because it stops her from yelling.

I tend to forget to put Miss A's teethers in the refrigerator but they work wonders! She only uses hers at room temperature, but they are still somewhat soothing. I definitely recommend using those. After all, you can't walk down a baby aisle without finding an endless teething selection. Find some bright colored ones! ;)

You can also use Baby Orajel, which is a cherry flavored teething pain medicine recommended by Miss A's pediatrician. It seems to soothe her gums pretty well. She also likes the taste and is happy when I rub her gums with the gel.

If worse comes to worst, you can always give Baby Tylenol. (Always ask your baby's  pediatrician...) This helps the pain within about twenty minutes. I try to make this my last resort... just because it's always better to cure your problems without medicine if possible. 

She loves her Nuby

If you don't know whether your baby is teething or not... just watch out for high levels of fussiness & DROOL. If you see the excessive drool, be on the lookout for TEETH! They are bound to come soon. And for those of you still breastfeeding... beware! ;)
[No offense... I wish I was still breastfeeding!]

teethers

Munchkin Food Nets

I recently bought a Munchkins Food Net for my teething (?) baby. These food nets are amazing! Right now she is only four and a half months, so we haven't really started solid foods yet. I still plan on waiting awhile longer before introducing solids but since she appears to be teething, I've been peeling apples and putting them inside the food nets for her. This way she has a nutritious, soothing toy to chew on. The first time we gave it to her she absolutely loved it. She chewed/sucked on the food net like a popsicle. It's sooo cuute and funny! It really was a lifesaver. After hours of fussing/screaming, this was the only thing that calmed her. I'm almost positive it was soothing her gums. I recommend these to all teething babies, especially if they aren't doing well with solids yet. These nets have a handle that snaps tightly shut, preventing the food chunks from entering the baby's mouth. Later, when we start to give her more solids, I'll put more fruits and vegetables inside. But until she's at least six months, I'm only putting apples in them. :)

Baby Steps also makes their own version of the food net. I haven't tried this one but it serves the same purpose as the Munchkins version.