Okay so as some know, I have a baby girl who, despite being only three months, is beginning to teeth... but the doctor I saw wasn't helpful and she isnt handling the orajel well. So I thought: "Hey there are lots of mothers on Dokuga!"

I was wondering if anyone had any tips to help teething pain. Usually little kiki is quiet but she is fussy and crying a lot and I can't calm her down, especially at bed time. I would love any and all helpful things.

In fact tips for later in life are helpful too... cause I know the road a head can be rough and though I have help my grandmother is a little out of date.

I'm not a mother, but I have dealt with a lot of teething babies. Here are some things that may help.

Cold stuff:

Popsicle,

teething rings,

anything that is cold that can be put in her mouth.

Try to Tylenol too.

I was taking care of this one baby who was teething and she was a screamer, I have never heard a baby scream that loud or throw that much of a fit. Her mother didn't tell me she was teething and did not bring anything to help her.

The cold stuff didn't work, so I had to go buy baby Tylenol. It took awhile for it to take effect but after it did all her discomfort was gone and she was able to sleep through the night.

I know that some people also use rum for it, putting a bit on their finger and then running their finger along the gums. It apparently helps, but I have never personally tried this myself.


Sorry I'm not much help, I thought I'd offer some advice I have, but some actual mother's of Dokuga may be better help ^^;


Good luck!

Though I am not yet a mother, I was seven when my brother was born and two of my best friends have little girls.

The best thing is to find something that will help the teeth break through the gums. That is actually part of the point in teething. Not only does it eliminate the pain for a baby to nibble on something, but it helps the teeth to break through faster.

My mom always used this one ring that was somewhat stiff, but had a gel-like substance in it that got VERY cold when frozen.

My parents used I think it was Jack Daniels on my gums, but I am not sure. It was something like that, and apparently it worked. (They used it when I was sick as well. Probably explains why I am not a drinker! )

And be careful about putting fingers in mouth **glances at PRVN** even if the teeth haven't broken through yet, if they bite, it WILL hurt. I have learned that from experience. It just gets worse when the teeth come in.

Try to avoid plastics, such as baby rattles, etc. Those can cause more harm than anything else.

I am not surprised your little one rejected orajel. The stuff is quite gross. A better alternative may be to take some kind of mint and rub it on the gums. It will be similar to the effect of chewing mint gum or brushing teeth with something minty. It creates a mild numbing and tingling sensation that may be soothing (I know I find minty things soothing when I have a sore throat!).

My fave (and that of my kids) was the gel teethers, frozen. I bought several of varying sizes and shapes, froze them, then rotated them as they thawed.

Also, both of my kids had an affinity to Baby Numzit... they hated Baby Orajel with a passion, but Numzit was cool. In fact, it got to the point where my son would crawl to his diaper bag, rummage through it when I wasn't looking and chew on the tube. Yeah, my kids were (are) different.

~~Wiccan~~
PS - Whatever you do, do NOT make the mistake I did with my oldest. She was fussing in the car on the way home from the grocery, no teether or Numzit with me... so I grabbed a frozen bagel out of a bag in the backseat. It working fine until it thawed and she got a chunk off it. Ever done the Heimlich, at 40 mph, on a 10 mo old kid? The bar on the carseat worked like a charm (hit the little diaphragm just right) as I pulled off the road, but I never EVER tried that trick again!

Also, both of my kids had an affinity to Baby Numzit... they hated Baby Orajel with a passion, but Numzit was cool. In fact, it got to the point where my son would crawl to his diaper bag, rummage through it when I wasn't looking and chew on the tube. Yeah, my kids were (are) different.

My brother did something similar to that, but it was with chapstick of all things.

PS - Whatever you do, do NOT make the mistake I did with my oldest. She was fussing in the car on the way home from the grocery, no teether or Numzit with me... so I grabbed a frozen bagel out of a bag in the backseat. It working fine until it thawed and she got a chunk off it. Ever done the Heimlich, at 40 mph, on a 10 mo old kid? The bar on the carseat worked like a charm (hit the little diaphragm just right) as I pulled off the road, but I never EVER tried that trick again!

I about peed my pants when I read this! XD While the concept itself sound terrifying (I would probably have had 10 years taken off my life if that happened to me!) it sounds like something that would be funny to laugh about years later!

I would honestly have to say I have never heard of Numzit though. o.O

Atailpha wrote:


And be careful about putting fingers in mouth **glances at PRVN** even if the teeth haven't broken through yet, if they bite, it WILL hurt. I have learned that from experience. It just gets worse when the teeth come in.


(laughs) for the record, I would not be able to stick my fingers in anythings mouth, be it baby or puppy, unless they were choking(I just mentioned that because I read it somewhere). If I do put my finger in a babies mouth for applying anything, I have to wash and sanitize my hands for like ten minutes at the minimum before doing anything.

But I agree, be careful when putting your fingers in mouths, do it quickly!

As a side note to PRVN's latest post about sanitizing hands. DO NOT use any alcohol based hand sanitizers when handling your child. People forget that your skin is your largest organ, and that it (especially babies) absorbs the alcohol very fast.

As for teething. Like others suggested, teething rings refrigerated or frozen help. (My daughter wouldn't use them frozen but liked them chilled. She's so picky! lol)

Also a terry cloth washcloth chilled and damp. They can chew on that and may like the feel better.

Oddly enough what worked BEST for us was this necklace that we got from our family in Germany. They are popular over there, and sent it to us for our daughter. It was an amber necklace that they wear and its supposed to help with the fussyness and pain. She never pulled at it or anything, but they make them baby safe. If you are interested I'll see if I can find I site where you can buy them online.

Also, lavender oil dapped behind her ear can help sooth her.

There are these homeopathic drops you can offer her that they sell at CVS that my best friend swears by. I never tried them though.

If the orajel isn't working try a different application method. They have the tube stuff, and the swabs.

MoxyMikki wrote:
As a side note to PRVN's latest post about sanitizing hands. DO NOT use any alcohol based hand sanitizers when handling your child. People forget that your skin is your largest organ, and that it (especially babies) absorbs the alcohol very fast.


Gah, my mind is so everywhere tonight that I am really terrible at replying to these threads. But I agree with what you said completely.

Also(just clarifying) but When I meant sanitizing my hands I just meant making them very, very cleaned. Thanks for adding the bit about the alcohol based hand sanitizers. I wasn't even thinking of them when I put 'Sanitizing'. So many undercover blond moments on my part tonight(laughs).

I also agree with all your suggestions, pretty clever ones that I never heard of before.

**giggles at PRVN**

That's twice in two different posts tonight! XD


And I am intriuged about that necklace. I have never heard of that. If you can find a site that would be cool. I would like to try that when I have a few pups one day! ^^

Wow... thanks everyone, these hints are really helpful.

Moxy
I too am intriuged by the necklace. I would love to have the site if you can find it. I will keep the lavender oil in mind too.

Wiccan
I have to admit that I have never heard of the Numzit, are you in the states? I know I asked you this before but I can't remember. I ask because Canada doesn't have the same products as the states, but my mom lives in NY and so I am a fortunate Canadian that can get American products with ease.

I do have a couple teething rings... she likes them on and off, but I think I will go get some different sizes and shapes. And I will not do the bagel thing. Thank Kami that everything turned out okay. You must be a major master of multi-tasking.

PRVN
As much as I would like to give little Kiki a popsicle I can't yet, she's too young, but once she's older I will remember that. And I have Tempura, it is apparently better pain relief, but if it doesn't work I will try the Tylenol.

Atailpha
I will remember the fingers in the mouth. I am reclucent to use the Rum, I am not a hard liqour drinker and hate the taste. But at a last resort I will try it. I don't have plastic rattles, I'm afriad with how she shakes things towards her head that she will hit herself too hard, so they are all made of a tough cloth.


Anyway, overall thank you for all the wonderful tips. I really appreciate them all.

Rum tends to have too much sugar in it your best bet would be whiskey, its really the acohol in the drink that helps the gums it has a numbing affect and will help her to quite down. My youngest one woul gag on teething gel because of the taste and so it is needless that say I usually walked away with bite indents lol.

Though if you have (can't remember the name) one of those big glass pendents (the ones that are hard yet not breakable) that are usually used on necklaces works well in place of teething rings. My husbands mother gave me one as a gift and everytime I wear it Em usually latches onto it, the good thing about it is that it is too big to be put into the mouth completely just enough to chew on it and it is cold/smooth so need to worry about sharp edges.

I'm glad I had some suggestions that you hadn't yet heard of. With everyones advice I'm sure you'll find something that works for your little one. Every baby is different - what works for one, might not work for the other. Its trial and error. Hang in there, you are doing a great job!

Here are some links to several places you can find and purchace the amber necklaces. Read on them a little though, and make sure they are someone that you'd like to try before forking out the 20ish bucks!

Amazon - Has Several
Cloth Diaper Outlet
Amber Artisans
You can even run a search and find them on Etsy.com too.

Just make sure its BALTIC amber. Ours REALLY helped our daughter, but like I said its a crap shoot as to what will work with your little one. We were at our whits end and were willing to try anything by the time we got ours and it was a god send.

I kow at Wal-Mart and Dollar General they make a homeopathic tablet that dissolves under the tongue and when my son teethed it was the only thing that helped him sleep. I also used baby tylenol when he had a fever with the teething and that also helped him sleep.

I bought this little "feed bag" (the only thing I could think to call it) that screwed on to a handle and you put fruit or veggies in it (nothing acidic such as oranges or lemons as they may induce canker sores) and the just chew on the mesh bag...healthy and useful. I used to freeze peeled and cut up grapes and he would chew on them for hours. I was told my my bf's mother, who is a child development teacher not to give the baby anything too cold as it scars the gums and makes the teething process even harder... but I don't know how true that is... refrigerated everything though...and it worked as well as frozen

Thanks for the sites Moxy I will look over them.

Thank you Miss Anna S I will keep in mind the Whiskey... and the necklace makes since cause I got a pendant like one that Kiki always take hold of it and tries to bite it.

Sesshy I haven't heard of the tablets but if nothing else works I will try and look for them. But I have seen the mesh feed bags you talk about. I want to get one, but she can't have food yet. As I said she is only 4months and at first I though there was no way that she was teething, but the doctor told me babies can start early, the teeth just don't break through right away. So anyway food has to wait until Jan.... I can't wait though, I want to introduce her to things, I'm so excited I already starting piling up some different types of baby food.

Again, thanks everyone, these are all helpful hints I am going to keep in mind all this advice and see what works.


Maybe we should get together and make one of those books that are based on tried methods of motherhood.??

Angelic Memories wrote:

Wiccan
I have to admit that I have never heard of the Numzit, are you in the states? I know I asked you this before but I can't remember. I ask because Canada doesn't have the same products as the states, but my mom lives in NY and so I am a fortunate Canadian that can get American products with ease.

I do have a couple teething rings... she likes them on and off, but I think I will go get some different sizes and shapes. And I will not do the bagel thing. Thank Kami that everything turned out okay. You must be a major master of multi-tasking.



Numzit is incredibly hard to find, if they even still make it. While surfing for it through the internet, however, I remembered the "magic" ingredient that seemed to make it more palatable to the kids: Clove Oil. When I did a search for that, I came up with a recipe for Clove Oil to make a homeopathic teething lotion of one's own. I figured I'd give you the URL and see if you want to try it:

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/15/97.cfm

Or, you could possibly mix a drop of Clove Oil in with the Baby Orajel and see if that helps her accept it better. Just an idea!

As far as the multi-tasking thing goes... yes... people with ADD tend to multi-task well on some things and totally zone on others. My good thing happens to be driving, thank goodness!! The chunk of bagel hit the dashboard after a couple of smacks on the back and Jessa was none the worse for wear. I told my husband that night that I had almost killed the kid, and he scolded me, but it makes for a terrific story now, LOL!

~~Wiccan~~
PS - Yes, I'm in Michigan, right next door to our great neighbor Canada!!