It happened in Utah, the second to the last day we were there. My cheerful, funny, walky little baby was mauled by what I think were two canines sometime between breakfast in my mother's hotel and lunch. It happened that fast.
What started out as a fever and mild crankiness, evolved into her most painful teething episode yet. It has meant a two hundred percent meltdown from a general feeling of discontent into an outright rage, several times a day, for the last 6 days.
Teething has always been hard for our little one. She refuses to eat anything but breastmilk, she gets diahrrea, she has 100.9 degree fevers, she wakes every couple of hours and requires long bouts of nursing...And these canines, they have been the worst. And I hear the most painful teeth to come in are molars.
I've decided to amass a list of green teething solutions. I'm going to say upfront that BabyG has been eating lots of Infant Motrin because nothing else I tried came close to working for her. We tried Hylands teething tablets, teething bisquits, teething toys.
However, I know there are levels of teething, and I know there are lots of remedies out there I haven't tried, and that might work alone for mild teething or (for us) augment the pain medication. Maybe there's a natural solution that will beat out Motrin...
So this is a general call: What teething remedies have you all used or have you seen used to good effect?
I've heard about: frozen bananas, vegetables, frozen washrags, clove oil. Anybody use any of these methods, or know anything about them? Teething post will be up in a week or so...
Monday, May 07, 2007
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I'm afraid I can't offer any experience, but I'm looking forward to seeing the responses. Baby E is due to start cutting his first teeth all too soon, and we won't be using the frozen plastic teethers. We've been looking for alternatives, too. We're leaning toward whiskey...
I hope BabyG is feeling better soon.
are you positive it is teething that is causing all those symptoms? i just ask because i once thought cosmo was teething when he had a fever, it turned out he had a virus, and yes, he was also cutting teeth...
otherwise, i don't have much help to offer. i know cold can feel good, cosmo loves to chew on frozen food and teething rings. some people say that you shouldn't give them frozen things, only refrigerated , though i am not sure why exactly.
best of luck to you. sounds difficult.
Though my kids never had big teething problems, we did try most of those ideas you listed. None of them seemed to work that well! My mom swore by clove oil, but if I remember correctly I think we missed the window of opportunity on that one the last time because the tooth came in before we could try it.
so that's what happened at the pool party! it was a teething freakout. i had been wondering.
Chamomile is a nerve tonic. Make ice cubes from chamomile tea. Put the ice cube in a wash cloth, then bind it with a rubber band. Your child can suck on the ice cube through the wash cloth, and the rubber band keeps it from sliding out and becoming a choking hazard. I did this for both of my children.
I just started a post on this very topic. LOL
Stuff that worked for us:
Borion's Camilla teething liquid, frozen washcloth, and using the mesh Baby Safe Feeder thing with frozen chunks of fruit or just plain ice. Also an amber teething necklace. (Babies wear the necklace and the amber is absorbed through the skin.) He isn't as cranky when he has it on.
At the end of the day, there were some days that only infant Motrin would do, but we were able to keep that to a minimum.
HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY! Julie & Jeff
My MIL swears by vanilla extract rubbed on the gums. I am a little hesitant because I think there's a little alcohol in it. However, it seems to help, and at least she's not rubbing whiskey on there. Maybe someone else can confirm whether there's alcohol or how much.
I dunno. This is an arena where I lose my green intentions and bow to the Motrin- I have even been known to pull out the Oragel on occasion. Best of luck!
So sorry to hear about the teething. Both my girls were famously cranky as those teeth appeared.
I used to feel really guilty about Motrin, but someone once told me that if adults have a killer headache, they do something to help it. So why shouldn't we do the same for our kids? That helped ease my guilt a bit.
I don't know when or if corn is in season there, but we use to give our babies the cobs when we were finished eating off all the corn. They'd chomp on those forever.
Good luck.
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for your child, and for healthy breast feeding.
Yes, those frozen things work well. So much depends on how the teeth are coming in--all at once or little by little.
Hi,
My own little girl has just started her own battles with "vicious canines." She's already gotten her one-year molars in, and to be honest, I think this may be worse. So, hopefully molars will be easier on all of you when they come around.
As far as remedies, I haven't seen anyone mention raw celery. Apparently, celery has natural anesthetic propreties, and can be soothing on gums. You can peel the string fibers off, and give a stick to gnaw on, or rub it on the gums. To reduce the risk of choking, you might want to try some in a baby safe feeder, or some such.
I also have a cranky teether...she is 8 months and she has swollen gums for what look like four teeth coming in-canines included. So much for one at a time. I know "they" say it's best to stay away from the advil or tylenol-but I agree with the above-these things are made to ease infant pain-good for the mothers that think they are heros to suffer through the crankiness without medicating-but I believe you are doing no good to your child by letting them suffer through the pain-and without of course, going overboard-the best thing we can do as mothers is to ease the pain as best we can. Does anyone remember how painful it was to have your wisdom teeth come in? Think of how that must feel for a little one. We get too caught up in what other people will think-try whatever you can-try it all...and stick with what works for you.
More info about amber teething necklaces can be found here:
http://www.amber-teething-necklaces.com
my Bebe is also teething now, and I give her boiled carrots to chew on, but u should watch her while she's chewing this instead she's choking. anyway, for the fever, I have an herbal recipe. I don't know if there's a Lesser Galangal there (it's called kencur here in Indonesia). you can use about 1 cm of it n slice it smaller. steep this with 3 cloves with hot water. you can give this herbal to BabyG when she's having a fever or showing a sign of illness, or even everyday just like you're having your lavender tea. give this 3 teaspoon every half an hour during an illness. Bebe take this too when she's having a fever and she's cooling down a night after I gave this herbal. hope it'll work too for BabyG
I agree, do not let baby suffer. Chamomile is lovely, and relaxing for the baby, Motrin always works - no trial and error. But, watch for vomiting, fever and diarrhea, which may be viral - teething babies drool and put everything in their mouths, even dirty things. That is why teething infants are at a higher risk for contracting a virus/infection.
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