7 Tips to Help Your Teething Baby
During the teething process, your baby is likely to experience some discomfort in their little mouth. These teething tips can help you know how to spot the signs, and what to do to relieve your baby's symptoms.
A baby's cute gummy grin is one of the best thing parents can experience, and as adorable as it is, that smile becomes even sweeter when the first teeth start to poke through. If you are lucky, teething will be a pain free experience for your baby. While some babies seem to sail through teething with barely a drip of dribble, for others teething can be extremely painful and cause disruption and tears for weeks (and sometimes months) on end.
Given that the teething process involves the movement of teeth through gums on a newly developed jawbone, it is likely that your baby will experience some discomfort at some stage of the teething process.
Teething Signs and Symptoms
Symptoms may include a slightly raised temperature, dribbling and drooling, a rash on the face, sore red gums, loss of appetite and constant chewing. If your baby is experiencing a high temperature, or any symptoms other than those you would expect, check in with your doctor.
Generally, you might notice that your little one is more irritable, grumpy and restless, and unfortunately disturbed sleep is also common for both baby and you!
How to Help Your Teething Baby
Here are some of our top tips to help make the teething journey a little easier:
- Invest in a Good Teether
With a number of teethers to choose from, where do you start? For teething, cold teethers are a great choice as they help soothe and numb sore gums. You can pop them into the fridge and take them out when your baby is in need. There is also a selection of fun teething toys available from most retailers.
- Try Cold or Frozen Fruit or Veg
As with all sore swellings, the cold helps. A frozen carrot (large enough to avoid choking hazard) is ideal - you hold one end while your baby gnaws on the other.
Other cold foods you may want to consider include cucumber sticks, yoghurts, and apple puree. If your baby is breastfed, you could even freeze some expressed milk and let them suck on it to help calm little gums and keep them hydrated.
- Pressure
Another common remedy for help with swelling is pressure. If your baby is teething, you will likely notice that they are desperate to apply some pressure to sore points on their gums.
This is where teethers come in handy. Alternatively, you can always rub your baby's gums with a clean cold washcloth, or let them chew on teething biscuits.
- Medication
Sometimes chewing on things just doesn't cut it. There are many numbing and teething gels available to buy over the counter. Teething powders and gels can be applied directly to the gums to help with pain and keep little one calm. Always ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before trying a new medication, even if it's an all-natural one.
- Distraction
One remedy for teething that is too often overlooked is distraction - keeping your baby occupied. This is particularly effective, as babies tend to be easily distracted by simple things.
Reading your baby's favourite book, playing their favourite game, or simply taking them out for a walk or a drive in the car can help to keep their mind occupied on something other than the pain in their gums.
- Dry the Dribble
When babies are teething, dribbling is more common as the gums produce extra saliva in preparation for the teeth to cut through. This constant drooling can cause babies to come out in an angry red rash around their mouth, leaving them sore as well as grumpy.
The best way to deal with this is to have a supply of clean, dry bibs and muslins on hand and ensure baby's chin and area around the mouth is kept dry.
- Massage the Gums With Your Finger
Ensure you have clean hands and then lightly rub your finger along the gums to massage them for a couple of minutes.
If you try some of these strategies, hopefully the teething journey will be a lot less painful for both baby and you.
