Teething!?!?!

Boy, oh boy! Teething is such a pain. Literally. I have heard of babies that don't show any signs of teething before any teeth arrive, and their mothers should all be thankful.

Monty is a typical (little) man when it comes to the pain. Doesn't handle it well - at all! I've decided to share what actually works for us in hopes that maybe it will help someone that is also in my current situation. It's taken me two teeth and one on the way to figure this out.

First we'll start with the signs of teething

• Drooling (which can lead to a facial rash)
• Gum swelling and sensitivity
• Irritability or fussiness
• Biting behavior
• Refusing food
• Sleep problems 

.................Monty has ALL of these symptoms 

Things that should work, but don't

• Baby Orajel (day or night formula)
• Cold/wet washcloth
• Cold teething rings
• Frozen fruit

Things that do work

• Teething tablets
• Baby Tylenol 
• Cold (refrigerated not frozen) fruit such as watermelon or cantaloupe
• Hard plastic or wooden toys to chew on

For some reason he really doesn't like things that are frozen and will refuse to hold them, I can't say that I blame him. He also is not a fan of the teething toys that you stick in the fridge, but he'll chew on anything that is really hard (e.g. a wooden block or anything hard plastic).  Teething tablets are amazing! He actually really likes them too, he knows what the bottle looks like and will immediately start to calm down. Then open his mouth to "eat" them. They dissolve quickly, and we both notice almost immediate relief. The first time I gave them to him he fell asleep almost immediately.

Now, please don't automatically think that all the things I listed above are going to work or not work for your little one. Every baby is different! But, if your struggling you may try focusing on teething tablets during the day, some baby tylenol at night and some cold fruit as a snack when they don't want to drink their bottle.  The other methods have to have some credibility because they have worked for most babies for the past hundred years.


Did you know that drinking from a bottle actually makes teething worse? I didn't for the longest time and couldn't figure out why he would refuse to eat. He will happily take a bottle now, after a little relief of course.