Creative Teething Ideas for Your Baby

My daughter was born in September. She started teething at about 3 months of age. Wow, by 3 months of age, all four of her big brothers had at least 2 teeth. She is a pretty cranky teether. She drools a lot and loves to chew on anything! Her dad and I are trying a few things for her to see if they work as opposed to giving her medication for the pain. We use pain medication as a last resort. We like to get a little creative in trying to soothe our daughter. Here are some ideas that we have come up with:

Jerky-
Get a big piece of jerky and let your baby gnaw on it. Not only is it soothing but it tastes good.

Cold teething rings-
These have been around for as long as I can remember. Though when I was young the docs said put it the freezer. I don't hear much of that anymore... Our baby has a Tweety Bird teething ring that we put in the freezer for her. She really enjoys it.

Teething blanket-
These can be purchased at most stores. We found a Blues Clues teething blanket for our baby at Albertsons grocery store. It has been well worth the $6 we paid for it. It is cute, soft, and all four corners have different textured rubber pieces to chew on.

Mesh fresh food feeder-
We bought the Munchkin brand. You can put frozen fruits and veggies in it for a cool way to soothe your baby's sore gums without the risk of choking. Our baby really digs it when we put in frozen berries for her to gnaw on.

Biter biscuits-
We buy the Gerber brand. Our baby loves the taste. It gets soft really quick because of her saliva.

Vibrating teething toy-
These can be purchased at most retail stores. Baby bites down and the vibrations soothe sore baby gums. Another wonderful teething item!!!

Plastic baby spoons-
We let our daughter chew on her spoons because they are small enough for her to hold and big enough for her not to swallow.

A lot of TLC and our fingers-
With clean fingers we sit in our rocker and rock our baby while rubbing her gums with our fingers. Sometimes she is content just chewing on our fingers-especially her dads. She has fallen asleep to this many times.

Toys-
She has a menagerie of toys that she gums the heck out of. She is prefers her plastic teething rings the most.

Popsicles-
Her dad and I share Popsicles with her. Sometimes she sits in our lap and enjoys the treat with us or we break off a piece and put it in her mesh feeder.

Bottle nipples-
She is bottle fed and enjoys chewing on the nipples but only if they are a certain kind. She likes the brown rubber nipples and will scream in protest over the clear silicone nipples. (They are never given to her to chew on alone. They are always attached to her bottle.)

Gum massager's-
These look like little toothbrushes but with rubber tips textured to massage your sore baby's gums. Great for teething! We rub these on our daughters gums (sometimes we add a drop of teething medication such as baby Anbesol or baby Orajel to the massager.)

Teething tablets-
Dr. Sheffield's teething tablets are all natural and dissolve quickly on the tongue.

Children's Teething from SYMTEC Laboratories (Natural Relief)-
It is for relief of teething pain, sore gums, and restlessness. We have purchased this and tried it and it seems to work for our daughter. The main ingredient in this is Chamomile.

And finally as a last resort we use baby Anbesol or baby Orajel or infant's ibuprofen.

As with all medications or homeopathic remedies check with your child's doctor first. We always check with our daughter's pediatrician before trying something new with her. We research any kind of medicine or natural remedy ourselves first before giving it to her. And we ALWAYS monitor our baby with food and any other item she puts in her mouth.

Happy teething!!!