Natural Teething Relief
My daughter doesn’t teeth well. At all. The poor thing, her gums got absolutely mangulated with the first of her molars coming through. So I have tried so many things to help ease her pain. As I don’t really like to give her panadol regularly. I have done some research on some natural remedies to help little teeters.
Some indicators that your baby is teething is red or swollen gums, dribbling, chewing on fingers (or anything in sight), interrupted sleep, and crying and fussing. Not all babies experience these symptoms and can have a combination of all, some or none of them. One of the best, and often overlooked things to give a teething baby is something cold or frozen.
The cold helps numb their gums and provide relief. Some good ideas that I have tried with frozen things are:
Frozen face washer -
Just wet it, wring it a little and kind of roll it up a little and freeze. Its a good idea to make two so that you can always have one frozen while the other one is getting dribbled on;
Frozen spoon -
This one is obvious, just put a spoon in the fridge, or freezer. If you are putting it in the freezer though ensure that you just quickly touch it with your finger so it doesn’t stick to their tongue;
Ice -
Wrap a piece of ice in a cotton washcloth and rub onto gums. Try not to let the ice stay in one place too long, rub all along the gum line to sooth the whole mouth; and
Cold teethes -
You can get these from most supermarkets, chemists and department stores. They are usually made in bright colours to attract babies attention and are safe for them to chew on to their hearts content.
There are also a variety of gels which can be applied directly to the gums. There are actually quite a few of these on the market but the most common one is bonjella. A few more is Ora-Sed jel (which we use) or Sum 33. There are more, and there would be different brands around the world but you know what I mean. These gels are quite good for most babies, it provides instant on the spot relief.
There are also a variety of paracetamol free 'over the counter' options available, including Brauer Infant Teething Relief and Hyland Teething Tablets. It is often a good idea to talk to the doctor or chemist before using these though, and also to ensure that you baby is the appropriate age as well.
Babies often feel relief with pressure on their gums. That’s why they like to chew on things, this helps by applying pressure which will sooth the gum and help the tooth break through. Rusk sticks are great for this. I think they are suitable for 6 months +. They can be brought from the supermarket or made at home. Other good options are 'harder' food e.g carrots or apples. This was one of the best ways to help my daughter, the rusks were a godsend and helped calm her often. One last food tip I have is a strange sounding one, but gherkins. My Aunty suggested it, I thought she was pulling my leg! But I had nothing to lose so I tried it, and it seems to work! My daughter used to suck on them and now decapitates them and it keeps her occupied and seems to sooth her mouth as well.
There are lots of teething relief toys available as well, which have the hard usually textured teething plastic. There are teddies and blankets and toys. These are actually quite good as this way the baby can play with the toy (or whatever you choose) while they are also chewing on it.
If your child will let you, just massaging their gums with a cool wet finger should also help bring some relief.
The thing to remember with a teething baby is every one is different. What worked for one will not necessarily work for the next. Just listen to your baby and try different things. Most of the ideas here are either free or quite cheap so there is really no harm in trying!
And also most importantly give you baby attention and love to let them know that it is going to be ok and HUGS! Its amazing what a hug can fix!
(November 18th) (
