Have you guys ever tasted one of the teething tablets? They’re sweet. Slightly sweet, but sweet, like those old candy cigarettes. (Did I just date myself?)
They may soothe fussy babies simply because they’re sweet and unusual.
He probably isn’t the age to grab and stuff into his mouth yet - or eat solid food, but we discovered frozen peas - its lunch, small motor skill development, and teething relief all in one! And they aren’t big enough to need to chew, so they aren’t a choking hazard (always WATCH your child despite the fact that they shouldn’t choke of frozen peas). Keep that in your back pocket for a few months. At that age, it was frozen washcloths.
We missed that age with my son, who was adopted from Korea and arrived home at six months sporting two front teeth (with the bottom two arriving within the week). So it could be teething - it could be pre teething. It could be “look Ma, I can drool!”
My twelve year old went to the dentist two weeks ago for a toothache. I said she was getting molars, she said she had a cavity. I was right (but it was worth the trip to the dentist - avoids the Mommy guilt from an abscessed tooth when your child has been saying they have a toothache). So it doesn’t end.
No worries, I know what you mean :). I have tasted them (and the earache tablets taste similar) - I’m pretty sure my kid liked them better than the Zantac and Prevacid that he had to take for his reflux ;).
I know they pulled the teething tablets because of the risk of too much belladonna in them, and we haven’t needed them in four years, so I haven’t checked to see if they’re out again and if they have regulated them better. They definitely worked for my son, and I don’t think it was just the taste. OTOH, we didn’t get the total calmness like Sattua did with Mimi, so maybe it was just a different reaction or we had some with less belladonna. Either way, if they’re back on the shelves and not being regulated, we’ll stay away from them for the next one. We’ll try the amber teething necklaces (which we didn’t know about, even in my crunchy mom circle) and the washcloths.
Umm, has anyone suggested frozen waffes yet? 
It’s in the OP! How the times are a’ changing…*
What’s with the amber necklace thing? Are they supposed to chew on the amber? Or wear it? Isn’t there a choking hazard, either way?
(I know I’m the resident woo/alt med hippie chick, but I just can’t grok crystal/mineral healing. It’s too woo for me.)
*A Doper Mom once got a tsunami of hate unleashed in her direction when she admitted on a mothering board that she gave her 4 month old frozen waffles to gnaw on. You’d have thought she was giving him hookers covered in strychnine.
I just got back here after a long absence - cut me some slack on missing the reference! :D. However, I must say…HAHAHAHA!
I don’t know much about the amber teething necklaces - I have a lot of mom friends who wore them while breastfeeding, and I thought they were just something for the baby to play with while nursing, but they now seem to be my friends’ teething solution of choice. It seems that the baby actually wears them with parental supervision, and the amber itself has healing properties. Several of my friends seem to swear by them (hippie granola crunchy mom types), so I’d probably give one a shot. Amazon link: Dopey Link
Then again, Eggo frozen waffles are probably cheaper :D.
I was all about the frozen waffles. They worked like a charm and helped her tummy to boot. I went with the Kashi ones mainly for the added texture. What was the hate about? Was it because they weren’t made with frozen breast milk? LOL!
I also found that a half-dose each of baby Tylenol and Baby Motrin worked much better than a full dose of either alone. The pharmacist said it was fine to give a full dose of both but that was never necessary. I always started with a half dose and it always worked within about 30 minutes.
The drool drove me crazy. OMG I hated the drool. It seemes I spent at least three months with a constant stream of it going down my wrist and arm. Ick!
The best remedy for pain is distraction. Keep the toys in his hands and let him chomp away. He may also be fussy because he’s entering a more social phase. He may fuss anytime he can’t see you so keep him in view.
It was, best I can recall, the holy trifecta of Bad Mommy: The kid will choke (as pieces of the waffle fall off and leap down his throat), the kid will develop allergies and food intolerances (because he’s eating grains and eggs and stuff in the waffles) and I think someone even worked Attachment Parenting in, somehow, that because she gave him a waffle instead of her finger to gnaw on, he’d grow up feeling abandoned and unloved. It just went on and on for pages…
…I’m telling ya, do NOT go on the Mommy boards!
I’ve heard that the amber necklaces work, but it was from the same group of moms who use homeopathy and other quackery, so take it for what it’s worth, lol.
Fresh and frozen large organic green onions with long stem, I do not remember who told me this, or why it helped. I only remember that it worked for my baby. Maybe I will try to google info on what could make this help with teething.
I recommend a tiny amount of vodka for the infant and large doses for everyone else in the household.
Received a report that the link to Sophie the Giraffe might contain a virus, so I broke the link.
— Ellen
We had the Hylands teething tablets, I always figured they worked because it was really a sugar pill. Who wouldn’t feel better after a bit of candy?
We also used Gum-Omile, which is an almond oil with clove oil and willow bark. No homeopathic remedy here, the clove oil definitely numbs your gums.
Do you guys not have the choline salicylate + cetalkonium chloride gels, like Teejel and Bonjela?
They’re the bomb.
My 5 month old son gums the shit out of his like his life depends on it. It seems that the loops are thin enough for a baby to stick into their mouth- many teething rings are too big for 3-5 month olds.
There’s also an Orajel natural gel that has oil of cloves instead of benzocaine. It doesn’t numb too well(I tried it), but I suppose it’s just enough to do the trick.
Clove will give a numbing/distracting sensation and willow bark tea was, and still is, used as a painkiller. It’s incredibly rough on your stomach, so I’d avoid anything that had enough to be effective.
What that dose might be for an infant? Well, that’s why homeopathy is a crock. I do believe some herbs work, but there’s none I completely trust, regarding regulating dosage.
I remember my Southern grandmother giving my utterly inconsolable little sister a ‘sugar teet’ during one visit. Grandma used apple juice (sugar water is more common) to soak a cloth and then froze the cloth. Nothing, but nothing worked except that. We figured the flavor plus cold were what did the trick. Sadly, not good for the teeth, so it was only used in emergencies.
Even I know not to give an infant a frozen waffle! :eek: Don’t make the baby jesus choke!
Willow bark works because it contains salicylic acid. These days we know it better as a little pill with some minor chemical changes to reduce the stomach issues - acetylsalicylic acid, aka aspirin. I’d ask the doctor about whether baby aspirin or something similar is fine to go with, rather than relying on something with what may be an unregulated dose of the old-school rough-on-your-tummy version of it.
Clove oil has nothing to do with homeopathy. It’s an essential oil of the clove plant, and there’s no doubt as to its chemical constituents or efficacy. Dentists use it in some of their preps.
The dose for an infant is the tip of a q-tip moistened with clove oil rubbed onto the sore part of the gum, same as for adults. It’s not a systemic painkiller requiring dosage adjustment, it’s a topical anesthetic. HOWEVER, just like with adults, clove oil should only be used for 3 days. It can be irritating to the gum and cause sores or ulcers if used more than that. Clove oil is a great temporary remedy for mouth pain to tide you over until you can get to the dentist, but it’s not for frequent or long term use.
Willowbark’s okay, but I think meadowsweet is easier on the stomach, and for an infant or small child, lemon balm is a good addition - not because it’s a pain killer (it isn’t), but because it’s a very gentle nervine, and it helps anxious and upset kids chill out.
Not to throw cold water on this teething remedy parade, but the key part of that op is the “we think”. Every child at this age chews on everything constantly; few are actually teething. They chew now because they are exploring the world by way of their mouths and learning what their mouths can do. Teething more commonly hits between 6 to 9 months (although there is a very wide range and some normal kids don’t cut a first tooth until 15 months). Feel along the middle bottom gum for the new teeth breaking surface.
Well says you - as I mentioned in the 8th post, Junior had his two front teeth by 4 months. While 6-9 is the usual 3.5 is not crazy - some babies are born with teeth.
Besides, it’s not like the information isn’t going to be useful to the OP in 2 months when the child actually is teething, assuming shes not now.
I don’t think we are disagreeing Alice. Yes, “some” babies are born with teeth - about one in two to three thousand. Yes, your Junior and a few others really do teethe before 4 months. But, again, every child exhibits the mouthing, drooling behaviors by 3-4 months, whether the child is teething unusually early or teethes unusually late (and the range is indeed very broad).
As far as teething remedies go, above all else do no harm. The topical anesthetics only last a short while, but it might be enough to let sleep hit. I’d be very cautious with oil of clove.
(But it worked so well in Marathon Man!)
Also be aware of choking hazards. That rubber band around the ice cube in a wash cloth … not a great idea. Sorry.
Big cold things to chew on (wash cloth wet down, wrung out and frozen is not bad), a dose of ibuprofen before bed for a few nights. A shot of scotch for a parent if need be to man and woman up and deal with what is just a taste of what is to come!