Wonder Baby got her first tooth last week!  Just in time to start Baby Led Weaning tomorrow on her six month birthday.  She’s got another one pushing its way through, which is a fun addition to the wonder week and learning to be mobile stuff she’s got going on.  We aren’t sleeping much.  I can’t do much to help her learn to crawl forwards instead of backwards, but I can help with the teething.  Here are some great ways to survive the joys of teething.


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Teethers:

1) A teething necklace.  If you babywear a lot, this is a great idea.  Toddler Girl just chewed on my gold necklace, but I like the idea of this one a lot.  I might buy it this week. It gives the baby something to chew on and fiddle with, which is also nice for nursing (Wonder Baby likes to grab my face while she nurses… not as fun).  I’ve seen quite a few teething necklaces and I think this one is the cutest, although I don’t know if I’d wear it when I’m not babywearing.

2) This Bunny Teether looks pretty similar to the popular Ringley teether.  Toddler Girl loved the Ringley, but it got really grody and then I stupidly tossed it in the wash.  Don’t do that.  The wood split and I was down a (borrowed) teether.  This one is even cuter and looks like you could remove the fabric part to wash more easily.

3) Wonder Baby looooves this Wooden Elephant Teether.  It’s really easy for her to hold and she loves to chew on it.  I love that it’s all natural and adorable.

4) Sophie the Giraffe.  I know, she’s everywhere.  What can I say?  There’s a reason!  Both my girls chose her as a favourite thing to chew on, and I feel better about the natural rubber than I would about plastic.  Even BPA free plastic makes me uneasy, as I don’t want my babies chewing on it for hours.

Painkillers:

4) Hyland’s Teething Tablets.  Sometimes teething pain can go on for days at a time, and I don’t want to use drugs on a little baby all the time.  Of all the homeopathic remedies I’ve tried, these are the only ones to have any effect.  All my girlfriends swear by them.  On a side note, they were recalled briefly in Canada (thankfully between my babies, so I didn’t miss them) but are proven safe and back on the shelves.

5) Infant Advil.  I save the Advil for night time when they are in a lot of discomfort.  It helps them sleep easier and seems to last longer than the Hyland’s tablets.  I’ve heard that Advil is better for teeth pain than Tylenol, so that’s what I tend to use.

As an added note to breastfeeding mothers, yes my kids bite me when teething.  I know this freaks a lot of mothers out, and many decide that they don’t want to nurse a baby with teeth.  Just because your baby bites while teething does not mean that they will be biting you all the time when they have teeth!  It’s just another little annoying thing about teething, and they will likely go back to being a happy little nurser once they pop that tooth.  I haven’t found a great way to discourage the biting (although I stop the nursing session, as they are obviously not eating anymore), but I don’t think they usually mean to make a habit of it; it’s just that they hurt and are biting everything at that point.  It sucks though, I can’t lie.

What’s your best teething product or advice?

Teething part 3 of 7

1. Teething Chart by Mrs. Bee
2. Best Teethers by Guides
3. Teething Survival Kit by Mrs. Superhero
4. Surviving the "Terrible Teeth" by Mrs. Hopscotch
5. Essentials for Early Teethers by mrs. wagon
6. Blame it on the teeth by Mrs. Tea
7. Teething Essentials by Mrs. Checkers