Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Never Ending Teething Marathon

So Hannah is almost 15 months old now.  She got her first teeth right as she turned 4 months.  I've been told when you get your teeth is determined by genetics.  If you were an early teether, chances are your baby will be too.  My mom says I cut my first teeth at 3 months!  Anyway, we are now awaiting the arrival of Hannah's first year molars....all 4 at once!  And she has literally been teething for MONTHS!  One finally came all the way through last week but the other three are just cutting.  As with everytime she gets a new tooth, we've had all kinds of teething "side effects":
runny nose
mild fever
irritable
loss of appetite
increase in sleeping and nursing
super clingy
We have our good days and our not so good days.  Sometimes it's like my happy silly little baby has turned into a monsterous mega brat and I wonder if she will ever turn back to her sweet self.  I have to remind myself that she is dealing with something new and difficult and she is not trying to drive her mama crazy.  Here are a few natural teething suggestions that I have heard.  Some I have tried, others I just am passing on...
Homeopathic teething medicine-I'm not sure how well the medicine actually works, but the disraction of giving it to Hannah helps for sure
Clove Oil-rub a little on baby's gums to help numb them
Vanilla Extract-also a distractor and supposed to help numb gums if you rub a little on them
Frozen Beans-We tried this recently and she seemed to enjoy chewing on the beans, she really likes beans in general.  Make sure to supervise of course!
Center of a pineapple or Mango-Haven't tried this but would give baby a sweet, hard thing to chew on.
Pita bread-I've given Hannah a smaller peice of chewy pita bread and she gummed it up for quite a while.  And I have heard niacin (which is in bread) helps with teething.  Has anybody else heard this?  Couldn't find any info about it.
Amber teething necklace-Haven't tried it but apparently, amber is a natural analgesic and if worn in close contact with the baby's skin, the natural oils from the amber have a calming effect.  Has anybody had any luck with these?

Anybody got any others to add??  What has worked for you?

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