5 Effective Teething Tips to Comfort Your Baby
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Teething is a menace, full stop. It is awful to see our babes in pain and to be helpless to stop the process.
Levi is in the process of sprouting three new teeth at once. And let me tell you friend, molars are a whole different ball game.
The tricky part for us is that he doesn’t always show his pain in an obvious way. Rather than being fussy all day, he will act normal with a few extra bouts of tantrums or angry moments. His sleep will typically become more and more disrupted (more than it usually is) with lots of tossing and turning. He usually will want to nurse around the clock and bite a little extra on all of his toys.
And my nipples, but I digress.
Once we see the signs, our teething task force launches into our plan of attack! These are our tried and true methods we have curated thus far:
- COLD PACIFIERS
This is hands down my favorite and most simple tip. It has come to our rescue so many times, and we always have a set in the freezer. Take your babe’s favorite set of pacifiers, fill with water, and put in the freezer.
I’m sure most pacifiers will work for this as long as there is an opening, but these are the ones we use because they have been his favorite ever since he was a wee one. They are super booblike, come in different sizes depending on age, and also have the option of glow-in-the-dark coloring (which I initially laughed at, but have come to love with my whole heart in the middle of the night).
When Levi is fussy, and we ask him if he wants a “cold paci”, he lights up and generally shows signs of relief immediately.
- TEETHING GEL & PAIN MEDS*
Ok listen, I would consider myself to be a semi-crunchy person. I try to be as conscious as possible about what Levi is consuming, but life is all about balance.
When we know he is really struggling, and he just needs a little relief to fall asleep, this is typically our move. Our favorite is this one, but we have used this one before too and we like it. A little goes a long way!
Generally our next step if he was still suffering would be pain medication like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. We use this extremely sparingly, but again, balance. We avoid any that contain any dyes.
*I am not a doctor and this is in no way medical advice. Please do your own research, and if needed, consult with your physician regarding specific medications and dosages.
- TEETHER TOYS
Levi is surprisingly picky about his teether toys. He doesn’t like a lot of the traditional ones like the blue ring teether that goes in the freezer. He really loves chewing on anything wood, and also likes the more finger-shaped teethers. Here are some of my favorites! And this one, too.
- KNOWING THAT THIS WILL EVENTUALLY PASS
When you are in the trenches of teething, it can feel never ending. The feeling of not being able to take his pain away is so devastating to me. So in those moments when I want to feel frustrated at the entire situation, I try to take a step back so that I can be his rock. I try to remember when he is acting out or having extra tantrums that he is going through something very major and just needs to be showered with love and cuddles to help him get through.
- COLD FOODS
Levi sometimes struggles to eat when he is about to cut a tooth. He tends to stick to pouches and refuses most other food. But he LOVES to gnaw on watermelon, cucumbers, pickles and my pineapple coconut frozen yogurt bites. The cold really seems to take the edge off for him.
Every baby’s teething journey is a bit different, but your baby is so lucky that they have YOU to comfort them during this difficult time. What are your tried and true teething tips? Let me know in the comments!