Coping With Teething

My twins are teething. I hated teething with my son, but it is ten times worse with two babies teething at the same time. I wrote a post about teething when my son was an older infant. Check them out for some tips on how to survive teething.
https://blogginaboutbabies.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/teething-swollen-blue-gums/

I have learned some new tricks since then so I thought I would type them up:
1. Frozen food: There are three foods that seems to really help my twins out when they are teething: frozen waffles, frozen sweet potato fries, and frozen fruit in a mess feeder. I think the girls favorite is frozen sweet potato fries. They are so easy to hold and gnaw on- and they taste great. I just pop a few sweet potato fries on their high chair try when they are real fussy and they instantly quiet and go to town chomping. Bliss! The frozen waffles are also a great option, as they are easy to hold and they last a while. I buy organic blue berry waffles and they are pretty yummy too. They are good for car rides when baby starts to get fussy and you need something that will hold their attention for a while. The off course, there is the frozen treats. I take babyfood and freeze it in a mess feeder with cling wrap on the outside the keep the food from leaking out. Out pops the food and they are in heaven.  I am sure you could freeze a whole host of different kinds of foods, but so far these are what seem to be my kids favorites. I know a lot of people swear by frozen peas, but my girls don’t like them frozen.

2. Boiron Camilia– This stuff is great. When the going gets rough and they just seem  inconsolable, I give them this stuff. It comes in a single disposable vial of liquid. I pop it into their mouths and in about 5 minutes, they seem much calmer and more at peace. I like the option of giving them something other than tylenol and motirn.

3. Distractions– Distract, distract, distract. I try my best to go for walks, play outside, or run errands during bad teething days. For whatever reason, the outside seems to almost instantly calm my kids down. I think have been living outside the past 4 days. We talk long walks, play in the yard, and take some small toys outside to pass the time. They girls like going places and people watching, so a trip to the grocery store is also a great idea on a bad teething day.

Read Full Post »

Teething: Swollen Blue Gums

My son is almost 11 months old. He has cut 8 teeth, 4 on top and 4 teeth on bottom. Some teeth seemed to give him more pain than others. I noticed last week that my son’s gums were very swollen where his molars are suppose to come in. YIKES! I did not think he was suppose to get them yet. Poor guy, he has cut a total of 6 teeth in 2.5 months and here we go on the molars. One of the molars is super swollen and I noticed today that it even appears to be blue. This alarmed me. I went searching the Internet for an answer. Here is what I found:

“Occasionally, a small, dark blue area will form on the gums where a tooth is about to emerge. This is the result of a small amount of bleeding beneath the surface of the gums, and is not a cause for concern. It will generally resolve without any special treatment, but cold compresses may be used for comfort and to reduce swelling.” (Source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0006/ai_2603000699/)

Days that are not so bad, here is what I do:

• Cold, frozen teething toys and rings
• Mesh feeder with frozen food
• Let him chew on a tooth brush (he loves this!)

Days that are really bad, here is what I do:

• Tylenol 30-45 min before his naps. I would only do this if his pain was so bad that it was disrupting his sleep for more than two days or if he was crying non-stop
• Motrin 30-45 min before naps- I only started to do this when I notice that the gum is really swollen. Motrin has an anti-inflammatory in it and it seems to help with the swelling a little.

Other things friends of mine swear by, but they did not work for my son:

• Hyland Teething Tablets
• Gripe Water (Works great for my son to help stop hiccups or gas, but not teething)
• Orajel
• Frozen wet washcloths

Are there any other comfort methods you do to help your child deal with teething pain? If you do, share. I am always looking for new ideas and suggestions!

Read Full Post »

9 months and having trouble?

Sigh!

Literally, the day my son turned 9 months old, everything went nuts with him. I had a great routine/ schedule going with him and he seemed to be doing pretty well. But bam….he started refusing to sleep, separation anxiety through the roof, clingy, crying, and fussy. Oh, I should add that he has been teething off and on for about a month now. He cut 3 new teeth and has another one on the way. I have been scratching my head trying to figure him out. I want to blame it on teething, or the length of his wake time, or the fact that he is adjusting to his new home since we just moved about a month a half ago, but I think it is really no one particular thing. I believe it is the combination of all these factors playing together. I found a website that really hit home with me and the trouble that I am experiencing with my son at 9 months. Everything that this article mentions is very representative of my son at this moment. I thought it was worth sharing with all of you. The article also gives some good suggestions to help your baby with sleep problems, teething, and separation anxiety.  http://www.thesleepstore.co.nz/Sleep+Information/Babies+4+to+12+months/Sleep+challenges+with+9+month+olds.html Many of the my son’s difficulties also line up with the developmental period mentioned in Wonder Week 46.

Read Full Post »