Whether it's brushing your teeth after they arrive or waiting for them to finally arrive, baby teeth cause a lot of problems! The process of obtaining these teeth can be effortless or excruciating depending on your baby. Even in minor cases, most babies show symptoms of teething.
When do babies start teething?
The difficulty with teething is that symptoms can start 2-3 months before the tooth surface! It can be brutal for the baby and the family if there is a lot of discomfort.
How do you know if your baby is teething?
1. He bites more than usual
This symptom of teething will turn your baby into a vampire. Bite, bite, bite, bite on anything from plastic spoons to toys to breasts. There is a plethora of teething toys on the market that can help.
2. He drools a lot
When babies are still newborns, they are still learning to swallow their saliva, which causes excessive drooling. Fast forward to teething, and the drool starts again (or never stops in some cases). When baby teeth, the body creates extra saliva to lubricate sensitive and swollen gums.
3. Frequent awakenings
These teething symptoms cause babies who have already slept through the night to start waking up several times for their comfort. In the quiet hours of the night, a baby often feels the pain of teething more because there are fewer distractions.
4. Sleep disturbances
Because of the discomfort of teething, babies usually take fewer naps and wake up earlier in the morning. Fun for anyone having fun with these teething symptoms!
5. Fever, rash, cough and diarrhea
Although some doctors disagree, many moms detect a mild fever (less than 100 degrees) in their babies when their teeth are imminent. In addition, the extra drool can cause a rash, irritation, and cough as it collects in the back of the throat. Some babies even develop diaper rash and diarrhea.
6. Decreased appetite
When babies are in pain, they usually don't want to eat, especially since it triggers their pain points. Keep trying to feed them as much as possible, despite resistance. Call your doctor if baby's calorie intake drops significantly.
7. Tearing of the ears and rubbing of the chin and cheeks
Babies can be very resourceful and self-massage. By pulling and rubbing around their jaw, they create back pressure which relieves some of the pain and palpitations.
How to relieve the pain of teething?
While all of those baby teeth are coming in, we don't need to fall victim to teething symptoms. There are great things we can do to comfort baby in the middle of the teething process:
- The cold helps numb the area, while the pressure soothes the inflamed gums.
- Try Teethers: Safe, non-toxic items baby can chew on apply back pressure to sore gums.
- Try teething necklaces: Baltic amber teething necklaces release an oil that contains succinic acid, a natural anti-inflammatory. Of course, there are also silicone teething necklaces that baby can chew on.
- Use herbal medicine to help relieve the pain of teething, make herbal tea, soak a washcloth, freeze it, then let baby chew it.