If you have a baby or are expecting, you are probably already familiar with the term ‘teething’, but if not, ‘teething’ is the process of babies teeth emerging through the gums. It can be very sore for your baby and may last a long time as they have 20 teeth that will need to break through by the time they are 3 years old and they won’t all come in one go. Babies usually start teething at around 6-8 months old however in some cases it can start earlier.
How do I know my baby is teething?
Signs and Symptoms of teething:
- Excessive dribble – your baby may become excessively dribbly to the point where they will soak their clothes if you don’t put a bib on them
- Flushed/red cheeks – this is quite a common sign of teething
- Sore, red or swollen gums – if you think your baby may be teething, have a look inside their mouth, you may see that their gums are swollen or red. They may also be sore to touch
- Loss of appetite – due to their gums and mouth being painful, it is not uncommon for babies to lose their appetite for solids until their gums settle down again. Just make sure they are drinking their usual amount of milk.
- Irritable and clingy – your baby doesn’t understand why all of a sudden their mouth is sore so understandably, they will want to be with you more for reassurance and comfort.
- Disrupted sleep – due to the pain, your babies sleep may be affected.
- Mild temperature – their mouth may have some mild inflammation which may cause them to have a mild temperature of 38ºC
- Want to chew on everything – teething babies will want to chew on anything they can get their hands on, it helps to soothe their gums.
How to soothe a teething baby
Comfort, love and cuddles. Your baby has been around less than a year but now all of a sudden, their mouth really hurts and they don’t know why. The best way to comfort them is to give in to their clinginess, lots of cuddles, lots of sympathy and patience. Below are some teething essentials that will also help.
Teething Essentials
- Dribble bibs – it is a good idea to use dribble bibs for your little one and change them regularly. Due to the excessive dribble that comes with teething, babies can end up with a rash on their chin and neck – making sure they have a clean dribble bib will help keep those areas dry and hopefully deter any rashes from forming.
- Infant painkillers – If you think your baby is in a lot of pain with teething, you can use infant painkillers. Infant calpol is what we used but whatever your regular infant painkiller is will do the job.
- Teething powders and gels – these products are applied directly to the gums. They numb the gums to help soothe discomfort. We swear by Ashtons and Parsons powder, but every baby is different so find what works best for your baby.
- Teething toys – as mentioned above, teething babies will want to chew on something, matchstick monkey and sophie la girafe are favorites but there are a variety of teething toys out there to try.
- Frozen muslin – your baby might like chewing on a cold cloth or muslin – wet the corner of a muslin with water and place it in a freezer. The wet corner will freeze but the rest of the fabric will remain unfrozen meaning the baby can hold onto the dry fabric comfortably and chew on the frozen corner. Cheing on the frozen corner may help to soothe their gums.
- Ice lollies/pops – again, having something cold may help soothe their gums. You can make breastmilk ice lollies if your baby has not yet weaned or fruit and natural yogurt ice lollies if they have weaned.
