Teething tips - 6 ways to help your baby with teething pain
Teething Symptoms:
• Sensitive, swollen and tender gums
• Irritability
• Aversion to food
• Sleeplessness
• Sharp and high pitched cry associated with pain
• Flushed cheeks
• Dribbling
• Chewing or gnawing on hands or toys
• Some babies also experience diarrhoea, nappy rash and vomiting when they go through painful teething episodes. If this persists chat to your pharmacist or GP to rule anything else out.
What can I do to help?
1. Teethers
Something safe for baby to gnaw on can really help relieve teething pain by allowing baby to apply gentle pressure to the gums with a good chew! We have a selection of teethers that help babies and are fun to play with.
2. Straight to the source
Getting to the source of the pain is a sure way to help achieve some relief and the Matchstick Monkey teething toy is a great solution. Created by a Mum who wanted to apply teething gel or granules hygienically; the matchstick monkey is small and lightweight and has silicone bristles on the back of the monkeys head. You can apply teething gel or granules to the bristles and baby chews away on the monkey, providing relief with the chewing action and also numbing the gel / granules. A gum massager, teething gel applicator and toy all rolled into one!
3. Chill Baby
If baby is on solids, cold fruit or veg in a hand held feeder such as My Feeding Pal is a great way to soothe gums and get some nutrients in. If your baby is off their food, a great option is chilled chopped fruit like melon, very hydrating for baby. Try to steer clear of citrus fruits during teething as the acid can make their drool and nappies a little bit worse.
4. Absorbent bibs
All that drooling can cause painful skin irritation (and a lot of laundry!) so having some absorbent bibs to hand is always useful. A good quality absorbent bib will protect your babies skin and clothing from the acidic dribble.
5. Sophie the Giraffe
One animal that is synonymous with Teething is the sweet giraffe, Sophie, who is in fact over 60 years old! Sophie the giraffe teethers are more than a chew toy, while relieving your babies teething pain, Sophie helps in many sensory ways.
- Sight: The dark and contrasting spots all over Sophie the Giraffe's body provide visual stimulation and make her easily recognisable to baby. She soon becomes a familiar and reassuring object.
- Sound: Her squeaker keeps baby amused, stimulates hearing, and helps him to understand the link between cause and effect.
- Taste: Sophie the Giraffe is very flexible and has lots of parts for baby to chew. She is perfect for soothing baby's sore gums when teething and is completely safe. Made of 100% natural rubber and food grade print.
- Touch: Sophie the Giraffe is perfect for baby's small hands.
She is very light and her long legs and neck are easy for baby to grip. She is very soft to touch, stimulating soothing physiological and emotional responses.
- Smell: The singular scent of natural rubber from Have tree makes Sophie the Giraffe very special and easy for your child to identify amid all his other toys. Phthalates and BPA free.
6. Dental tips!
Tune in to our podcast channel Nine Months On where we have a dedicated podcast on teething with Paediatric dentist Dr. Abigail Moore, who chats to us about teething and how to establish great dental habits from an early age.
In this podcast we chat about;
• Teething symptoms.
• When you should ideally bring your child to the dentist for the first time.
• Tips for great dental practices.
• How to differentiate teething symptoms from something more serious.
• We chat through solids, snacks, supplements and how they all affect your little ones teeth.
• How soothers affect your child’s teeth and tips to wean your child off the soother.
• Practical tips on helping your child cope with teething pain.
Tune in here on our website www.ninemonthson.com