Babies and Teething

£Ronnie

Thanks so much to all of you for all your replies, :AI have tried many of them but there are some more listed to try, so guess who is going to the chemists tomorrow.
I can't figure out how to quote in my reply so I will answer some of your suggestions individually

Have tried the carrott/teething ring but he dosen't seem to be able to hold them in his mouth long enough to get a decent chew on them.
Got absolutely no joy with Calgel, found bonjela to give better relief.
Can't have Ibuprofen due to a stomach condition, (reflux).:(


Tonight I have discovered that yet another one is trying to break through, (total now ready to cut through=4) so it seems that we will be dealing with this for some time to come. :eek: I know all babies have the same amount of teeth to cut, but we were hoping for a break inbetween some of them. It just goes to show that all babies are all different as we never knew when my daughter was teething really, she would just smile at us and we would gasp and say "OMG she's got another tooth" !

I would like to say that your replies have helped me realise that my reaction to this is normal, I had PND after my daughter and was concerned it was creeping upon me again, as I didn't feel I was coping very well, but it seems to be a normal feeling from what some of you have said. :T

Oh and Alleycat, I completely agree with your falsie recommendations, however when you talk to people with them, they would generally prefer to have thier own teeth back, so who knows......grass is always greener I suppose?:snow_laug

Thank you all, and if you think of any more suggestions please let me know.

Ronnie.X:xmassign:

jellyhead

my 20 week old seems to have been teething for months, no teeth yet though. he was able to put his fingers in his mouth right from birth, a womb thumb sucker and he carried on sucking in the hospital. although he always has his hand to hand (!) for chewing it's not much relief, he just gets cross because his fingers hurt! he doesn't move his tongue out of the way either, so he's chomping on that too and crying because it hurts.

he doesn't have a dummy much but when his teeth hurt he wants it a lot more, it really helps. it drives me mad when people try to take it out, saying he doesn't need it - i'd rather he chewed a dummy than his fingers or staying in pain. i've had one baby who never wanted or needed a dummy and this one who does want one - it really helps so if yours wants one just ignore anybody who criticises. you can always take it away later on when baby is older or isn't in pain. teething is horrible for babies, i'll do anything to help even though i don't like seeing babies sucking on dummies all day - it's not forver and it's not every day. the dentist has told me it's okay.

somebody recommended apple rings the other day, but my baby isn't on solids yet and doesn't keep the teethers in his mouth so i don't think apple rings will help either, maybe when he's older.

the pharmacist in boots recommended a liquid teething solution rather than a gel, she said it sinks into the gums better, babies just lick off the gel. he can't have the herbal powders because he's lactose intolerant. he won't swallow painkiller medicine but he will sometimes have it in a bottle with some water. when he's in pain though he can barely suck, he just wants the dummy or my finger.

kiwichick

bintagz.co.uk wrote:

The only other option I have tried is Ambersol liquid, (it looks like a small bottle of essence) but it numbs straight down where the skin is broken, it has given her a few hours restbite. I think they do a cream as well, but we have found it better to stick with the liquid.

I used this too and found it to be an absolute godsend.

Toothsmith

jellyhead wrote:

my 20 week old seems to have been teething for months, no teeth yet though.

20 weeks old has only been on the planet for 4-5 months. I very much doubt this is teething, especially as there are no teeth yet.

Teething usually starts at 6 months, although there is big variation, but 'teething' is 'the process of getting teeth', and if they ain't shown up, he ain't teething.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the dummy. Dummies are easier to get rid of than thumbs, and it only becomes a stupid habit if he's still doing it at 5!!!

There are loads of reasons babies cry and bite. it's about all they can do. My youngest used to do it all the time till we realised he was allergic to milk. (And my wife drinking milk & then feeding must have been giving him tummyache) as soon as she finished having dairy products and switched to soya alternatives, crying & biting stopped.

This is one of the things I was refering to on the little teething thread on the health board. Teething has built up such an air of mystery and other symptoms around itself, that other things can often be put down to it, when really they are missing some other problem.

I'm not saying there is another problem, nor that your baby is allergic to milk, but be aware that if no teeth are appearing, it's probably not 'just teething'.

jellyhead

thanks, that's interesting. my other boy seemed to be always teething until i stopped giving him dairy at around his 3rd birthday (around the time he got his last teeth), can't believe now that it took me so long to realise he was milk intolerant, especially with my brother and lots of cousins being allergic to milk - i did raise it several times but health professionals are reluctant to diagnose it and i was told he was teething, he had rotavirus, he had ADHD and autism. at 9 my son is still intolerant.

baby is lactose intolerant but i was told about colief, a colic treatment. he has colief (the lactase enzyme) in his milk to break down the lactose. doctors and health visitors seem very resistant to giving soya or lactose free milk and would rather give colief on prescription instead. colief stops his colic but he still has an upset tummy and lots of mucus, his breathing is noisy and crackly so i think the milk is still upsetting him. i've never heard anything relating teething problems to milk allergy but i suppose you're right - eating his fists is about all he can do to convey a general discomfort.

Toothsmith

I think I may be confusing you here. There is nothing relating teething to anything other than a bit of pain when teeth come through.

It's just a coincidence that your kids problems and mine are/were similar.

If a baby is a bit grouchy and you can see a tooth coming through it's teething.

If it's a red cheek, temperature, bad nappy, pain and NO teeth, then it's something else.

£Ronnie

After the day I have had I am so pleased to see this thread still going....
Update: yesterday his front bottom tooth finally cut through and he was so happy all day. Stupidly I thought we might get a break from it for a while, today he has just been so miserable, not sleeping, barely eating or drinking.

He now has 4 more teeth imminent! AAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH

I have tried most of your suggestions, with little relief, so off to chemists tomorrow for that liquid that numbs the gums. Also going back to the health visitors, as worried he may now be getting dehydrated.

Toothsmith I am surprised by your comments about dummies: our dentist let us know in not too many words what he thought of them!
Off topic completely, but I am so proud off my little girl. She had her dummy in most of the day and night, but last week on her third birthday we decorated a box with Christmas stickers and she gave them to Father Christmas (he happened to be at her preschool that day) to give to the new babies! The first night she sobbed her heart out, but after 10 mins of soothe talking, she settled herself and has only mentioned it when telling someone that she is now a big girl as she dosen't use it any more. I cant believe how well she has done.

Ds uses one too, on Saturday I bought one of those teething dummies with bobbly bits on, but these seem to be much heavier than normal ones and he cant keep it in. Not very money saving though as since he cut his front tooth on Sun am he now can't use it. (Manufacturers recommendations) I suppose they may damage existing teeth, as they wouldn't do themselves out of money would they? Any thoughts on this toothsmith?

Jellyhead if you feel you would like to try this dummy then you can have this one(free naturally). Like i said he only used it for 5mins prob in total and it is suitable for steriliser. If you want to try it then PM your details.

Toothsmith

Dummies is a whole thread by itself!
My persnal view is that they are fine, but should really be done away with by the time the kid is 18months- 2yrs, if not earlier.

As you said, it's easy to have a ceromonial 'giving away' of a dummy. You can't do that with a thumb!!

Can't remember what I was taught on them, and I've never bothered to read published literature on them. I think opinion there is as equally divided as in society in general though. I've never seen teeth out of shape due to either thumb sucking or dummies provided the habit has stopped well before second teeth appear (That starts with adult first molars, at the back from 5+).

kiwichick

I would give ANYTHING for my youngest 2 to have taken a dummy. None of my kids would and as a result the youngest 2 (1&2) are both thumb suckers. I would rather a dummy as they are easier to take away.

A friend of mine managed to get her 2.5 year old off them last year by talking to her and asking if shewould leave them out for Santa. She told her that for every one of her dummies she gave to him he would leave an extra little present in her stocking - IT WORKED!!!!

I cant ask mine to leave their thumbs for Santa and think a dummy is by far a better alternative.

donna-j_2

Toothsmith, my baby cut his first two teeth at 15 weeks and had the red cheeks etc for a week beforehand. They then went away as soon as the teeth came through. Maybe there is no scientific proof for these signs but hundreds of years of parents' observations can't be that wrong.

He loves his dummy and I would rather he chomped on that than hurt his fingers on the wee razor-blades in his mouth.