The Throes of Teething
For a few weeks now my nearly-15 month old has been battling the good fight... getting his molars. When his pediatrician told me about what to expect when getting his molars:
"The gums will get red and swollen and then when the tooth breaks through they will look infected and possibly bloody at times"
I was all sorts of terrified! I know this isn't the first time I've been through this but I have to admit, this memory from son#1 has been apparently blocked. So now we're going through it, and the pediatrician was right on all accounts. Add to that in-the-mouth fun the runny diapers leading to diaper rash and I have on my hands one generally unhappy fella!
Tana is facing the same situation:
After much consideration and a few calls to the advice nurse it seems my 13 month old is getting his one year molars. All of his symptoms suggest a cold; fever as high as 102 degrees, a little throw up, runny poopy diapers, lethargic, little appetite. Then I noticed that he kept fussing with his teeth and sure enough he has 3 molars coming in all at once. Poor guy!!! The advice nurse said, this could go on until the teeth break through the gums. Really?? Is there other mamas who can share in my experience and offer there advice and encouragement???
Tana, you are not alone! Yes it is tough, and it's not pretty, but as one of my favorite mama mantras states "This too shall pass". And yes, it will take a while. Sadly, I don't have any recommendations on how to ease his pain other than in the feverish cases, a little ibuprofen (I use this sparingly, only usually when he's losing sleep because he's in pain). Any other mamas out there have advice to offer?
Tana,
This is a tough time, you want so much to take their pain away. One thing that worked for us was using Hyland's Teething Tablets, they are 100% natural and dissolve easily in the childs mouth. You should be able to find them at most stores, we have gotten them at Fred Meyer and Wild Oats. If nothing else it has helped both my kids sleep better when teething.
Good Luck!
Posted by: hoffmama | January 07, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Hi Tana,
I second the Hyland's products. We haven't used the tablets, but their teething gel worked like a charm for our daughter. We found it at New Seasons.
Posted by: Sophia | January 07, 2008 at 11:55 AM
I love the Hyland's teething tablets. And they make tabs called "Calms Forte" as well that are designed specifically for "infants". They're basically small doses of chamomile for calming the baby down. It helps them sleep if they are waking up fussy from pain or any other kind of distraction. We used the teething tablets and the Calms Forte both when reli was teething and we've kept the Calms Forte around for plane trips as well.
Also, Reli used to LOVE it when I would stick a pacifier in the freezer and then let her have it. I'd leave them in there for quite a while so they were actually nice and cold and solid. It gave her something perfectly mouth shaped so that she could really get it all the way back on her gums and bite down to alleviate the pain.
Best of luck. And keep in mind that as uncomfortable as it is for them now, we all went through it and we're all okay!
Posted by: Meliah | January 07, 2008 at 01:14 PM
Our son was a miserable teether and we're still working on our 2 year molars (they've bothered him off and on for months!).
The Hylands tablets didn't work for us. They are a generic formulation that works on a certain percentage of kids. We did have good luck, however, with a visit to a homeopath who gave us teething tablets specific to his symptoms. These have helped a lot and eased our night-time screaming and general crankiness.
We saw Dr. Mary Caselli - she's a ND who also does homeopothy. Our insurance covered it too!
Dr. Caselli - (503) 335-8983
Posted by: scotti | January 07, 2008 at 01:26 PM
Actually I quit on the teething tablets a long time ago because they really irritated the babe's eczema... as if he wasn't dealing with a lot as it was!
Posted by: shetha | January 07, 2008 at 01:33 PM
I SWEAR my daughter seemed stoned off her gourd when I tried Hyland's ... we freeze a damp washcloth folded into a triangle and let her chew on that. All four molars just popped through this weekend, so we're hoping relief is here!
Posted by: Amy | January 07, 2008 at 01:54 PM
I never tried (or even heard of) Hyland's before. Both of my boys were happy with the frozen washcloth, like Amy mentioned. Can't really get more natural than frozen water.
Posted by: KMat | January 07, 2008 at 02:21 PM
I'll have to try these, especially the pacifier one. We have a teething ring but since she only sees it once in awhile she isn't quite sure what to do with it. Plus it is cold to hold!
Our little one only had two bottom teeth until three weeks ago when she got four new ones up top. She hasn't been too irritable, a little cranky I guess, but has the runny diapers, ear tugging, drooling all over and sleep doesn't exist in our house anymore. I am suspecting more teeth are on their way. Thanks for the advice!
Posted by: jennifer | January 07, 2008 at 03:15 PM
Oh man, our girl (18 months) is getting like 4 at once. One popped through and I was shocked at how big it is. It's huge! Two more have cusps that have busted through (ouch) and we can see yet another big swollen spot. LOts of whiney crankiness and not so into eating today. Easily upset. Some bum rash, too. She paws and tugs at her cheeks. We've done the ibuprofen and the washcloth. Is there any sugar content in the Hyland's tabs or gel because I am worried about cavities? I feel for all your little ones and all the sleeplessness out there--and thanks!
Posted by: SuzanneLynn | January 07, 2008 at 06:15 PM
We've tried the washcloths, teething rings, Hylands - all with no success. What has seemed to work is a homeopathic remedy called Camilia (also at New Seasons...). They're little amulets of liquid that my boy loves and they really seem to take the edge for him. If it's really bad, I will give him a dose of Advil at night to help him sleep. No reason to be tired cranky on top of uncomfortable cranky.
Posted by: Tamara | January 07, 2008 at 07:01 PM
Our baby is 9 months old, so we aren't dealing with molars yet. We are in our second round of teething, though, and we've had to re-implement the toolkit. I second the Camelia, but it only seems to work for fussiness for our baby, not for full on pain. We also use Clove Oil on his gums and it works really well. New Seasons sells it in the children's homeopath section. You can also mix a few drops of clove oil with olive oil for the same effect. If nothing else, we do Tylenol in conjunction with a mesh fresh food feeder filled with frozen breastmilk or some variety of frozen pureed food. I usually chop up the frozen cubes so it is easier to fit the feeder into his mouth. He loves it!
Posted by: Kelly Schneyer | January 07, 2008 at 10:52 PM
We give infant's dye-free Motrin according to the directions on the label.
Posted by: Kristin | January 07, 2008 at 11:59 PM
Our favorites not already mentioned: star shaped vibrating teether (found at Fred Meyer in the baby food section) or a vibrating toothbrush.
Posted by: Marsina | January 08, 2008 at 07:25 AM
I will second, third, and fourth the Camelia!! I now have to hide the box because my 17 month old recognizes it's distinctive pink and blue coloring and throws a fit if I don't let her have one. She apparently likes the taste and will walk around sucking on the little dispenser even long after its empty.
It is safe, all natural, and worked great when she had four molars come in all about the same time. I have even left a box of Camelia at my mother-in-law's for those just-in-case moments.
Good luck and I hope the worst is over soon!
Posted by: Melissa | January 08, 2008 at 07:57 AM
That Camelia stuff is truly magic! We tried the highlands tablets and they seemed to have no effect, then when I was checking out the packaging (in hopes of an explanation) I noticed that they are made of lactose, which my little guy has issues with. Don't know if that's the culprit but we've only used liquid homeopathics since and they seem to work pretty well. Clove oil has also worked wonders, make sure you test it in your own mouth first since it can be pretty strong (I heard they used to use it in dental surgery long ago). Good luck to you, hope your little one gets a break soon.
Posted by: sagu | January 08, 2008 at 09:32 PM
Hyland's Teething Tablets work wonders on my 7mo old boy who really suffers teething. Also, frozen carrots, diakon radishes, frozen washcloths, frozen pacifiers. An old remedy my father recommended and I find that works is to rub a little bourbon on his gums. Instant numbing relief on the really bad days. Some may disagree with this, but it is a time tested remedy. Good luck and I hope your little one feels better soon!
Posted by: Mary | January 09, 2008 at 09:26 AM
We tried Hylands and my 8 month old. She cried for 45 minutes and then slept for 2 hours. When it was time, I gave her a second dose and within an hour she was... well... stoned. She was relaxed but her eyes were half open and she would stare a lot. No yawning or eye rubbing or any other usual signs that she was sleepy. Just spacey, zoned and chill... for hours. The Belladonna in the tablets is listed in such a small dose that I dont know for sure what caused the effect.
Posted by: Yvonne | July 14, 2009 at 12:34 PM
I know that the Hyland teething tablets do not work for all, but for me they were a life-saver. I didn't use them the first round of teething when he was 4 months old, but by 8 months, I gave it a shot. Maybe I just have a high energy baby, but he didn't seem stoned as other have noticed. I can say that when I tried to make it through an entire day without them at some point he would have a meltdown from the teething pain. I guess they don't work for everyone, but if they work for your baby, they are a blessing.
Posted by: Shannon | July 19, 2010 at 05:53 PM
For those not aware, the FDA has issued a recall of Hyland Teething Tablets because of the belladonna in them:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm230761.htm
Posted by: Nathan Alden | February 24, 2011 at 09:42 PM
The recall was in 2010.
Here's an update:
http://www.hylandsteething.com/recall/
Posted by: Melissa | March 27, 2013 at 03:49 PM