I'm a 1st time mom of a 5 month old that's already teething. He's already cut 2 bottom teeth & I think he's working on more. I've tried teething rings, cold wash clothes, finger massage, Tylenol, & baby Oragel. Nothing seems to provide any relief. For the past 2 nights, it's taken over an hr to get him to go to sleep. Today, the crying started early (230pm) & it took over an hr to get him to finally fall asleep. He's been such an easy baby until now. I can usually lay him in his crib for naptime/bedtime & he goes to sleep no problem. I called the doctor today, and the nurse told me to do the same things that I'm doing with the exception of the Oragel. She said they didn't recommend it until 6 months. She said that if the crying/fussiness didn't get better in a wk to bring him in to be examined. I hate to think that he's in so much pain, & I can't seem to give him any comfort. Does anyone have any further advice?

Ok I know this sound crazy but it worked wonders when my kids were teething and I have passed it down to my kids that use it on my grandkids.

Claussen Chill Dill. Whole ones. They can't bite off pieces and the cold soothes their sore gums.

Ask your doctor if he/she approves a switch to Motrin, and ask for the proper dose for your baby's size. If approved by doc, when giving the Motrin, physically rub some of the dose into the swollen gums. This works very well for my baby girl, and worked for her two older brothers, all three of whom started cutting their teeth at two months old. The switch to Motrin was recommended to me by my doctor when nothing else helped.

On Orajel: Have you ever rubbed some of that into your own gums? I tried it when my first was teething to see what was going to happen.....it was the burning-est, stinging-est thing I've ever felt, the "numbing" effect only lasted about one minute, and I've never ever put it near one of my kids since. Just my personal experience.

And good luck and God Bless! Teething is one of the roughest things for Mamas and babies, it seems to me!!!

Our favorite pharmacist suggested Hyland's teething tablets http://www.hylands.com/products/teething.php It was the only time I haven't taken her advice, because I wasn't comfortable with some of the ingredients, but she said they worked wonders for her kids.

My oldest started teething at 4 weeks old, and my youngest at 6 weeks. This probably isn't what you want to hear, but after a while they get used to the pain and they aren't as fussy. My oldest liked to sleep in her swing when the teething pain was the worst (this was before battery swings, have you ever tried to wind a swing quietly ). My younger daughter loved to chew on rubbery things while she was teething. Unlike my older one, the little one had the ability to hold things up to her mouth and chomp them from birth. Her favorite thing to chew was a little blanket that had rubbery corners that each had different textures. I had to buy two of them because it would get soaked with drool after a while and need to be switched out.

Also, you might try hanging a mirror on the side of the crib...the plastic, baby safe ones that play music. My oldest loved to play with her mirror while she was falling asleep. As they get a little older, they get bored more easily and sometimes they cry when they're bored. She never wanted to go right to sleep once she got to six months...she'd lay in the crib and babble. We thought it was adorable that she'd always sleep with her hand on the mirror.

[quote="Shelle_75"]Ask your doctor if he/she approves a switch to Motrin, and ask for the proper dose for your baby's size. If approved by doc, when giving the Motrin, physically rub some of the dose into the swollen gums. This works very well for my baby girl, and worked for her two older brothers, all three of whom started cutting their teeth at two months old. The switch to Motrin was recommended to me by my doctor when nothing else helped.

The nurse said that he was too young for Motrin

[quote="Shelle_75"]Ask your doctor if he/she approves a switch to
On Orajel: Have you ever rubbed some of that into your own gums? I tried it when my first was teething to see what was going to happen.....it was the burning-est, stinging-est thing I've ever felt, the "numbing" effect only lasted about one minute, and I've never ever put it near one of my kids since. Just my personal experience.

No, but my husband put some on the tip of his tongue (HA- HA). He said that it just numbed it quickly and the sensation was gone pretty quick as well.

For decades my mom has used "Humphries" I think that is the spelling of it. It comes in a white and blue bottle and they are little pellets. You put them in a tsp of water and let them dissolve and give it to baby. It works wonders. It worked with both my children. I have her get me a bottle every time I'm pregnant because I know what is coming. I will check the exact spelling for you tomorrow. But it was a life saver and I think it may be natural.

You're doing the right things. When my kids teethed (my 18 month old is getting a couple new teeth right now, as a matter of fact), I had the same problems. The would wake up in the night and cry for an hour or more. I would dose them up with tylenol (and definitely do it by weight, not age) and if they were still fussy, rub on some orajel, which they hated BUT that would be enough for them to get to sleep. I read somewhere that lying down makes more pressure in their heads (blood pressure I suppose) which makes their gums hurt more, which is why teething is worse at night.

Anyway, best wishes, and, as with most of these baby problems, remember THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

I tried all those things too and other natural remedies, but the thing that worked best for my son was Hylands Teething Formula. They worked VERY quickly to settle and soothe him. I've been using them for about 7 months now, they are miracles in a bottle! He has no ill-effects taking them. They are especially useful at night, but in the day another thing he loved/loves is crushed ice cubes in a fruit mesh feeder. He would happily suck away on it. The novelty factor as well as the relief from the ice is great

frozen bagels or frozen faceclothes. Both my kids gnawed on them when they were teething.

Stick your finger in a bottle of whiskey, then rub on teeth. Yeah yeah I know, and don't say it LOLOL. I'm willing to bet most everyone here over the age of thirty was teethed that way.

Mike

popsicles always worked for me. (5 kids) Good luck! I feel your pain!

BTW, I read that that the APA does not recommend the use of Motrin in infants younger than 6mons. bc it can be a stomach irritant. It could lead to gastric ulcerations. I also read that it can mask other problems not related to teething bc of its anti-inflammatory properties. I probably won't take a chance using the Motrin just yet.

For my son I stuck an ice cube in a washcloth and tied it up and let him chew on that. The super cold and rough feel worked like a charm for him.

Mike,
My mom used to use Apple Brandy.....*hic* When we were toddlers she said she'd pour a few teaspoons in a shot glass and we'd dip our fingers in and rub it on our own gums, then sip, while she read to us in the rocking chair!
Shoot...somebody would call the Child Abuse Hotline now!


Jodie

Call me crazy, but have you ever heard of taking a boiled chicken leg bone and freezing it in the freezer. Cover with a frozen washcloth and tie it up. Then let the baby chomp away. My daughter is cutting 4 teeth right now and it is a sanity as well as a life saver. I learned this little trick from my 101 great grandmother. She is still in her right mind or I would have never tried it. Hope this helps and Good luck.

I used Hyland's teething tablets. They worked really well! My daughter liked them so much that just showing her the bottle would get her to calm down before I gave them to her. On the really bad nights, we'd do 2 teething tablets and tylenol, and that helped a lot.

Walmart, Walgreens, Target, grocery stores, etc. Anywhere that sells baby stuff should have them. They are usually with the diaper rash cream, saline drops for noses, stuff like that. To me, they are on the pricey side, but well worth it! You can start with just 1 tablet at the beginning and see how he takes it. We started with 1, and when it seemed bad, we'd give 2. You just let them dissolve under his tongue, which doesn't take long at all.

Glad he's feeling better. I used the teething tablets until my daughter was about 18 months old. I had a bottle in the diaper bag, one in her room, and one in the living room. I never wanted them to be too far out of reach!

Just make sure it is not an ear infection along with teething. When I had my daycare, there was a little girl that was teething and they did not bring her in to a doctor to check her out. After a couple of weeks, I noticed her wrist was swollen and pointed it out to her mother. She took her to the doctors and it turned out to be an ear infection that traveled through her blood system and located in her wrist. She had to be hospitalized.

Now I know that is the extreme, but I hope you can rule out ear infection that mimics teething.

One thing that my son use to teeth on was mini corn on the cob ears. He would knaw on a cob for a very long time and loved it. The ear did not necessarily have corn on it, I would cut the corn off and give him the cob.

Let her also have those popsicles in the plastic bag and just don't open the bag. You can then refreeze the popsicle. It is just the right size for her to hold.

Double post. Sorry

[quote="dldbrou"]Just make sure it is not an ear infection along with teething. When I had my daycare, there was a little girl that was teething and they did not bring her in to a doctor to check her out. After a couple of weeks, I noticed her wrist was swollen and pointed it out to her mother. She took her to the doctors and it turned out to be an ear infection that traveled through her blood system and located in her wrist. She had to be hospitalized.

I thought of that, but it's obvious that he has 2 new bottom teeth now. I've also been keeping a check on his temp. He hasn't been running a fever. The nurse said if the fussiness persisted past about a week, to bring him in. He seems to be doing a lot better now. He's a lot less fussy.
How in the world would you know if he had an ear infection? Do they run a fever with it? He hasn't been pulling on his ears, but he may be too young to do that.

Usually when they are trying to lie down their ears bother them more. Yes they can run fever, but not always. Teething can mimic earaches because of the throbbing in theirs is similar pain to the throbbing of the gums.