In the last couple of months, Hail has been teething. This has led to countless nights of driving up and down Stark St near my Portland home to soothe him more than the medicine could. In my trial and error as a first time parent, I have tried many suggestions from my family and Portland friends on how to ease teething for both him and myself. Here are the best tips I have come up with so far that I have tried and that work.
- Keep baby Orajel and baby Tylenol on hand. While it is rumored to be untrue that teething does not create a fever for babies, I feel this is incredibly untrue. Hail gets super-hot and cranky when he is getting teeth. Once they pop through the skin, his fever and sweats are gone. The couple of minutes the Orajel lasts will be enough to distract the baby from the pain they feel so that they can do something else for a while. Tylenol or another pain reliever will help to reduce the swelling of the gums so that the tiny teeth do not have to work as hard to get them out.
- Frozen waffles are great for catching drool. While Hail gets teeth, I give him a chunk of frozen waffle to chew on for a snack. It absorbs a lot of the drool and he gets a snack. We both win.
- Placing a wet washcloth in the freezer is a great way to make a soother quickly. Once the washcloth looks like it is getting crusty, it can be used. Pull it out and let the baby suck on it as is. Once it starts to defrost, ring it out, and get it wet again before putting it in the freezer.
- One naturopathic doctor I spoke with in N.E. Portland suggested that I dab a little rum on his gums. The alcohol would keep the pain subsided and the few drops of alcohol that the baby does ingest are often enough time to put them down for a nap.
- Rub the baby's gums whenever they will allow you to stick your fingers in their mouth. Give them a little mouth massage in the hopes that the tooth will come out from under the guns quicker.
- Offer the baby solid foods to try. I would give Hail pieces of plantaines or steamed carrots to chew on and it helped some to have something solid to bite into.
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