When baby starts teething
I’ve turned to the trusty Dr. Sears, now that our perfect little 4 ? month old has stopped sleeping. He slept anywhere from between 8 and 10 hours at a stretch from 2 to 4 months of age, and now there are nights where he is up every 1-3 hours. Yikes!
I know he?s been teething or at least pre-teething from these tell-tale signs:
- He puts everything, including his fist (and sometimes his foot!) in his mouth.
- He drools constantly.
- He has diarrhea and a bit of a rash-the first rash he?s had since he was just a few weeks old.
- He?s fussier than usual (What happened to our mellow little guy?).
- He?s not sleeping well (last night was particularly rough).
Teething remedies suggested by Dr. Sears are giving baby a chilled teething ring, frozen wash cloth, although I?ve found that a wet-not frozen-washcloth helps, too; A frozen bagel or banana, and rubbing ice on baby?s gums. I haven?t tried using ice but I will try today, when I see my baby fussing and stuffing his fist in his mouth again.
Infant?s Tylenol or Motrin (ibuprofen) can really help. I?ve given some to my little guy at night, hoping that he?ll sleep-and let us sleep-better.
Yesterday I bought some Baby Orajel to rub on his gums. Dr. Sears, however, says to use teething gels/pastes with caution. First, wipe gums with a clean, wet cloth, then apply gel only to the area where baby?s gum is bulging. The drawbacks are:
- These gels taste terrible.
- It is easy to use too much
- If it spreads in baby?s mouth and into her saliva, her tongue and even lips can become numb.
- Baby may swallow some of it (Yuck!).
Other typical teething symptoms are a cough from excess saliva, drool rash on chin, face, lips and chest (a lanolin ointment is a good treatment for this), and a fever below 101. (It?s probably a good idea to call your pediatrician if baby?s temperature runs above 101).
Good luck to everyone trying to get through the difficult days and nights of teething! (Yawn??).
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Carolyn says...
We use teething tablets… we get them at CVS and they work well for my little guy who is almost 8 months and has just cut his front to bottom teeth. Good luck everyone.