Teething

[Cl]

Funny how you forget about teething.... second time around, just got ds sleeping through and suddenly he's awake half the night. Has a cough, but has had that for ages - so can only assume it's teeth. He's putting everything in his mouth, but has done that for months now. Wondered if anyone had a) a checklist for teething? b)Remedies that work (am trying granules, calpol didn't seem to work and don't want to keep giving it every night anyway in case it's not teething). Agree with Jps this guessing at what's causing the crying is so hard - it could just be wilfulness I suppose but he does seem so distressed and it is new-ish behaviour.All tips /experiences welcom

Don't underestimate tooth pain. I had wisdom teeth problems when my ds was about 4 months that went on for about 2 months. I realised how crabby i was when I was in pain/discomfort and I knew what was happening to me, he didn't. Half an hour after taking something, i felt much better.

If half an hour after calgel or bonjela resulted in a happier baby, I knew he was feeling teeth and I followed the calpol recommended does. A year on and he does not appear addicted though he thinks his teaspoon with vitamin drops on is a treat.

I ended up much more liberal than I had intended when i started giving him the teething granules. Having the impacted, infected tooth out was much worse than child birth.

Our dd has just produced her 1st 2 teeth. She is nearly 6 months old. She became hell to live with for about 2 days, a real change of character: very gripey, very vocal and babbling a lot throughout the night, red cheeks, and a slight cough. Calpol helped. Once the teeth came through the gum she returned to her old self.

The teeth are at the front and very noticable, both visually and when spoon feeding her you can feel her new teeth biting the spoon.

A tip: she enjoyed teething on a small clean wooden spoon. She seemed to like the slightly rough texture.

So 2 down and 18 more to go over the next couple of years according to what I have read.

I can really recommend the homeopathic teething granules (Nelsons, New Era) - used them all the way through for my dd - 2 1/2 now and just got her back teeth. She always had bad nappy rash and different pooh when teething and a runny nose. I believe it is to do with the extra acids they produce when teething but at least it gives you some symptons to look out for and because their imune system is low they usually catch a cold. If you speak to a homepathic chemist they might have their own remedies for when things get really bad (mine did). I only used calpol occasionally when dd had a high temperature and found it worked very quickly. My dd also needed a lot of tlc and was very clingy. I know some people who used frozen veg such as cucumbers and also bananas as teethers.

Will try the granuals soon. Does anyone else find that their little ones struggle eating when teething? My ds loves his food but gets 1/2 way thru and starts a half crying 1/2 general whinge. He still eats but it does bother me why he does this. He's got 2 teeth (bottom) & I think another is on it's way. Any suggestions?

Is this happening with warm food? Extra warmth can increase the blood supply to the mouth and gives an extra kick to the pain feedback.

Maybe his intial hunger is greater than the feeling from his teeth. Once the acuteness of the hunger wears off the feeling of the teeth takes precedence.

I think at any one time there will be a number of teeth at different stages of developing and cutting in their gums. So there's prob a lot going on anyhow. The granules won't do any harm and I found them a useful distraction.

jps and cl-i sympathise with you both-our daughter is just over 6 months and we have had teething symptoms for 4 weeks now with no sign of teeth yet!!(red cheeks,dribbling,not sleeping well,crying without any apparent cause)--i am at my wits end as to what to do have tried Calpol and teething gel aswell as teething rings but nothing seems to work consistently.

We have read and read but nobody can really give us any idea of how long teething can go on for and whether we should actually be worrying about something else-PLEASE CAN ANYONE HELP!

Poor you. From what I can gather there are a lot of different speeds out there. Maybe something is going to break throught soon or maybe it's just a lot of different teeth getting going now the mechanism has clocked in.

Afraid ds started drooling etc at Christmas and finally cut his first tooth in late April at about 7 months. It sounds like classic teething and I think it's like colic, nothing works for very long but it's worth trying them all. Small ice cubes had a surprise factor and the vibrating teether was another distraction though your baby is prob too small to work it alone so you get a finger cramp holding it. Peeled cumcumber and frozen carrot sticks are other suggestions.

I became quite happy with medicating so if you are happy to, Nurofen is the more effective pain relief for this sort of pain and your baby is old enough to take it now they are 6 months. I met a dental hygenist who had a strict regime for teething with 3 reg doses of nurofen during the day (every 4 hours?) topped off by Medised at night. Which is food for thought.

Just as you are getting the hang of dealing with one thing and then something else, like teething, comes along to throw it all. Parenthood, eh?

Just for information, one of the few nice GPs at my medical centre is a bit anti giving nurofen unless babies are running a highish fever and calpol/ sponging isn't bringing it down. He said that IHHO Calpol should always be the default pain reliever for babies and small kids in the absence of other medical advice. Don't know his exact reasons for this but thought I'd mention it anyway...

I'm in New Zealand so you may not be able to get this product in the UK. It's a homeopathic remedy - Naturo Pharm Teethmed Relief Spray and we got it from a health shop but some pharmacies here also stock it. Our dd is 15mths and her first molars are coming through all at once. She didn't have too much of a problem with the first eight but we did use it then but forgot we had it. We've had crying baby at 3am too. We tried a prescription pain relief medicine which works really well but must be taken with food - not an option at 3am, so we gave Pamol (children's paracetemol) which had little if any effect. Then we remembered this spray which we used with her other teeth and after 4 sprays over 10 mins she was sleeping like an angel. Perhaps there's a similar product over there? The company puts out a range of children's remedies including one for colic which we used successfully. I used one for when I stopped breastfeeding - worked really well too.

Malmo Mum - interesting about warm food, my 8 month old has recently been existing on yoghurts, mashed banana and Teetha (homeopathic remedy). I have started to give him his savoury stuff straight from the fridge which has worked too as I reckoned that the problem was the warmth - thanks for explaining why.

ScummyMummy, that's interesting re Nurofen, because we find it works much better on our son for reducing fever than Calpol does. Don't suppose you could ask him to be more revealing the next time you see him? I wondered whether it is to do with ibuprofen being related to the aspirin stable of drugs? I notice from adult versions that you are not meant to take ibuprofen if you are allergic to aspirin: and aspirin is now not considered safe for children.
Hope everyone's gnashers are feeling better. We found the chamomilla granules really helpful - as Malmomum says, the packaging is a distraction for older children as well.

kdm - my ds, now 6 months, has had 'teething' symptoms for the pasr three months, then 3 teeth have appeared over the last 10 days. We're hoping for a bit of peace now

my son will be one next month and still no teeth. He has showed all the signs of teething ie:- red cheeks,constant cough, and a runny nose since he was four months old but no teeth yet, should i be concerning myself over this.?

5050, I wouldn't be worried about the lack of teeth yet (I've heard the suggestion that the longer your milk teeth stay in your gums, the stronger they and your second teeth will be!) but if he has had a cough for a long time you maybe ought to mention it to your HV or GP.

Marina, will try and remember to ask him next time I see him (however, I'm hoping this will not be too soon!). We too found it worked much better for reducing fever and it was in the context of mentioning this that he emphasized that it should be a last resort. We'd got to the stage where we weren't bothering with Calpol if either of the boys got a fever since Nurofen worked so much better. Maybe one of the medics in the mumsnet house has some answers?

Has anyone else had probs with their baby losing interest in food while teething? TC has always been a good eater since being weaned at 4 months, has never refused anything! In last few days she has become a bit of a nightmare, the only thing she seems to really enjoy is fromage frais or banana custard. Also has had cold after cold and now has a cough, but has always previously eaten while even with a cold. Not sure if it is the cold yoghurt she enjoys - am hoping she is not developing a sweet tooth. Am getting a bit desperate for ideas of savoury things to try. She used to love cauliflower cheese and all veggies but over last few days won't touch them. She seems to have been teething for months with all the symptoms, dribbling, red cheeks etc, but fortunately has continued to sleep well. Have tried Calpol, Calgel with limited effect. Also seems very irritable generally (totally out of character) and prone to cry for no apparent reason. Am hoping her first tooth is on the way as feeling a bit hopeless. Any suggestions very welcome.

I am reading this thread with great interest. My 40+ dh is just cutting a new tooth!

LOL, Tigermoth! Hope he isn't dribbling too much.

No more than usual.....

Melly my 8 month old is just the same at the moment. If you want to avoid too much sweet stuff, have you tried giving her savoury stuff cold from the fridge? Also sticks of cucumber or really ripe pear from the fridge seem to be good.

Melly, ds has been like this every tooth he has cut, but poor fella seems to cut about 4 at a time. He is now 17 months and has two large teeth at the bottom and two large at the top coming through and spits out anything that needs a chew. He is eating lots of soggy food and puddings in a jar and of course custard. As soon as they are through abit more he will be happy to eat anything and everything again. He has also had a cold (which has just gone) for ages and is much more grizzley than normal.

Melly - my 7 month old ds is the same - he's cut three teeth so far and lost his appetite for anything but soggy rusk and fromage frais every time. He eats again once the tooth is through though.

Robinw are you there? Xylitol...I may be being a bit thick here but you know when you talk about the chewing gum helping prevent ear infections/protecting teeth - do you mean the mother chewing the gum then breastfeeding? Assume so, cos can't imagine even my todler getting the hang of the gum? Also a word of warning for mothers of teethers. I was chuffed to find that the homeopathic teething granules contained xylitol - they also seemed to soothe my ds - BUT they contain lactose and it took me ages to work out why his eczema got so bad periodically. Anyone know where I can get a homeopathic teething formula that's lactose free?

Yes, Cl, just as you describe; encouraging results in some Finish studies regards xylitol gum chewing mothers and their offspring having lower caries rates at follow up. Didn't even need to be breastfeeding .
Put "xylitol " into medline and you will get some stuff on this.
Glasgow dental hospital is considering trying to reproduce the studies as the methodology was a bit suspect.
I see certain types of "orbit" chewing gum now contain xylitol.

Cl, you can but Chamomilla in drop form, you need 6c potency as that is the same as the granules and I know Weleda do it, try Fresh and Wild.