9 week old teething?!

[birdybirdbird]

My 9 week old has recently started sucking the backs of his hands a lot and the end up quite wet and drooly. Is this a sign that he’s teething? I hope not, feel like I’ve only just got breastfeeding sorted and the addition of teeth terrifies me!
If he’s not teething, would a dummy help him to stop? I’m worried about him ending up with sore chapped hands as the weather gets colder. Thanks!

If I remember rightly the health visitor said it's developmental and then discovering their hands, my DD did it a lot too.

Could be the beginning but babies do a lot of this before the first tooth appears. The teeth sort of shuffle slowly into position inside the gum and that can take months. Signs to look out for are red and swollen spots on the gum, one red cheek and irritability especially when lying down (so normal baby behaviour then ).

Get a teething ring and keep one cold in preparation. They like biting down on cold, hard stuff so watch out for things like keys or spoons as his reach gets bigger. Anbesol and Bonjela are lifesavers when it really gets going and ibuprofen is the best pain relief over paracetamol.

DD started sucking her thumb at 9 weeks, so that ties in with what CatsCatsCats11 suggested.

It could be but more likely like the PP says that is when they discover their hands and they start properly producing saliva.

Thank you everyone. Clueless first time parent here and mumsnet is a lot more helpful (and sane) than a google search! I’ll be on the lookout for extra teething signs but going to assume —hope— it isn’t.

My daughter started teething at 2 months (so about 9 weeks) and has her first teeth by 4 months!

Both mine had teeth by 4 months, but didn't find it a problem with bf'ing.

I’m watching my 9 week old chomping on his hands right now. He’s just found he can reach them and is easily entertained trying to line up fist and mouth!