Now that baby Vienna is almost six months old, I've had a few months of trying different teething remedies. She started with symptoms around 2.5 months and her first bottom tooth poked through about a week ago. We were pretty excited!! It's a sharp tooth though – ouch. No more munching on mommy's finger. Thankfully we've had no breastfeeding mishaps.
As a natural mama and holistic nutritionist, it is always my goal to seek out natural remedies first. From red cheeks, irritability to drooling to restlessness, pain and even fever – these are all common symptoms that can happen from teething. These are symptoms that can be addressed naturally and effectively.
Vienna felt like she was burning up one night so before I took her to the walk-in clinic, I called "Telehealth" and a nurse rest assured me it will pass and just to keep a close watch on her for any changes. Now, of course, you must always be careful with fevers which is why I wasn't trying to treat it naturally until I had confidence from a nurse that it was not high enough to warrant medication.
After doing extensive research and testing out different options, these are the 5 best natural solutions for lessening the symptoms associated with teething in this video (links all the products below). I have personally found them to be very effective with my babe.
This necklace I'm wearing is awesome become Vienna LOVES chewing on it and the counter-pressure on her gums relieves pain. It's made of silicone, not plastic. I also find it handy because when she's nursing, instead of pulling on my hair, she grabs the necklace – it's a good distraction!
This has helped to lessen the drooling. These necklaces have some controvery because some people worry they are a choking hazard. However, you take it off at night and don't leave it on your baby unattended. The length is perfectly though out because it can't get tangled on aything as it is pretty short.
3. Mesh Ice Teething Feeder
If your baby isn't on solids yet, just pop in some ice using the Mesh Ice Teething Feeder. The cold will feel good on her gums and relieve pain. Once your babe is old enough and has tried out different foods, you can add frozen fruit.
Boiron's Camilia Teeth Relief is an effective homeopathic medicine. It helps with irritability and restlessness. When Vienna's cheeks get super red and I can tell she's restless, this really helps. I have been using it as a preventative as well.
This needs no explanation. Love is a proven endorphin producer which is the best natural pain reliever in the world. When Vienna is a cranky-pants because she is suffering (those cheeks give it away!) I just give her extra hugs and kisses.
I hope you find these tips useful mamas. Please do let me know what you've found to be helpful.
Wishing you joyous health!
Love those chew bead necklaces and my friend actually makes them along with matching pacifier clips!! She calls them "Chooables" and sells them on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Chooables?ref=shop_sugg A great way to support a local Canadian business AND have a cute necklace for every outfit ;)
ReplyNice! I will check it out.
Hi Joy! Great tips! I have heard a lot of rave reviews from parents about the Camilia homeopathic ointment! Letting your child chew on a cool facecloth or BPA-free teething toy is also quite helpful. In terms of the amber teething necklace, it is important to be careful around its use. The hypothesis around their value is the heat of baby's skin warms up the amber so it releases a precursor to Acetylsalicylic Acid (AKA Aspirin), which is absorbed and metabolized in a way that can offer baby some pain relief. However, we know that children under 20 yrs should never be given Aspirin due to the risk of Reye's Syndrome so there are concerns with having your baby wear an amber teething necklace, which also has no scientific evidence to support its use. As a result, I would caution readers around the use of the amber teething necklace. The mesh frozen fruit feeder can also pose some concerns re: increasing risk of dental caries. As the new teeth are coming in, the frozen fruit breaks down into glucose, which can adversely affect the enamel of baby's first teeth. So, exercising caution with these is also recommended. ps, I work in Public Health Nursing and have consulted with Dental Hygienists around teething management. These were some of the tips shared by them, which can help raise parental awareness and critical thinking around teething products heavily marketed for babies.
ReplyThanks for your thoughts Kaley! I appreciate it. I'm personally not at all concerned that the teething necklace could cause Reyes Syndrome. Connecting teething necklaces to aspirin is like saying wearing socks to bed will give you cancer, he he :) The amount of succinic acid being released it so low (maybe 1-2%) that it would be impossible to cause this and this is on the skin, not taking it internally. Some consider it to act like homeopathic medicine where the amount of medicinal compound is literally microscopic. Also, Reyes Syndrome is extremely rare and it seems the few that have had an issue with Aspirin had genetic diseases making them unable to properly metabolize it in the liver. That being said, I would still not recommend aspirin for babies or children.
Hi Joy, I'm thrilled to learn you and Walker have a baby! Congrats! I'm redoing the ECBL now that my second baby is just about 3 months old. I had been consuming far too much unjoyous things out of exhaustion. 2 of the 3 weeks are done and I'm feeling great! Congrats and thanks again. XxErica
ReplyAwesome! Walker and I were just talking about that program the other day. Glad you are still enjoying it! The exercises are so great!
I just thought I would share that as your baby gets older, all of your tips above help out even more with the tougher teeth. My 22 month old still hasn't got her eye teeth (which I hear are the most painful after the molars) and they just keep pushing on her poor gums. You can see the white of the tooth trying to come through and about every week or so she goes through a bout of fighting with it. The Camilia is my first choice and she still loves it (I had been using it since about 6 months). Since she's older and eating real food, any cold food to gnaw on tends to help her during the day (carrots, celery, ice is always fun too). But at night time, the Camilia is my first step. If that doesn't work, I usually resort to the Advil. This is only when it's really bad though. I love your tips! Keep them coming!!!
ReplyThanks for sharing, Christine! We appreciate your insight into teething issues as the babes get older! Kate - Joyous Health Team
Only one suggestion missing for the natural mama...breastfeed breastfeed breastfeed! Both my daughter...now 5, and my son still teething and a year old have found it very comforting and calming. Yes being the human pacifier is a job! Lol
ReplySome great ideas here. We did Camilia with all three kids but because we were also trying other things simultaneously it was difficult to confirm that it was in fact the Camilia that did the trick. A bit disappointed to see you recommend the Amber necklace. There is no scientific basis that this item does anything. Research on the use of this item also reveals that the parents were never exclusively using it and therefore couldn't attribute any perceived improvement over time directly to it and it alone. I'm all for natural but this item I feel quite strongly against.
ReplyAll great tips Joy!! Camilia, yes!! Toothbrush :) soft, chewable on both sides and scatches those irritated gums. Poor baby hopes she finds some releif soon and those gums break!!
ReplyThanks so much, Lin!!! Heather- Joyous Health team
When my first child was teething, it took me ages to work out exactly what was wrong - only upon one of my friends pointing it out could I work out exactly what was wrong - I had been worrying so much about every possible scenario. Once I knew it was teething, I tried many recommendations from people as to how to help relieve the pain for my child, the best one I eventually came across was amber teething beads after seeing a post about them on a Facebook group - I was skeptical but ready to try anything! Upon buying one of these, I quickly realised it was working! Then I looked up how they work and it fascinated me. In theory when a baby wears amber teething products, their body heat triggers the release of a minute amount of oil that contains succinic acid which can help relieve pain on sore gums. This healing oil helps to aid the swelling.
ReplyYoung Living's Copaiba essential oil is our go-to to help the babes with teething. Diluted and rubbed on their gums - it is night and day different within a matter of seconds!
ReplyHey Ashley, So happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing :) Rachel - Joyous Health Team