Raise your hand if you have a teething baby! I do! Teething can definitely be hard on the whole family due to sleepless nights and an unhappy baby. Some of the signs/symptoms of teething include:

• excessive drooling
• chewing, biting, gnawing objects
• excessive fussiness
• low grade fever
• loose stools
• vomiting
• disrupted sleep
• increase in breastfeeding/comfort nursing
• decrease in appetite
• red, inflamed/swollen gums
• diaper rash

Caring for a teething baby is certainly challenging as it may take some experimenting to find what comfort measures are effective for your baby. Also what works one day, may not work the next. Here are 3 alternative ideas to provide comfort for a teething baby:

• Amber teething necklace – you may have seen babies (or mamas) wearing Amber necklaces and wondered if they were just a fashionable trend? While babies do look incredibly adorable in them, amber necklaces actually hold healing properties. Wearing amber can help restore energy, provide pain relief, reduce inflammation, and help maintain overall wellness. How can a necklace do that? Baltic Amber is a fossilized tree resin that has a high concentration of succinic acid which is a powerful anti-oxidant that can protect and heal our body. Although these are called teething necklaces, they don’t actually go into baby’s mouth. Rather succinic acid gets absorbed into the skin through contact. Some parents are concerned about the safety of amber teething necklaces. While adult supervision while baby wears necklace is strongly recommended, the necklaces are designed with these key safety features: 1) The thread is knotted after each bead so if the strand should break, loose beads will not scatter everywhere and 2) the clasp is designed and tested to release if excessive force is applied to the necklace.

13 month old teething baby happily playing thanks to two Amber Teething Necklaces

• Breast Milk Popsicle – Often cold objects help soothe inflamed gums. You could just use ice or frozen fruit, however you might consider making breast milk popsicles (also known as “momsicles”) for your teething baby. Pour expressed breast milk into small popsicle molds and freeze. These are also a good option for a sick baby if you are concerned about potential dehydration.

• Teething tablets – Teething tablets are a homeopathic remedy use to reduce the pain and inflammation associated with cutting teeth. They are made of all natural ingredients such as Chamomilla which is known for decreasing irritability. The tablets are white balls about the size of a pine nut. You can place them under baby’s tongue and they will dissolve in saliva or you can dissolve in a teaspoon of water before giving to baby. Teething tablets are a safe, effective, and gentle way to provide relief to teething baby.

Getting through those teething periods can be difficult! We all want to ease our baby’s discomfort quickly and ensure adequate sleep for everyone! What has worked to comfort your teething baby? Would love to hear your tried and true methods! 🙂

-Sarah