Some babies barely seem to notice a new tooth cutting through their gums. Others have a much harder time of it and so do their parents. Teething starts around 6 months, according to the Langone Medical Center, but many parents report teeth coming in as early as 2 to 3 months of age. It can last anywhere from 6 months to 3 years. Erupting teeth often mean a cranky, fussy baby and desperate parents trying to soothe baby's irritated gums.
Cold
Cold will reduce inflammation and soothe painful gums. Keep a teething ring in the refrigerator--not the freezer. A frozen teething ring might be hard enough to damage the incoming teeth or cold enough to "burn" tender gum and mouth tissues. Some mothers wet a clean cloth with cold water, wring it out, and let baby chew on that. Langone Medical Center cautions against using teething rings filled with liquid.
Aromatherapy
Add a little aromatherapy to cool compresses for extra power. Soak muslin or cotton cloths in lavender or chamomile hydrosol, which is an aromatherapy by-product of steam distillation, and lay them along your baby's jaw line. Chamomile is a time-honored natural remedy for teething and lavender is soothing and sedative. Valerie Ann Wormwood, author of "Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child," also suggests that homeopathic chamomile teething grains may be helpful for easing teething pain. Help your baby sleep, she says, by rubbing his back and the soles of his feet with a drop of lavender oil and a drop of pettigrain oil in 2 tsps of vegetable carrier oil.
Herbal Remedies
Chamomile, lemon balm and catnip have eased teething pain, soothed cranky babies and saved the sanity of many an exhausted mother throughout the centuries. In "Naturally Healthy Babies and Children," Aviva Romm offers a recipe for "Teething Tea." Combine 1/2 ounce each of dried catnip leaves, chamomile flowers, lemon balm and lavender flowers. Put 1 tablespoon of the mixed herbs into a glass jar or mug, add 1 cup of boiling water and steep for 15 minutes. When the tea is cool, soak the corner of a cloth in it and let baby suck on it, or give it to the baby in a bottle, cup or spoon to drink.
References
- NYU Langone Medical Center: Teething
- "Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child";Valerie Ann Wormwood; 2000
- "Naturally Healthy Babies and Children"; Aviva Romm, C.P.M.;2000
