Ten Teething Essentials (3 months – 18 months)

Teething is probably one of the hardest parts of being a new parent; it’s so horrible for our babies and to a degree there’s little you can do to help them through it. It can start super early and each new tooth can take weeks to emerge, you might start to wonder if you accidentally brought the wrong baby home from soft play because they seem like a completely different child when those teeth are causing pain.

For a lot of parents each new tooth brings with it days of tears, miserable clingy babies who don’t want to eat, can’t sleep and just want to drink milk endlessly whilst you hold them close and every parents wants to do whatever they can to help ease the pain so I’ve put together my top ten items to help baby and parents through those super tough days:

• Teething necklace; one of the best things I ever bought as a new mum was my teething necklace, I wore it every single day and Amelia chomped on it for hours whilst she cuddled on the sofa. It was perfect because it was always with me, it was hands free for both of us and also served as a play toy whilst she fed during her younger months when I was still breast feeding her or she was having several milk feeds a day. My favourite teething necklace was by Mama & Belle and whilst I stopped wearing it when I went back to work I’m thinking about getting it back out to see if it will help Amelia with her painful back teeth.

• Teetha granules; these little sachets of joy help to soothe sore gums by acting like an anesthetic. You can drip your finger in them powder and then rub it on your babies gums or when they get a little older you can pour the sachet into their mouths and it will start to work it’s magic. We’ve noticed an improvement in Amelia’s behavior almost immediately after giving these and I’m sure it’s because some of the pain is gone and she’s more like herself.
• Matchstick Monkey; linking nicely with the granules is this impressive teething toy with it’s toothbrush style head that helps you to apply teething gels, granules or even toothpaste if you’re struggling to get them into your babies mouth. The monkey is also the perfect shape and size for small hands to hold to themselves so they can self soothe whenever they need a good chomp.

• Soft chewy foods; some of our favourites are Ella’s Kitchen melty puffs and Organix soft biscuits that melt in the mouth rather than requiring too much chewing on sore gums. This is what Amelia preferred to eat when she was feeling sorry for herself, I know other babies who preferred cold hard things to sink those new teeth into, like cucumber sticks.
• Calpol or other oral medicine; we’ve been very lucky and it’s only been with her molars that we have had to resort to using calpol for pain relief but I know we have been very lucky and other parents have sworn by it to help give their babies relief. A lot of teething can have other side effects like raised temperatures and nasty nappy rash so sometimes other medicine is necessary.
• Sleep; a lot of you might think “yeah right” but for us sleep has always been Amelia’s go to response when she is unwell or feeling sorry for herself and for that I am eternally grateful. She might prefer to sleep on us on the sofa but she will always find a way to sleep for good portions of the day just when a new tooth is about to break through the gum line.
• Molar mallet; another life saver teething toy that is designed to help specifically with back molars that traditional teething toys often can’t reach. We’ve been using this since Amelia’s molars starting to break through and it’s really helped. It’s weighted to help prevent the chewy end from falling on the floor which is a genius parenting hack if you ask me.

• Frozen fruit/yogurts; sometimes only something cold will do to ease the pain and putting fruit in the freezer can be a great idea because it will be nice and cold but also take them ages to chew. Another idea is to make ice cubes or little lollies out of yogurt and freeze them so baby can suck on them whilst they melt.
• Sophie la giraffe; probably the most well known teething toy on the market it is as good as everyone says it is. We’ve had ours since Amelia was born and she’s loved it. Sophie has been everywhere with us over her little life. Her legs are the perfect size for tiny mouths and her ears and nose provide endless entertainment for curious little hands.
• Cuddles; ultimately all your baby really wants when they feel rubbish is you. They want to be with you all the time because you are the the best soother they know. Just being in your arms can make them feel better, your smell is comforting to them and if you’re still nursing you might find a dramatic increase in your baby’s demands for boob. It’s not necessarily that they’re more hungry but more that they want the soothing feeling of being on the breast and being in your arms whilst you hold them tight.

I hope you’ve found some of these helpful and if you’re just getting started on your teething journey just remember that whilst it might get worse before it gets better it won’t last forever and your little will be happy once the teeth break through.

If you’re a teething veteran, please share your must have essentials in the comments.

Rachel xx