Milkbank Blog
Teething Pain. It’s Not Just for Babies Anymore
So you and your baby are happy as can be. She’s eating well, napping fine, overall, everyone is getting fairly decent, if not great, sleep at night. Ahhh. Having a baby isn’t so difficult after all, is it?
Until one day your baby wakes up in an absolutely terrible mood. At midnight. Then again at three. Then maybe one more time at five-thirty. Your attempts to sooth her are futile. She’s tossing and turning, fussing and restless.
Morning comes. You try to feed her but she doesn’t want the bottle and she pushes the spoon of delicious apple-blueberry puree away from her again and again. She must be tired, you think, remembering the waking hours of the previous night and try to get her down for a nap. She falls asleep but for oh, about twenty minutes and the whole business starts again.
Welcome to teething.
At eleven months old my baby has his two bottom teeth and for all practical purposes, one top tooth. I say that because while it has descended as much into the gum tissue as possible without breaking through, it has decided to stay there indefinitely and boy, is he mad about it. I called the nurse line to ask if there was anything I should do to help it along and the answer was no. Even though it’s been that way for weeks, we have to let nature take it’s course.
Heavy.Sigh.
What can I do in the meantime to ease his discomfort? My doctor’s office provided the following advice:
Pain relief: Provide infant Tylenol or Motrin if he seems inconsolable. They also recommended teething gels or tablets. I’ve never tried the tablets, but my experience with the gels is that they wear off quickly and usually further agitate the irritated baby, but at this point, I’m ready to give them another go.
Cold compresses: Maybe you’ve heard these before? Frozen bagels, frozen washcloths, teething rings and cold spoons can provide temporary relief and feel good against sore gum tissues.
Love: Sometimes there is nothing to do but good old fashioned snuggle time and your best attempt at distraction. A change of scenery, a walk outside, a trip to the swings, all can give your baby (and you) a needed break from the crying.
Even in the thick of the sleepless nights and difficult days, it’s important to remember that this too, shall pass. Now if only that top tooth would pass where it’s supposed to be, everyone in my house would be a whole lot happier. What other ideas have you tried to subdue the teething monster? Leave your suggestions in the comments!
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