If there’s one thing that nobody prepares you for when you have a baby (aside from those exhausting night feeds!) it’s teething.
I will never forget the evening Eric first started teething, as Marc was still at work and it was just me, Eric and Elvis at home.
Eric was crying and screaming uncontrollably which is alarming in any case, but even more so when you have a baby that is generally extremely placid and very rarely sheds a tear.
I’ll be honest, I was absolutely terrified. And at the time, I had no idea whatsoever that it could be the fact he was teething - I guess because I’m a first time mum and I never really fully understood exactly how uncomfortable this can be for a baby.
I called Marc, ordered him to come home at once and spoke to the NHS 111 service and to cut a long story short, we soon discovered that it was in fact his first two teeth coming through that was causing Eric so much pain and discomfort.
Having an unhappy baby - irrespective of the cause of discontent - is extremely stressful and upsetting. And so I can completely empathise with anyone struggling to pacify their baby when they are unsettled.
Fortunately, though, there are many different ways to pacify a teething baby. So, if your little one is teething and you’re looking for ways to soothe teething baby, then you’ve arrived at the perfect place.
For this blog post I thought I would pull together the best remedies for teething babies so that both you and your little bundle of joy can enjoy a much-needed good night’s sleep.
Top tips for soothing your teething baby
1. Buy some teething keys
Teething keys have been a complete God-send for both us and Eric - they’re just fantastic.
There are lots of baby teething keys available to choose from, and obviously I can’t say exactly how good each and every set is. However, if you ask me, the best baby teething keys have to be the Nuby Icy Bites Teething Keys.
What’s great about these baby keys is that they can be refridgeated or frozen to make them extra cold. By freezing the keys, the gel inside the keys hardens, making them extra soothing on baby’s gums.
And of course, the fact that the keys are super bright and colourful is a major bonus. Eric naturally always reached for his keys anyway, and so he quickly learned that they helped make his gums feel better.
2. Give your baby frozen fruit and vegetable batons
Another one of the best ways to soothe baby teething is to freeze fruit and vegetable batons, and give them to baby when they have hardened.
Frozen banana batons have been a major success with Eric as he loves the flavour of bananas, and the texture means that they mush up nicely when he’s gnawing on them.
A couple of other fruits and vegetables we’ve chopped into batons and frozen for Eric include carrots, melon and cucumber - all of which have proven really effective in soothing his teething.
3. Invest in a couple of teething rings
When Eric was born, we received a couple of adorable teething rings as gifts for him from friends. At the time I just thought ‘these are so cute!’ But now, I have a whole new-found love and respect for them!
Not only are teething rings super adorable (some of the handmade ones online are just beautiful), they’re also enormously effective when reducing teething discomfort.
Eric has this Personalised Elephant Teething Ring from Chewie Cat, and he loves it!
4. Have some Bonjela teething gel at the ready
Okay, so this stuff is literally magic, and I’d like to personally thank each and every marvellous human being that helped formulate this amazing teething gel for crafting such an incredible product.
Honestly, the bonjela teething gel is worth its weight in gold. And I genuinely mean that.
Just a small blob massaged onto baby’s gums works wonders, effectively numbing the teething pain and allowing baby to settle & enjoy a good, much-needed rest.
Oh and before I forget to mention it - this gel for teething also tastes great, too, so you’ll have no issues on that front. It’s sweet & delectable, so if your little one is anything like Eric, the only issue you’ll have is hiding the tube from him!
If you'd like to buy some Bonjela Teething Gel, head to your local pharmacy. You can find out more about teething and how Bonjela helps teething pain on the official Bonjela website.
5. Get your little one a teething mit
My best friend Sophia kindly gifted us a beautiful baby hamper when Eric was first born, and there were loads of handy bits in there - many things that we hadn’t even thought to buy ourselves.
Including a baby teething glove - which at the time, we genuinely didn’t appreciate the value of - because honestly, that Nuby teething mit glove has been such a blessing.
Even before Eric began his teething journey, this glove for teething was a firm favourite in his toy basket because he loves anything with a crinkly texture. And of course, when he did begin teething, he loved it even more.
What’s really great about this glove is that it has an adjustable Velcro strap that allows you to adjust it to fit baby’s wrist, and as well as the lovely crinkle texture, it’s got rubber section where the fingertips sit that’s perfect for chomping on.
6. Try teething salts
As over-the-counter teething remedies go, teething salts have to be one of the best things we have tried.
These salts come in handy little sachets, meaning there’s no confusion with regards to how much to give to your baby - and from our experience with Eric, they get to work very quickly indeed.
As a general rule of thumb, we prefer to offer other things before we resort to anything ‘medical’ so to speak, but sometimes, teething salts are the only thing that will do the trick.
We use the Nelsons Teetha Teething Granules, which can be purchased from your local pharmacy or from the medical aisle in your local supermarket.
7. Buy some Calpol (or supermarket alternative)
Calpol is a must-have for any parent, and we have found that it definitely helps when looking for ways to numb teething pain.
Babies only need a tiny bit of calpol (I think 2.5ml, but don’t quote me on that!) and a syringe is provided in the packaging these days, making it super easy to measure the amount you are giving to your little one.
Of course, be sure to always read through the dosage information etc. Before giving any form of medical product to your baby.
8. Don't underestimate the power of baby TV
I wouldn’t say I’m strict when it comes to baby TV, but I don’t like the idea of Eric sitting and watching tv for ages, so I try to limit the amount of screen time he gets each day.
But I won’t lie, baby TV - in particular the Hey Bear channel on YouTube - has been nothing short of a miracle-worker whilst Eric has been teething.
No matter how unsettled Eric is, those dancing fruits and veggies never fail to make him smile. Honestly, we owe so much to the creators of this channel.
9. Cuddles and kisses help everything
And finally, this list simply wouldn’t be complete without lots of cuddles and kisses!
Holding your baby close, kissing them, stroking their head and telling them that everything will be OK really does work wonders. So, if you’re all out of ideas and nothing seems to be doing the trick, then take things back to basics and persevere. Nothing is more comforting to you baby than you.
I really hope you all enjoyed this blog post and I can’t wait to share more mummy life stuff with you very soon.
Lots of love,
Grace x
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