Teething. Apparently most babies are not bothered by it, according to the World Wide Web. Well, my baby clearly disagrees. So, below are some coping techniques that I found work for us and maybe you can share some wisdom too?

First of all, my Baby G. (8 mo) has got a temper and he takes his meltdowns seriously, fully dedicates himself. And I appreciate that about him, but in moments of absolute epic drama it’s hard to be level headed and know how to help him. So, for me going through teething so far has been a combination of treating his symptoms as well as my own sanity. 

Taking care of baby:

Mild teething relief 👇 

1. Pay attention. Seems simple enough but with all the other things happening (my older son, work, house stuff, groceries, cooking, Instagram (ha) ) I tend to get distracted. But I found that before he explodes, if I fully pay attention, like look him in the eyes and talk to him, hold him, show him a leaf or a spoon or a plastic wrapper, he feels seen and respected and it calms him down.

2. Distract. That goes with 1. If I catch him before he melts down, then I’m able to guide him to pay attention to the keyboard, or the cat, or if I take him on a walk I can show him plants (my 6yo loved that too). Plants, unlike plastic toys, offer an infinite variation of colours and patterns and shapes that are always fun to look at. Baby G. is really into tree barks. Of course, all this only distracts for like 5 minutes here and there but it’s enough for step 3.

 3. Eat eat eat!! I found with both my sons that eating is the key to happiness. What they eat makes a huge difference too, but right now I’ll focus just on eating for teething. Ok, so at this age I think that he’s always hungry, but the teething discomfort makes him reluctant. So while he is distracted I sneak a piece of soft pear in his mouth, it’s sweet and juicy and easy to chomp up. It’s pear season so they are extra delicious right now! I also found pears the easiest for him to eat because of their texture, it’s one of the few things that doesn’t make him frustrated. The pear has to be super soft and in a small bite size. A few of these and his mood improves allowing me to give him even more food. Like some cheese and some sourdough bread. Some breast milk to chase it down and suddenly he is better! 

Strong teething relief 👇 

4. All of that is great for the more mild pain. But when it gets really bad I have tried it all, Motrin, teething gels and oils (some are ok) but what saved us from the nightmarish top tooth entrance were these amazing drops, Camilia. So good. He would calm down and sleep and it obviously relieved his pain. My neighbor randomly mentioned them months before and I’m so happy she did. 

All of the above + loads of holding and kisses and we got through 3 teeth so far.

Stuff that does NOT work for him:

- Cold things. Like those little pouches where you can put cold peas. He gets so frustrated with those and I think they give him brain freeze.

- Playing by himself - he gets so wobbly and unstable, and will surely pick up a maracas and accidentally whack himself in the head with it. He is a magnet for booboos while teething, I swear. 

- Sleeping alone. If I actually want him to nap, I have to hold him, at least for a while, before putting him down. 

Mommy teething care:

Ok so, yes the baby is the one suffering, but also mommy (and daddy) are not sleeping, walking around the house, stumbling over toys trying to keep the baby calm, just to do it all over again the next day and the next night and so on, for what seems like an endless nightmarish daze. Its exhausting. And it’s often hard to explain to people without kids just how exhausting it actually is. So below are just a couple coping techniques for teething moms :)

1. I’d like to say get more sleep but since we all know that’s not an option, here the truth. Coffee! I love it. Clears my head, helps me tackle things faster. The downside is that it amplifies stressful situations by making me more irritable. On the other hand, without it, I find it hard to make decisions quickly when the baby storm comes. So, what’s the verdict? One cup in the morning, followed by a mushroom blend of some sort to give me energy without the jitters. Right now I’m using MUD WTR. I like it. 

2. Eat eat eat! Same as baby, eating is everything. I try to snack whenever I can. Nuts, hummus with sourdough bread, sauerkraut (great for gut health and filled with vitamins), bananas, yoghurt. I’m like a bottomless pit for snacks. They give me energy and help me produce milk. Can’t forget to eat! I just fill the house with snacks so that I have no choice but to eat them. 

3. Music is a really easy way to change the mood. I like that baby G. is still tiny and can’t tell me he doesn’t want to listen to my stuff. I put on whatever playlist that makes me feel good on Spotify and we listen together, G. even dances to it, he bobs up and down on the floor. It’s the cutest thing on the world. It’s really worth having Bluetooth speakers that way it’s super easy to connect. It really changed my life when I started to play my favorite stuff again in the house. 

ok. this is it for teething. If not for anyone else, this will be a good reminder for me for the eminent tooth #4….

What are your teething tricks?