What do I do, it seems I have tried everything: frozen toys, frozen fruit, teething tablets, infant tylenol, infant motrin, gripe water, warm rags! He is waking up in the night now just crying cause of the pain. Is there anything better? Dr said "It's just the way it goes, he could be teething for up to a year." REALLY??? Help
Teething 7 month old, Infant Tylenol, Infant Motrin, Teething Tablets???
Question posted by seven124 on 20 June 2012
Last updated on 25 June 2012 by DzooBaby
8 Answers
DzooBaby
25 June 2012
When my kids were little I used to put spoons in the fridge and let them chew on the cold spoons. It really helped them a lot because it is firm and cold so it helps reduce the swelling and chewing on the firm surface feels good. I also used the trick of using both liquid motrin and liquid acetaminophen and alternated doses. I would give Motrin then 2-3 hours later give acetaminophen this way I had about 6 hours between doses of the same medication but better pain coverage for the babies. (my doc said this was ok but you might want to check with yours before you do this) The frozen washcloth works well too. Sometimes with the spoons, I would put them in the freezer but I waited a bit before giving them so they werent so cold that they would stick to the babies tender mouth.
Teething is rough! You feel so bad for them and feel so helpless because there is only so much you can do! As one other poster stated "this too shall pass" and that is so right! They grow up so quickly! Enjoy this time because these times when your kids are little are truly some of the best times and best memories of your life and you take the good with the bad. Soon enough that little one will be graduated from school and getting married! It feels like yesterday that mine were little and my oldest is getting married soon and my baby graduates from high school this next school year! I can hardly believe how fast time has gone!
meyati
22 June 2012
You are asking for tips on caring for your teething baby-the teeth just don't come through-and the baby is in great pain. What your child is going through can cause anemia, I know because my son went through the same thing, and they aren't eating age appropiate foods. He was about 12-13 months when his first teeth finally came through. I mentioned some methods special teething biscuits, and you asked me for the recipes for these aids- I've tried posting them 3 times-and they're never posted. My son's doctor said they need to chew and get the teeth punched through. These are the peditricians recommendations that helped my son-by that time he was scared to eat.
Try giving your baby a cooked turkey drum stick-not washed, but with the skin, meat , that sharp bone, tendons removed. The baby will be happier than if you are rubbing the gums-and this will cause the baby to be hungry and try to eat age appropiate things. That's what the Navy peditrician told me. My problem was different, as my son's teeth dropped -receeded where we couldn't see the nubs at all 3-4 times. Then Zweiback-teething biscuits, Melba Toast, and Rusks are all used for babies with teething problems- If your store has fancy English crackers-german cookies, you might find these types of biscuits in that department. Melba Toast- take a slice of bread-cut it in 1.5 inch slices, put on a cookie sheet and bake for a few minutes until the edges are golden brown-I found them too fragile- but babies do like to chew on them. Look on the computer for Zweiback- there R 2 sites that have recipes for it. One is homemade food for babies and the other is allrecipes. You can pick out which recipe that you want to try. I hope this helps you.
seven124
25 June 2012
This does help alot. I will try these also. This weekend a large piece of his gums came off and now one tooth has broke through, unfortunately; he is still crying alot. So, I will be trying these suggestions this week. Thanks again.
meyati
25 June 2012
I'm glad that the tooth came through, the rest will hopefully come through in the next 2 weeks. Hang in there sweet heart-some babies seem to have their teeth pop right out-then there are mothers like us. later you won't remember these things-honestly-but I remember the happy little things-like sitting on the back porch, with him in lap, covered with a towel, while I fed him. Before air conditioning-how he slept with his eyes open-following me around and him smelling the flowers. He toilet trained himself before he was a year-old. I was training his sister. and he wanted to do it-He couldn't talk much-but he'd be in the bath room trying to use the toilet-made quite a mess-but I was happy. Then his father rubbed his nose in it because his urine went into unexpected places. My husband went out to sea for a few weeks, and some neighbors came over, and her husband showed my son how to do it from a standing position.
When my husband came home, potty training was finished for my son, while my daughter just didn't get it. Oh the screaming fight we had. He had to sleep on the couch or his tug boat-but he didn't sleep with me.
seven124
25 June 2012
I love hearing memories... good or bad :-) It is nice to have people care enough to help me through this. He has 4 more on bottom showing and 3 on top... so yeah I will need all the help I can get. Man it would be great for him to be potty trained by a year... Have a great day and thank you for the support :-)
seven124
21 June 2012
You all have such great ideas! I really appreciate ALL this help! I will update tomorrow and let ya'll know how its working, thanks again & God Bless
fairy2u27
21 June 2012
Maybe try putting his bottle nipples in a baggie in the freezer, and if her uses a pacifier, those too. (I also used to get a glass of ice water with extra ice and rotate 2 pacifiers, letting one sit in ice water and give son the other&rotate..these they can easily move around in their mouth to where it hurts..)
I would also use combo therapy, like I'd rotate the tylenol one dose, and then next dose use Motrin/ibprufen (and u can use it like if he had a fever, where you rotate them every 3-4 hours vs. waiting the 4-6. And also, he may just not be getting the proper dose of medicine. If you call and ask the nurse at your doc's office, they can give you the correct over the counter dosing for tylenol&motrin based on his weight, not age. Lots of babies are actually taking less than they could be for relief, because parents go off the label, not calling the doc's office.
With my son, I'd also give him teething tablets along with the pain medicine and other things I mentioned, and if I did all of these on his "bad" days, he would feel better, rest better and be more himself. Also, riding around in the car could help distract and put to sleep so you can get a bit of a break too :0)
but seriously, call the doc's office and see if you can increase his tylenol and motrin and how often you can "rotate" the two medications, as if you were trying to bring down a fever from a cold, etc. They may even offer to give yo ua medication dosage chart paper, that has "correct" dosings of all OTC meds for babies up to age 12..it's my most valued piece of paper! Made tons of copies and taped it up inside my kitchen and bathroom cabinets!
good luck! :0)
fairy2u27
21 June 2012
P.S. If you look on FDA consumer updates here on this site, it warns that ORAGEL type products should NOT be used in kids under 2 yrs old..see "Benzocaine and Babies: Not a Good Mix"..guess there have been reported complications,etc with its use! Hmmm... food for thought.
seven124
21 June 2012
Man, this is sooo much help I really appreciate it. I don't like giving orajel I just don't like the idea of that chemical for some reason so I very rarely use it. I have been alternating tylenol and motrin and we will see how that helps. Gonna google the correct dosing info offline too! Thanks
fairy2u27
22 June 2012
No problem! Us Moms have to stick togeather! :0)
meyati
21 June 2012
My son spent over a year getting his first teeth. They'd come, almost break through and go back down and repeat the process about 2 months later. You didn 't say how old your baby is. That would help in giving advice. Bec ause my son was cutting his first teeth at a late age, the doctors had me give him popsicles, and keep him in the high chair. I spent hours rubbing his gums with Orijel. I rubbed with popsicles, ice cubes in wash clothes. He'd scream in pain, while trying to eat. By the time he was about 8 months old, I gave him Melba toast and Zweiback. Those are wonderful for a teething baby about 6-7 months up, but they need to be supervized. They didn't make that when I had my grandsons, so I baked my own. I gave a piece to a crying baby-and I ended up making big bags of Zweiback for the neighbors and their relatives.
No meds-no dirty teething toys-slightly sweet where the kid wanted it- it was tough but had give, sort of dissolved with the saliva-easy for the kid to hold on to-the dog ate it if dropped on the floor. He got chicken pox when he was 12-Everybody develops differently. You can bake up a batch and bag it-and it will last awhile. It's just that I was baking for about 20 babies. If you want get back to me and I'll send you some recipes. They're really easy to bake.
seven124
21 June 2012
Sorry I put his age in the question part and didn't realize everyone couldn't see it :-( He is 7 months old. He has been teething since 3 months, it just keeps getting worse so I'm hoping that they will break through soon. He has 5 showing on bottom and 3 on top. There is white spots, but they just won't seem to break through. I do have him on food, but he is trying to regress back to bottles since they are hurting so bad. Recipes would be WONDERFUL please. He does like chewing on bread, when I let him. So, if you can let me know how to make it I will. Thanks for your help.
meyati
21 June 2012
I'm sorry that I didn't see the age-It was late at night 4 me, and I skimmed over the title-but paid attention to the main post. My bad--- . Heaven knows that I do understand what you're going through. My husband wasn't at sea, and he kept giving our hungry son the bottle so he wouldn't scream. My mother was staying with us, and she did the same. My son became pretty anemic. I got a Navy doctor write a note that he'd send child welfare to the house and take all of the kids away if my son's iron count didn't go up and he could have only 2 bottles of milk a day. The kid was walking-13 months and no teeth--- So I finally got cooperation-I told them to put in ear plugs--- I'll send you some recipes in a bit. I just got up-blah, blah, blah. These are tougher than cookies-At least they aren't dropping back down-they just need to punch through.
Lisa01
21 June 2012
Meyati,
I'd love to have a recipe for this also if you get a chance! I also was wondering if the Neutrogena soap was helping your skin out?
Take care!
Lisa
meyati
21 June 2012
for teething problems do a yahoo-whatever search for "zweiback" you can find homemade food 4 babies-and allrecipes has several recipes. A cooked turkey drumstick that has all the meat, skin, little bones and tendons removed is a good teething tool. I've been trying to post the addresses, but they aren't approving my comments.
Lisa01
22 June 2012
Meyati,
I'll definitely do the yahoo thing. I've got a new grandbaby on the way so these may come in handy! Yes, the dc people definitely have a problem with posting addresses and other sites. Guess they're trying to make sure nobody gets sent someplace harmful. But it makes it hard on those of us that are just trying to help!
Lisa
meyati
22 June 2012
I read the guidelines-and I'm supposed 2 B able to post sources, if the sources are on the topic and not selling anything-I can't find my recipe-it was in a 1930-40 cookbook. Saying, "Here are the recipes you asked for that should help your poor baby"-and not having them approved isn't helping anybody-another tip from the peditrician is dipping the bone in gravy to help get the poor baby chewing/gumming on it. My son screamed and cried, while he sucked and gnawled on the bone, but it punched his teeth through. All other kids and grandkids got a bone to chew on. They were in their highchairs in the kitchen and I cooked and talked to them. A neighbor across the street had a baby where the teeth didn't come through-he loved the Zweiback-and he was pretty happy in the high chair gumming his bone. All of the older children spent months cutting those first teeth--- I think the pain increases with the front teeth, the older they get.
endlessPred
20 June 2012
The frozen wash cloth works really well. Used it for my child and just recommended it to a new father. My girl did not like the plastic teethers. She chewed on soft cloth.
By the way, the teething is not continuous. So there are real breaks where your child turns back into a lovely person again.
Once the tooth breaks through your little one will be better. If the child is not, something else is going on. It isn't always teeth. Also the next tooth may be easier, not all are difficult.
balbanese
20 June 2012
Yes Lisa, Oragel is awesome stuff, try that.
Lisa01
20 June 2012
Thanks Billy. With another grandbaby on the way I'm thinking I need to buy stock in both Orajel and Pampers!!
Lisa
balbanese
20 June 2012
Grandma Lisa!
seven124
20 June 2012
You can NEVER have too many pampers lol :-)
balbanese
20 June 2012
or hampers for that matter!
Lisa01
20 June 2012
Bless your heart, and his! I know that teething time can be difficult for all concerned. We always used Baby Orajel on my granddaughter with pretty good success. Some teeth are simply more painful breaking through than others. There were a couple where we did a lot of floor pacing, baby rocking and pure gritting our teeth through it and then the majority we didn't even know about until she opened her mouth and we saw them! Instead of the warm rags, you might try wetting a couple of baby washcloths, sticking them in a baggie and putting them in the freezer. They're often easier for one that young to chew on. I really wouldn't recommend the frozen fruit. Babies that age can't chew, but have a swallowing reflex and can easily choke on something like that. The teething rings are great, but usually made in shapes and thickness that make it too difficult for a baby to get to their back gums where the teeth are often the most painful coming in.
I've often said I'd make a fortune inventing a teething ring shaped like an X or a T that couldn't be inadvertently swallowed, but could reach the back teeth. You might also try just washing your hands well and using your finger to gently massage his sore gums. This only works until he has a couple teeth and can bite you when you do it! But really the frozen washcloths and oragel worked best for us. That and lots of love and patience! Hang in there, all of them are usually not so bad. Try and find a little time for yourself too. That's important in helping with patience and temper levels. Best of luck to you and your son!
Lisa
seven124
20 June 2012
Thanks sooooo much I will try that. We was putting the fruit in a mesh pacifier like thing but it is so hard for him to fit in his mouth. I never thought of a washcloth. The orajel doesn't seem to work longer than an hour or so, how often can I apply it?
Lisa01
20 June 2012
I don't think you're supposed to apply it more than 4 times a day, but double check the directions on the tube. We tried to use it and the baby motrin or tylenol at the same time - kind of a one two punch! Make sure you use a baby washcloth, they have no knap so your baby won't breath in any lint and they're size is easy for the baby too. We kept about 4 in the bag so we could always have one for rotation. Good luck to you and as my mom always used to tell us "this too shall pass"!! :)
Lisa
HeadStarter
20 June 2012
Liked your answer, Lisa! Really great detail with lots of motherly love...
Mary
Lisa01
20 June 2012
Thank you Mary! Hope you're finding a way to stay cool. Hard to believe it's already been 90+ and it's only June. Even harder to believe I'll be looking back on these days fondly come January! :)
Lisa
seven124
20 June 2012
I will start all of this today :-) Thanks again
HeadStarter
20 June 2012
Hey Seven -
I am glad you are finding these suggestions helpful and hope they!!!
Boy, is it HOT, HOT, HOT!!!
Mary
Inactive
21 June 2012
I had all of my three children in 3 years so I can really empathize with your situation. Lisa gave you some great advice, & I would follow it to a tee! I dont know if you can use anbesol on a baby or not, but it is another gel that can be used for tooth related pain. I would check it out with yur pharmacist. I use it on my dog & it seems to work wonderfully. My husband also used it when he had to have his whole upper teeth pulled & had dental surgery to do it. It worked quite well also. Good luck & be sure to grab a nap when your baby does or you will be worn out in no time. Been there, done that! Another thing you can do is feed the baby cold applesauce. The cold will also help with the pain. Just not too fast a we all know about brain freeze, & would hate to see a baby get that! Also some amounts of ice cream. Most babies at that age, (altho' messy) love to help you eat an ice crem cone. Just the ice cream tho' & not the cone.
The ice cream being mde from milk also will help with sleep as it contains tyrptophan which is a natural sleep aid. Ever wonder why a baby usually falls asleep while taking it's bottle? Good luck to you, & remember this is just a temporary situation. ... Mary
seven124
21 June 2012
I didn't realize that's why they fall asleep with their bottle, that's really good. Yes, I am completely worn out; he is waking up more at night with this problem. But hopefully when I try the applesause today he will take it :-) Thank you sooooo much for all the help!
Inactive
22 June 2012
More than welcome!
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motrin, orabase baby teething gel, tylenol, tylenol infant
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