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Children's health

Teething advice please

27 replies

Proudmummy2014 · 25/08/2014 15:05

Hi there,

My DD is 16 weeks old and I think she is teething because she is drooling loads and chewing her fingers, plus I can actually see white below the gums where two teeth will eventually come out.

This may sound like really silly questions but I really need advice on the following please:

  1. when should I be giving her pain relief for teething pain, as I'm not sure if she's crying from teething or for another reason? People say to me give it to her when she is teething, however is she not teething all the time now until she has all her teeth come through, or does teething happen in stages? (Sorry I do sound really stupid here)

  2. what have you found to be the most effective for teething pain?

    Thanks!
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Newfamily2014 · 25/08/2014 21:25

Hello, I'd like to know the answers to your questions too! So hopefully some clever mums and dads can help us. My little girl will be 6 months in 10 days, chews and dribbles but I can't see any teeth. Should I use something for teething 'just in case' as everyone tells me they will be coming through soon. How do I know if she is teething?
That's in advance

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Proudmummy2014 · 25/08/2014 21:38

@newfamily2014- It sounds like she is teething for sure. With my little one I do put teething powder on everyday as a precaution to help soothe any pain, however sometimes she seems crankier than usual and I'm not sure if I should use something stronger like Calpol/Iboprofen as I can't really tell if it's teething pain or something else like gas/tiredness/etc. Hope someone is out there who can help us with this one ??

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Proudmummy2014 · 25/08/2014 21:40

@newfamily2014- Also wanted to mention that those are definitly signs of teething. From what I understand it can be a long drawn out proses as the actual pain/dribbling/chewing can start way before any teeth break through the gums. Can you see any white under the gums?

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LittleBearPad · 25/08/2014 21:44

You don't have to use anything just in case for teething. It's the pain that it causes babies that's the problem.

Things that worked for dd were: calpol / calprofen and baby bonjela. Cold milk also helped her and sometimes chewing my/DH's fingers. Teething granules were also useful.

She rarely was in pain during the day luckily but would wake crying at night. Calpol usually did the trick then plus some bonjela.

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Fairywhitebear · 25/08/2014 21:44

You need Anbesol liquid. Definitely the liquid, not the gel.

Just put the liquid on your finger and put directly on their gums - top and bottom. If they calm straight down, then you know it's to do with their teeth!

It's also the best thing to use as you can physically feel if the teeth are breaking through as you're rubbing the gums directly.

Basically, they're pretty much teething all the time, but it comes and goes in stages! If she's drooling, chewing on hands etc, definitely teething. Apply the anbesol, and if they seem particularly distressed still, then give calpol.

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LittleBearPad · 25/08/2014 21:45

You definitely don't need to give teething granules everyday. If she's not in pain then it's a waste.

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Tipsykisses · 25/08/2014 21:46

Hi ladies , the teeth move around in the gums for a good while before they break through & babies cut teeth at different times so it sometimes difficult to know .
With my dc if they were biting , chewing , dribbling etc and not pacified by the usual things I would try a cold teether , teething powder & some teething gel to see if that helped , Next I'd try some pain relief liquid .
I use calpol when it's mild teething but found neurofen works better when things get worse , also wouldn't be without anbesol as that always worked better for mine when they were teething really badly before a tooth broke through x

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Proudmummy2014 · 25/08/2014 21:55

Thanks so much for all your replies. So I'm right in thinking that the are basically teething all the time, but if they are distressed then try powder/gel/anbesol liquid- but if they continue to stay distressed then give something stronger like Calpol?

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LittleBearPad · 25/08/2014 21:57

That's a pretty good approach. Cold things to chew are also quite good. We put DD's dummies in the fridge sometimes, cold milk in her bottles etc.

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Newfamily2014 · 25/08/2014 21:59

Thanks a lot for the replies. Do they get more troubled by teething at night or day time? I've just moved her into a cot bed at night which has disrupted her sleep but after what you've all said, t I wonder if she might be teething too and that is waking her up? She settles immediately back to sleep when picked up- would she do that if teething? (I thought she might be scared because in her new cot bed?). How long does the abesol etc last? If I put some on her gums before she goes to bed would it last over night? Thanks for your help

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Tipsykisses · 25/08/2014 22:00

That's what I would do , but I'd have some Neurofen also incase it works better for your Lo .
If still no improvement then you could see gp as a precaution , my dd picked up everything going when she was teething xx

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Tipsykisses · 25/08/2014 22:01

I think It seems worse at night as they wake up and have no distraction from the pain .

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LittleBearPad · 25/08/2014 22:03

If she settles straight away I wouldn't say she's teething. I think she's probably getting used to her new bed.

I preferred not anticipating problems by medicating in advance. I'm not sure it would have lasted anyway.

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Proudmummy2014 · 25/08/2014 22:06

That's another thing I've noticed- over the past week she has been waking up around 5 times whereas until now she was only waking once. Each time we hold her she's crying but settles back to sleep within 5 minutes but as soon as we put her down she's screaming again. That's why I was wondering if it was pain or whether she was jut needing comfort to go to sleep. She just wouldn't settle at all

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Tipsykisses · 25/08/2014 22:13

Yes A new bed may be a contributing factor , is she fast asleep before you put her back in ?
I used the floppy arm test to make sure they were fast asleep before putting them back in the cot .

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Tipsykisses · 25/08/2014 22:16

Just realises she's 16 weeks , may be regression ?

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Proudmummy2014 · 25/08/2014 22:21

@tipsykisses- I did think that too so wasn't quite sure! BUT the last two dad she's only been waking the once again. Also another problem is that she's hardly drinking her milk. Normally she has 7oz but she's only drinking 3oz and that's only because I'm forcing it down her. Is this teething related too?!

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Tipsykisses · 25/08/2014 22:40

If she's not drinking her milk and crying etc I think I'd keep an eye and take her for a check up if things don't settle , sleep regression is normally related to growth spurts so they normally take more milk .
How is she during the day ?
Is she happy and playing ?

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Tipsykisses · 25/08/2014 22:43

Do you try a feed when she wakes at night ? She may want a feed if she's not drinking as much in the day .

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Proudmummy2014 · 26/08/2014 06:59

@tipsykisses- even at night she didn't want any more than 3oz. Ill definitly have to get her seen to if it continues. I was just assuming that it was teething related as her gums may be hurting

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Tipsykisses · 26/08/2014 09:10

Yes it could teething related proudmummy ,have you tried rubbing gel on her gums before her bottle ?
I think i would try gel before bottle see if that helps ,if not then calpol 20 mins before feed to see if it makes a difference .
You could also try the next flow teat if she's still fussing with feeds , my niece was getting tired and fussing but was better on a faster teat .

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Proudmummy2014 · 26/08/2014 12:59

@Tipsykisses- I'm currently using level 2 teats on the Dr Brown bottles. It says that Level 3 is for 6 months plus. Is it ok to change to level 3 anyway?

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Tipsykisses · 26/08/2014 13:17

We used dr browns , they are fab!
I combined bf feeding & formula .
My sister also used them & found that sometimes if the milk powder hadn't mixed properly she'd get little clumpy bits that blocked the teat a bit.

I think as with most things that guidelines are there to advise but all baby's are different so I changed teats when I thought baby was ready not at a set age , just if you do make sure you keep a close eye as if baby is used to sucking really hard then it will come out really fast !
How has she fed today ?

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Proudmummy2014 · 26/08/2014 19:46

That makes total sense- I think ill definitely give that a go.

Today she has fed a little more but again I'm forcing her to. Rubbing gel on the gums before bedtime I think did help a little too. Thanks :-)

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Tipsykisses · 26/08/2014 21:01

No problem proudmummy , It's hard to know when they are so little .
If she's settling with the gel or calpol & is gaining weight then I wouldn't worry to much about the oz in the bottles at the moment as they have such tiny tummies at this age and they go through phases of drinking less or sometimes more .

My sister asked me all the same questions as you've asked when my dn was the same age .... I was the same with my eldest , Us mums always seem to be second guessing what we are doing and worrying if we are doing the right thing but you know your baby better than anyone's so trust your judgement too .x

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