So your bundle of joy has finally arrived! Congrats on becoming a parent. Fun times await you, but there are also a few hurdles to scale in the process. After birth, one of the next big hurdles is teething. Get ready for screaming, shouting and crying.
But don’t stress: modern medicine can help ease your little one’s pain during this trying time.
When does it start?
Teething, much like many unpleasant things in life, happens when it happens. However, it usually starts when they are between 4- and 7-months-old.
How bad will it be?
Ooh, trying to anticipate how much screaming will happen is like trying guess much rain is in a cloud. You simply can’t guess at all. The best thing you can do, is make sure you have all the goodies you need to ease the pain. In the same way that you cannot control or predict the weather, but having an umbrella will help keep you dry.
So which products should I use?
This is a very good question. When you go shopping, look out for the following:
- A rubber teething ring – for your baby to chew on
- Teething gel
- Over-the-counter baby pain tablets – DO NOT give baby grown up medicine
The teething ring will help them cope with the pain. You can also massage their gums with a clean finger. Teething gel will help ease the pain if the ring isn’t helping. Giving baby something like dried mango or biltong to chew on, can also help ease the irritation, BUT you must be very careful with these, as they can very easily choke on these. As a last resort, use the baby medicine. If all else fails, speak to your doctor – it could be something else.
My gran has a family teething secret, should I do what she says?
We all love our grans, but not everything they say is golden. Home remedies and age-old family health tricks may be completely bogus. Speak to your doctor about this remedy and find out if it’s safe for your child BEFORE you go to the doctor. Remember, it’s better to be safe than to be sorry.
Source: WebMD, BabyCenter