My son is 6 months old and is having a horrible time with teething. He's his nornal happy, smilling and giggling self, but when his teeth start to hurt he does this whimpering thing and then cries if I don't hold him right away. I feel horrible because all I know what to do is to hold him, give him oragel and tylenol. I'm a first time mother and I need to know how I can make him feel better (if there is anything I can do). He pulls on his ear and his appetite has slowed down. I asked his pediatrician and he said that all of what my son is doing is normal and there's nothing I can do, but there has got to be something to help him.
Please help me if you have any suggestions.
Thank you,
Tiffany

Tiffany, sounds like you are doing great! There are teething rings that are filled with fluid that you can freeze, that may help.

However, I do have one concern. You say he is pulling at his ears. Have you had them looked at? This is a very common symptom of an ear infection, not teething.

When my son started teething I froze a washcloth and when my son started pouting about his mouth I let him chew on the washcloth, He loved it and it helped his gums. Also each day make sure to wipe your baby's gums off with a clean washcloth, this will help break the gums down to allow him to teethe with less pain. There is an old wives tale too that if you let a baby chew on some celery that it will help with teething, I don't know about that one because my little boy hates the stuff!
I am also a first time mother and my son is 10 months old, he has 2 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth but when he first started teething it was a nightmare, he ran a really high fever and had real bad poops( I mean REAL BAD!)
Good Luck you have a mouthful to go!

I am a mom of 4 kidlets. The oldest is 21 and the youngest is 5, so I have been through the ringer. I forgot about the washcloth trick, that is a good one. I would NEVER, though, give celery, you never known when they just might break through and choke on it. Sounds like a bad idea to me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tiffanyl0618

My son is 6 months old and is having a horrible time with teething. He's his nornal happy, smilling and giggling self, but when his teeth start to hurt he does this whimpering thing and then cries if I don't hold him right away. I feel horrible because all I know what to do is to hold him, give him oragel and tylenol. I'm a first time mother and I need to know how I can make him feel better (if there is anything I can do). He pulls on his ear and his appetite has slowed down. I asked his pediatrician and he said that all of what my son is doing is normal and there's nothing I can do, but there has got to be something to help him.
Please help me if you have any suggestions.
Thank you,
Tiffany

---

I gave my kids a wash cloth that was wet and then frozen to chew on, this helped for a short time. And I have also allowed them to chew on a stalk of celery, but you have to watch them carefully so that they don't swallow any of the fine strands of the stalk. If you've heard all of these before- then try just a tiny tiny amount on your finger tip to their gums of Whisky- I've used Crown Royal not too much or it will make them sick, but it worked like a charm.

Here are a few things that I have tried (with success) You could let him chew on a corn cob (kernels removed) stick it in the freezer and let it get cold. I don't think he can choke on it - like celery. Also, if you have a silver rattle - give this to him. For some reason the silver is always cold and it feels good on the gums.

Good Luck.

Some kids don't like anything that is frozen, it's too cold to handle. A cold wet washcloth is just as useful without being too cold. They can manipulate it easily and chew away to their heart's content. I don't recommend oragel simply because it wears off the gums very quickly and most babies get upset about the numb tongue. Of course people will tell you not to give your child any amount of whiskey, but a small cotton swab run over the affected gums will not hurt the baby. I used cognac on my son before bed if he was really fussy with teething. I also put teething rings in the refrigerator, not the freezer, but the washcloth was his favorite solution.