At the moment though, there’s no getting away from it. Nerys is cutting 4 molars at the same time and oh dear God is she suffering! At first I thought it was just the bottom two that were coming through, until I rubbed some teething gel on her gums and realised the top ones were starting to poke through as well. No wonder she’s been in such a state.
And she really has been in a state. For a lot of the day she’ll seem ok, then it’ll all get too much and she’ll be beside herself. She just doesn’t know what to do with herself (Ah great, now I’ve got this song stuck in my head!).
I’m hoping the teeth are nearly through and she’ll be back to her sunny self soon, but in the meantime here’s how we’re coping:
When Nerys herself doesn’t even know what she wants it’s really hard to know what to do to help her! I’m trying my best to be as patient as I can through the times of “I want you to pick me up, No I don’t want you to pick me up, I want that, No I want THAT, No I want THAT so that I can throw it”
Medication (for her)
When we can see she’s in pain with her teeth we’ll tend to dose her up with some painkillers to try and take the edge off for her. I read recently that ibuprofen is best for teething pain as it helps with the inflammation of the gums as well as the pain.
Medication (for you)
Making sure I have a steady supply of chocolate and coffee helps keep me sane amidst all the screaming. Ibuprofen for the screaming-induced headache helps also.
Alternative therapies
Lots of parents swear by Ashton and Parsons teething powder and it does seem to help calm Nerys down when she’s really suffering. We also find Nelsons Teetha powder really good.
Nelsons teething gel has been a real help too; the combination of the magic power of the gel and the counter pressure on her gums seems to make her feel a bit better.
Something to chew on
This idea of counter pressure on the gums is also the main thinking behind this idea of giving them something to chew/bite on. Suggestions from around the internet include giving them;
- a stick of cucumber straight from the fridge
- some ice wrapped in a muslin or flannel
- a bagel that’s been in the fridge
- specialist teething biscuits
- a teething ring or other kind of teether – we foundthese were the best for Rhys
Nerys hasn’t really taken to any of these things, choosing instead to keep hold of the syringe after we give her some medicine and chewing on that!
Positive thinking!
I tell myself ‘this too shall pass’. Over and over again. As loud as I can, to try and drown out the screaming!
Does anyone have any other suggestions for how to cope with teething? I’d love to hear if you have a miracle solution, or if you’re just suffering too, misery loves company and all that!
