Teething - help

[L'sMommy]

DS (4m) is teething. There are times during the day when he cries intensely and tries to put both his fists in his mouth. The last 2 nights putting him to bed has been horrible. I guess the pain is really bad for him when he lies down. He kept screaming and screaming and didn't want to be swaddled. I picked him up and he quieted, but when I put him down again he started screaming. In the last month we have been slowly trying to get him to fall asleep on his own (never letting him cry on his own for more than 5 minutes). This worked well for DS and I (I could not bear to watch him cry).

Anyway, now that he's in pain, I have been picking him up to comfort him. I'm afraid all the work we did last month to get him to fall asleep on his own within 5-10 minutes is going to go out the window. Any suggestions? The other thing is (at bedtime) I can't always tell which cry is from the pain (unless it's a high pitched scream) and which cry is from him not wanting to go to sleep (like he used to do before he fell asleep). Just wondering how other people handled this. Obviously, when he's in pain my priority is to soothe and comfort him.

I've been using baby orajel, but it doesn't seem to be working. I don't want to try tylenol without talking to the doctor first. During the day, I can usually distract him so it's not as bad. I'm also working on getting him to like chilled teething rings. He prefers chewing on his hands or a soft cloth (burp cloth, blanket, his sleeve, bib, etc)

[SnuggleBuggles]

Poor little one. I might be tempted to go in just to make sure it is teething and nothing else (ear infection perhaps? not all kids get bad fevers with those).

We did Tylenol. If he were older I would suggest frozen peaches in a mesh baby feeder but 4m is a bit young for solids.

Beth

[Melaine]

This is weird, because I was just writing a review of Amber Teething Necklaces for my blog. I am a BIG fan of them. I think my girls were almost done teething by the time we bought them, but I truly believe they help me with my neck pain, so if I were you I would definitely consider it. So, here is my review cut and pasted from my blog:

"I just realized that I never posted a review of the amber necklaces we bought nearly a year ago.
I bought necklaces for each of the girls and one for myself . We love them!
I was concerned that at their age (when we first got them, the girls were 21 months) they would be bothered by them, try to take them off, or worse PULL each other by the neck. But they were delighted to see they got necklaces that matched mommy's and we haven't had a moments trouble with them. When they wake up in the morning they point to their necks and are ready to get dressed and put on their necklaces. They look so adorable too!
I love my necklace (I now have two from Inspired by Finn). It's been really difficult the last two years, as I developed a nickel allergy during pregnancy and can no longer wear most jewelry. My wedding ring and all my expensive jewelry irritates my skin; sterling silver, white gold, yellow gold, etc. I was told anything of a lesser quality than platinum would be a problem, because most metals contain nickel as a firming substance. Even beaded, plastic and cord jewelry is often made with metal clasps that I can't wear. I've tried "hypo-allergenic" jewelry and can't wear that either.
Now I have jewelry that I can wear all the time, and I don't even feel it. I was delighted to see how light and comfortable it is, and I LOVE that the clasp is all plastic, so NO irritation for me! It is a pleasure to be able to put on jewelry again! I also love that the clasp doesn't catch my hair the way almost all jewelry used to.
As I mentioned before, amber jewelry has natural analgesic properties. After wearing this necklace for months now, I am amazed to report that I do believe it is effective. I have fairly constant neck pain and should be seeing a chiropractor regularly, but I haven't been in months. The necklace really dulls the pain. When I forget to put it back on after showering, I can feel the difference. It's not a miracle, but it definitely takes the edge off of the pain. My grandmother wears her amber bracelet for bursitis and she agrees it does help.
I also wanted to comment on the quality of Kate's jewelry at Inspired by Finn. I have worn my multi-colored necklace about 23 hours a day, every day (occasionally switching it out with my "dressier" dark amber necklace) since we bought and it is still going strong which is impressive! My daughters, parents, brothers and grandmother all have them too and no one has had any quality complaints.
I highly recommend Kate at Inspired by Finn, she's very helpful and her jewelry is lovely. Shipping is also very reasonable, so check it out: http://hyenacart.com/inspiredbyfinn/
Who doesn't want jewelry that makes you feel better?!"

[Tondi G]

I used to use teething tablets, we like Humphrey's (you can easily get Hylands at a lot of stores though) and also gave tylenol at bed time. I remember talking to a doctor once who said " if we, as adults, had to go through teething that babies do, we would need vicodin or some serious motrin!"

If you are sure he is teething then I wouldn't hesitate to give baby some tylenol at bed time and see if it helps soothe it enough to help him get to sleep easier.

Has he been sick with a cold or any congestion lately? I only ask cause that is what my little ones would do when they had ear infections.... cry when you put them down, cause it hurts more! Could easily be the teething though.