- Babies are born with 20 primary teeth that are hiding inside their gums. And over the next two
and a half to three years those teeth are going to erupt
and break through those gums. And this process is what
we know as teething. Now, the good news is the discomfort a little on experiences from teething should technically only start a few days before that tooth breaks through and stop a few days afterwards. The not so good news is that your baby is going to go through
this process 20 times. So in this video we are going to cover what are the teething symptoms, what are not teething symptoms, as well as some strategies to help you relieve some of that discomfort your little one's going to experience. But before we do make sure you click on that free PDF document
in the description box below which covers the developmental milestones. You can be expecting for your little one in their first year of life. This will give you an
invaluable peace of mind as you'll know when to be
expecting certain skills and when to be concerned. Teething can begin as early
as three months of age, but you're more likely to
see your baby's first tooth anywhere from four to seven months of age or an extremely rare cases, your baby might've been born with a tooth or have a tooth arrive in
the first few weeks of life. So the first two teeth
you're most likely to see are the center two bottom teeth. And then there's a set sequence that the teeth typically arrive
in, but it's not uncommon for babies teeth to
arrive out of sequence. No matter what order those teeth arrive, your baby will have 20 teeth
by their third birthday. So they'll have 10 teeth on the bottom jaw and 10 teeth on the top jaw. Now you might have a
baby who doesn't show you any signs at all, that they are teething, and those teeth just arrive. Or you have a little one who
has all the teething signs. So the one of the first
things you might notice is an eruption cyst, and that is a blue or gray
bubble on your baby's gum which would disappear when
that tooth comes through. Your baby might also have gum pain. So that's pain at the site where that tooth is going to come through. And that sometimes results in a baby being more fussy
and changing their diets. So they prefer to have kind
of pureed food or softer food because the harder food is
causing them more discomfort. And of course their sleep
might be interrupted because of that gum pain. You might also notice that your baby has an increased craving to
chew on absolutely everything. So there might be your toy fingers or anything else that they
can find around the house. Now, with this chewing, you will notice an increase
dribbling and drooling. Now the key word here is an
increase in this behavior, not the start of dribbling and drooling which generally happens at
around eight to 12 weeks of age which is when your baby
first starts to make saliva. So this is an assigning
itself that they're teething, but as a result of extra chewing on things your baby is going to dribble
more because, unfortunately, those motor receptors in the mouth are going to send a message to the brain to say, produce more saliva. And then our little ones
don't yet have the skill to swallow that saliva, or actually manage it in their mouth. So that dribble is just going
to come straight on out. Now because of that extra drooling, your baby might also
develop a dribble rash. Now teething does not
cause a fever or diarrhea. So if your little one is
experiencing any of those symptoms it's important to go to a
doctor to have them checked. Now let's talk about what
you can do to help alleviate some of the discomfort your little one might be experiencing when teething. So the very first thing you can
do is provide a gum massage. So putting pressure on
the sore gum can actually decrease the pain, your
little one's experiencing. So you would obviously clean
your finger and then rub that along the swollen or irritated
part of your baby's gum. And you can do this as many times as you want throughout the day. Really, it depends on how
happy your little one is to let you rub their gum. Now, if your little one isn't that happy for you to rub their gum, don't worry, they can actually rub their own gum and essentially give
themselves a gum massage by chewing on things. So they can chew on a pacifier or a dummy, if they're already using it. If they're not using it, then don't worry about introducing it. Or you can use a wet face washer. Now this way to worship should be placed in the fridge after it's
been wet and chilled and then given to your baby to munch on. Don't put it in the freezer because if you put it in the freezer there's a risk that
they'll get freezer burn when they put it in their mouth. Now to make it easier for your little one to actually hold the face washer. I've seen lots of videos
where they actually do it like this, and
then they just twist it and then wet this part of the face washer and place it in the fridge
and then give it to the baby. As you can see, this is
a really thick handle. It would be really hard for
your little one to hold. So a better option is to actually roll it up really, really tightly. And then again, only wet one end and then place that in the fridge. And then you could give that to them as a thin cylindrical item to hold, which is easier for your babies. Or you can give them a teething ring. Now I prefer teething
rings that are circular because it's easier for a
four to seven month old baby to hold when you're thinking
about their fine motor skills or a teething ring that
is cylindrical in nature. Now, of course, when you're looking at buying a teething
ring, you wanna make sure that they're made from
non-toxic ingredients. So that might be a hundred
percent natural rubber, food-grade silicone,
untreated natural hardwood or food-grade safe plastics. And if you get a teether
that you can place in the fridge, even better, because then you can give it
to your little one chilled. Again, remember don't
put it in the freezer because when you give it to your baby it can actually cause a
little bit of frostbite. So it's not ideal. Your baby might also
like using teething rusks or biscuits or having food that is chilled but this is only really appropriate if your little one is eating and you need to always make sure that you're watching your little one when they've got a
teething rusk or biscuit. Now because your little
one is going to be chewing on a lot more things, you're going to notice
that increase in dribbling which can cause a dribble rash. So you want to prevent
that rash from happening by making sure that you
wipe away any excess drool. And also use bibs that
have a waterproof backing and applying a moisture
barrier cream if needed. And if you want more
information on how to manage your baby's dribbling to
prevent that rash occurring then make sure you check
out the video linked above. Now, the other strategy that can work really well is distraction. So this is only really helpful,
for when your baby's awake during the day, it doesn't
help at night time. But what you can do is just
try and engage your baby in more play, just to try and
distract them from that pain. Now, if they continue to
experience some pain and discomfort and it's interrupting their
day and their night's sleep, you can consider using
medication to manage that pain. But that's always
something you should talk to your baby's doctor about
because then you can find out what medication is
suitable and at what level. Now there are some things
that are no longer recommended for helping relieve teething symptoms. And that is firstly,
the teething necklaces. So these are jewelry or beads that are worn around a
baby's neck or on their wrist to help relieve some
of those teething pain. And it's typically made from Amber. Now, the US Food and Drug
Administration or FDA no longer recommend these because it can lead to strangulation. And there is a risk of choking if those beads break off at all. The FDA also do not recommend
the use of teething gels, because they have found that
they're not necessarily useful for babies who are teething, and in fact it came cause your baby harm. So teething gels themselves usually wash out your
baby's mouth very quickly because they swallow it. And then as parents,
we tend to put more on. And that excessive amount of medicine which they are constantly swallowing can actually be really
harmful for you a little one and cause some serious health conditions. For example, benzocaine,
which is a local anesthetic found in some teething gels
can cause choking, bluish skin, allergic reactions and a rare
but serious blood disorder. So that's the parent's lose signs your baby may show you
when they're teething as well as some strategies
that you can use to help alleviate some
of your baby's pain. Now, if you want some
more advice on drooling and what it all means, then
check out these videos. And if you want more information on how to help your
baby do some tummy time then check out this one.
