Teething Symptoms & Some Things You Can Do to Help

Teething is something that can be very distressing for a parent but is also one of those milestones that a baby comes to. Teething can start earlier than most people think and even before any teeth decide to pop through. Some babies may have teething symptoms in the first few months. Some babies also may not have teething issues at all and may have teeth appear without hassle, but unfortunately the likely outcome is that there will be some discomfort.

Of course though like us all, babies deal with pain differently. Some many seem to not be able to cope at all, while others can deal with the pain without making much too fuss about it. The best way to know if your baby is experiencing teething issues is to understand and recognize the symptoms. Teething signs usually start a few months before the first tooth comes through so knowing symptoms is your only indication of whether it is a teething issue. It is important to know because teething gets blamed for many different things for example fever, diarrhea and runny noses to name a few. However, according to many health professionals, teething shouldn't make your baby ill at all.

So what are teething symptoms? Below are a few to look out for:

• Irritability - this was a big one for my son. He always showed his frustration with anything including teething. I remember how frustrated he would act trying to crawl! Irritability and restless are signs that teething could be an issues.


• Disturbed sleep.


• Flushed/red cheeks


• Loss of appetite


• Slight rise in temperature


• Dribbling - This can seem fairly excessive as well and may cause your baby to get a sore chin from it all.


• Chewing everything.


• An urge to bite.


• Sore red gums.

There are many things that you can do to help teething. Sometimes letting your baby chew on a cold cloth or bite on a carrot can really help. Sometimes just using a finger to rub your baby's gums can help. A pacifier is also a good option and can help a child focus on something else. I didn't want to use teething gels or medication and my son used a pacifier until he was ten months old for teething issues and this worked wonders for him. At 10 months old he experienced teething issues but when I tried to give him the pacifier, he threw it at me and decided from then on he wanted to deal with the pain alone. You can really pick up cues from your child, so see what they want as well. My son seemed to deal with teething really well after this point, so I am glad I chose to let him feel the pain so to speak.