If you had asked us six months ago if Logan was teething we would have told you “without a doubt, yes!” He was exhibiting all the symptoms: excess drool, “chewing” (with his gums) on any and everything, and he became super irritable — randomly crying out in pain.
We brought up these symptoms to his pediatrician and that we thought he had started teething only to be informed that he was “gumming,” not teething. We then pointed out that we saw the white of a tooth just beneath his gums, to which Logan’s doctor assured us was a discoloration that can sometimes happen. While we nodded our head in understanding, I was thinking, “What does he know?! He’s not with our baby 24/7.” (Any other moms get like this? I’m sure it’s not my last time either, ha!)
Well Logan, after six months of excessive drooling and chomping on everything, finally has two teeth! His two bottom-middle front teeth emerged over Thanksgiving. It’s funny, the gums of those teeth were incredibly swollen, which I guess is the truest telltale sign of teething, then one day we noticed the tiniest white of a tooth poking out. It didn’t take long after that for it to fully emerge. Things that have really helped bring Logan some relief (and continue to help, as the gum of one of his top-middle teeth is now swollen):
* Frozen pacifier. While Logan never took a pacifier for comfort, he did like chewing on a frozen one. We would run it under water and then stick it in the freezer. It’s a good idea to have a few of those on hand as the coldness doesn’t last too long.
* Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder. We learned about this lifesaver through a family friend! It’s great for holding an ice cube. Logan loves the cold from the ice and there’s no worry about choking when it starts to melt. I’ve linked to the product page on Amazon here, but I’ve also seen other variations of this in CVS.
* Baby Orajel Naturals. This comes in both a nighttime and daytime formula. We’ve used it as a last resort when the ice in the munchkin holder isn’t cutting it.
Other hacks we’ve picked up involve coconut oil, which is great for not only cradle cap, but also dry skin. After our trip to Martha’s Vineyard in July, Logan developed small, rough patches on his back, chest, and upper arms. It didn’t itch him, but the spots were a lighter color than the rest of his skin and rough to touch. A visit to the pediatrician told us that the patches were a form of eczema and that Aquaphor would make the skin smooth again, although it would be a few months before the patches evened out with his skin tone.
We would lather Logan up in the morning and evening, but it didn’t seem to be doing much in making the roughness disappear and the patches were slowly spreading! When we moved to Arizona and had our first appointment with Logan’s new pediatrician, we pointed out the rough patches and she recommended Vaseline. We tried this, and it also didn’t work. Finally, when visiting a friend of ours whose kids experienced the same thing, she recommended bathing Logan with the unscented, Dove white bar soap and then using coconut oil to moisturize. This did the trick! In no time the rough patches were gone and we’ve been using coconut oil as a moisturizer ever since. Now Logan’s skin is back to being as smooth as a baby’s bottom, and this momma is happy.
– Ravelle
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