Teething question

M

Manmohini

Cathlete
Experienced Moms,
What has worked for you? I tried everything and finally resorted to Tylenol. My little one does not take well to teething. He has his two front teeth (bottom at 4 months). Tylenol is the only thing that works so far in terms of relief, but seriously I don't want to keep him dosed on that. When does it become too much? I know you can overdo it.

Also, is it safe to give a 4-month old Motrin. If so, what dose? I need to talk with my doctor's office again. The nurse I spoke to on the phone Friday did not seem very intelligent, and I couldn't get a useful answer.

Teething tablets (Hylands) don't seem to work; the boy won't play long with frozen teething rings or rags; I tried Hyland's gel as well. What else is there? And how much Tylenol is too much? I tend to be very drug and pharmaceutical conservative. Of course, I can't stand to see my son in distress when relief is available.
Manmohini
 
I feel for ya - and your little one! I saw the title and i was so excited to be able to offer the teething tablets, but I see they are not working. They were my miracle find w/ DD2. I really have no advice for you. I know next to nothing about meds. Hang in there - that tooth will pop soon, hopefully! Maybe distract him for awhile by taking him in the shower with you. That always seemed to work for a bit, tho its not a teething fix, per se. Wish you the best!
 
My kids have a terrible time teething. My pediatrician tells me to alternate tylenol and ibuprofen every three hours (ibu. at 9, tyl. at 12, ibu at 3, etc). It seems to take the edge off teething pain. Personally, tylenol works for my kids as well as it works for me- as in it doesn't work AT ALL. good luck.
 
Manmohini,

So sorry that Tamal is having such a tough time with teething. Sienna is going through it now but no teeth have popped yet. Baby orajel makes a big difference for her, she hates the taste but after 30 seconds she's all smiles. I also only resort to Tylenol when she's in extreme pain and/or running a low grade fever. I'm like you, I tend to avoid medications when I can and try to opt for something natural. So far these 2 things have worked well enough that I haven't sought out anything else.

She also loves sucking on wet washcloths, her fingers, and hard plastic rings.

I wish I had more advice for the pain. Good luck, let us know what works. In case things get worse I'd love to know what helped.

Best,
Steph
 
Unless you are tripling the dose and frequency of tylenol - give the kid the medication! Suffering pain increases prostoglandins and impedes immunity - tylenol is extremely safe and benign when USED PROPERLY (I'm an ICU nurse and have seen massive overdoses - which can kill the liver - but let me tell you, more often than not, it didn't, and the overdoses were like 500 tablets...).....

That and orajel or the numbing medicines.....
 
Thanks everyone. His two front teeth have popped through. He's had rough nights for about 2 weeks! The little guy doesn't take to teething well. Even the Tylenol lasted for only 2 hours on a couple of occasions. The Motrin didn't even seem to work. But yes, at night, the only thing that works is this heavy duty stuff. Otherwise, he twists and turns and gnaws his hands all night. Why do some babies have a worse time with this than others?

I will try the Hyland's tablets again by day. I have had a hard time getting him to play with frozen teething rings--maybe because he is only 4 months, and most of these are made for 6 months. He's gaining finger dexterity, so maybe soon.

Have a light clove oil/vegetable glycerin topical which seems to provide temporary relief--likde 5 or 10 minutes.

Does Motrin work for teething babies? I like the idea that it lasts 6-8 hours instead of 4, at least for night time. Still, it didn't seem to work on my son the night I gave it to him, and I hate to risk it again--as I would be afraid to give him anything else for another 6 hours if it failed.

Wow, we had just turned the corner on colic and settled down to some happy days!
Manmohini
 
poor little guy! he's definetely suffering probably b/c he's so little.

my dd JUST started teething last month when she was 14 mos old! anyway, we have found motrin (ibuprofen) works best for her. according to my bottle here, it is safe to use after 3 months old at 2.5 mL up to 3 times in a 24 hour period. My dr recommended using tylenol and Ib simultaneously when the pain was bad...for example, I can't remember how many doses you can give of tylenol per day, but I think it's 4. So, you give ty at 7am, then the Ib 2 hours later, ty again after 6 hours at 1pm, Ib at 3pm etc - this is what they also recommend to keep a high fever down in babies/children.

we also tried a homeopathic remedy that some of the mothers in england (im an american in england) swear by - but i didn't find it helped at all.

baby oragel also helps calm her down when she's uncomfy.
 
Yes, it's pretty bad really. He just popped two teeth and it looks like a third might be on the way. The trusty Tylenol has now failed to work a few times at night, so I'm not sure what to do. I've begun to wonder if maybe its gas that's causing the restlessness at night. He just moves around the whole night long--twisting, turning, flailing, jerking, and making sounds. Sometimes he puts his hands in his mouth. Other times, he draws up his legs and straightens them, which makes me think gas might be bothering him.

Anyhow, he is definitely one of those babies for whom teething is difficult! 14 months--that would be a nice time to start. My son certainly started early. As I said, we just a few weeks break from the colic when this set in!
Manmohini
 
Hooray, the teeth are all through. Last night, we slept soundly. Today my baby is happy and peaceful. Experienced moms, any idea how long before the next storm? Will all of his bouts of teething be this bad, or do they vary? Anyhow, I hope we both get a little break. The last two weeks were hell.
Manmohini
 
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