Little Bianca is teething. Poor thing is a baba factory! Slober production is in full force. She can’t keep her fingers out of her mouth, unless of course she’s found something else to rub on her gums like a wood block or her sister’s plastic Dora doll (no small pieces to choke on, don’t worry mom!). She’s also pseudo-crawling – she pulls/pushes herself on the floor like nobody’s business. In short, she’s a handful right now. I keep saying that those teeth are coming any minute now, but my husband thinks I’ll be saying that for another couple of months.
My question to you today is: what are your techniques for getting through is period? I went through this a couple of years ago with Gia, but I don’t remember anything in particular that really helped. Is there a particular product you really love?
Michele Lepe 
Hello Michele- Welcome to blogging! It can be tough to keep up with, especially being a busy parent and working full-time. (That is my life, too.) But, the conversations and interactions with others can be richly rewarding. That’s been true for me!
On to your question… I’m a dad of three, so I’ve been through the whole teething bit, too. In fact, my almost 5-year-old son who has Down syndrome still is a chewer! (BTW, he’s a big fan of yours and is watching you right now, in fact!) With Jacob, his teething was particularly tough. We found a couple of different things that help– lots of chewy toys! Kids chew to relieve the teething pain and for oral stimulation, too. Also, we found a white dissolvable pill that works to relieve teething pain. You can find them at CVS- Hyland’s Baby Teething Pills. They’re all natural and seemed to take the edge of the teething pain. And the last thing that helped was constantly reminding ourselves that “this too shall pass”. That little bit of perspective helped from time to time!
I hope that helps a little… Just know you’re in company with a lot of other moms and dads, too!
Thanks Chris! I really appreciate your advice. We’ll keep those chew toys nearby – but I think that your mantra “this too shall pass” is gonna get us all through this. Please tell Jacob Nina says Hi and give him a hug from me!
“This too shall pass” has gotten us through a LOT of stuff, including some “fun” teenage stuff we’re going through now. I’m sure Jacob will be thrilled to know Nina said Hi! 🙂 Thank you, Michele…
Fellow Judson Rocket here.
Right with ya on the teething. We found letting our son bite on a cold towel we placed in the freezer worked well. Nothing else worked for us. It will pass, then you can look forward to biting once teeth all come in!
Thanks! You know what? I tried the frozen wash cloth two days ago and she wasn’t really into it for more than 30 seconds 😦 I jut wish the darn teeth would come already!!!!
And I forgot to ask…how are you surviving up there without Tex-Mex? 🙂
LOL! Barely. We have some close imitations but nothing compares. When my parents come visit they bring some “Chelas tacos” or tamales 😉 do you know them? Over by UTSA!
When God created the taco, he gave it to Chelas! When I go home to see mom, we make a special trip to Chelas, even though she still lives near Converse. I so look forward to some Barbacoa De Cachete. I’ll eat one in your honor next time I’m there;)
Hi Michele, one thing that worked well for us was one the NUK training toothbrush. We used it as a teether rather than a toothbrush. It’s shaped like a toothbrush but instead of bristles it has little nubbies on the end. My little guy chewed on it constantly! Also we used the mesh fresh food feeder by Munchkin, we put apples, ice cubes, whatever in there. Wishing you love and luck with your family. We are big fans!
Thanks so much! I will look for the tooth brush. I have the mesh feeder and the frozen banana piece I used just left me a big mess!!! So I will try apple tomorrow 😉
As a stay-at-home dad with twin boys who are 22 months old I can honestly say nothing works well when it comes to bad teething – at least for my boys. Beer works well for me though.
Noted!!!
Hi I have 2 lil boys and they both broke 8 teeth at 6 months. My grandmother always gave them a green onion to chew on (the white part?) The juices naturally numb the gums. Their breath was icky but they were happy :).
Priscilla
8 teeth??? And you survived?! Well, Bianca still hasn’t broken those front teeth yet but it’s gonna happen any day now. She had the worst boogies for the past 3 days and I think it’s all related to teething. I had never heard of the onion trick!! I’m eager to try it!
I don’t even know if you read these or check this anymore, and it’s months later so it is not really relevant anymore anyway!!! BUT, my son has 16 teeth at 13 months, first teeth at 5 months and they just kept coming without a single teething symptom until his recent molars… One thing that kept him comfortable during the most recent molars was Welch’s Natural Grape Juice ice pops. LOVED THEM! It lowered the slight teething fever he had and kept his mouth cool and comfy.
I do read these!!! And it’s still relevant as we are still teething!!!! And it still sucks 😉 but its not as bad as those first few teeth. At 13 months my baby has 6 but I can see where the molars are making her gums puffy and swollen….so here we go again! She loves Popsicles so ill make sure to keep them in the freezer now that these are coming! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Michele!!
My daughter Gabrielle just loves you and star!! She watches you every night before bedtime! 🙂 When she was teething, we bought a teether at Wal-Mart that vibrates. We had one that looked like a bunch of grapes and one was a strawberry. When you bite down on it, it vibrates and soothes their gums. It was a little tricky when she was too young to hold it and maneuver it herself but we would just sit her on our laps and hold it for her and she eventually was able to do it herself. We bought the cold tethers but she did not like them when she was younger. My mom used to peel a carrot and cut off the ends and let us chew on that. It’s big enough for them to hold, it’s cool because it has come out of the fridge, and its too hard for them to break or bite through. Hope this helps!!!
Good advice! I forgot about the carrots. Gia used to like those too!!
My son love you and star too. We just discovered your show last night. Better late then never:) Great post. My wife and I haven’t found a great remedy for teething.He is three now so maybe the Orajel will be okay. I haven’t tried it yet. Some pediatricians don’t recommend when they are under a year but probably now it would be okay. Any advice on that? The carrots sound like a good idea, but my son is so finicky that most likely he wouldn’t put one in his mouth. The teething toys seem to work the best for him. This is the one he seems to like the best: http://www.diapers.com/p/munchkin-fun-ice-chewy-teether-foot-or-hand-36120
Sorry I couldn’t offer better advice:(
Thanks so much Stephen! The teething pain seems to come and go these days and yet NO TEETH!!!! 🙂 I tell you what…these kids have made me a much more PATIENT person than I ever was before!!
Hylands teething tabs are the BEST. It was the only thing that helped my son. He also liked to chew on teething rings that had been in the refrigerator (NOT the freezer because they can break if they have been in there), but that didn’t help as much as the Hylands.
My little one (20 months old now) seemed to be teething all the time. What worked for her is that mesh food feeder, we put ice cubes in there and she sucked on them. Also at night we used homeopathic teething tablets. They helped her sleep at night while her teeth did there thing.
Hyland’s Teething Tablets saved my life when my daughter was teething. They are homeopathic and work like a charm. Janna is totally dead on about that. 🙂 –Kira
Hi Michele, I’m so happy to see that you have a blog and are also a mommy of 2. My son is 2 1/2 and my daughter is 4 months. My little guy just loves you! On the teething note, something that worked well for my son and I’m starting to use for my daughter, are the mesh feeding teethers. Their are a couple of different brands out there. I make all of the baby food and freeze it into cubes, so I just pop a cube in the holder (normally banana or apple) and baby feels much better. Good luck!
OMG Teething! I have found myself at 37 being a first time single dad with an AMAZING 8 month boy…. The teething story starts with his first tooth. He suddenly was crying a lot, snot was running and slobbered more than my old St Bernard so I assumed he was sick. To keep from asking anyone I knew for help, I took him with me to CVS. Needless to say, the girls in the pharmacy almost laughed me out of the store! lol (I also learned you can`t buy anything otc for babies with congestion which they also found funny!) Now we just had our 4th tooth pop through and the slobber/ drool is worse than ever. I tried the mesh teething thing ( once I figured out what a mesh teether was) and I ended up with a dripping mixture of banana, snot and drool but I`ll certainly try the apple.
Up until a few months ago, I had no clue what Sprout was. Now, he likes to hangout in his jumper with Chica ( I assume its her squeal he is tuned into) and especially with “Nina” in the evening. I think he has learned that its time for the crib when you go off so I thank you and he thinks you are awesome! lol Speaking of, you just went off so he just jumped his last jump of the day, thank you jesus! lol
Woah! Good luck!!! I totally went through the same slobbery mess with the banana in the mesh. You’ve got your hands full and hopefully some of the tips shared here will help. I still haven’t tried those homeopathic tablets but so many of my friends swear by them.
We are teething with my 3 month old son right now and it’s so tough! My daughter who is 2 1/2 had the longest teething like your daughter also. Poor baby chews on his hand all day long, the only relief he gets is firm pressure on his gums with my finger wrapped in cloth.
Have you tried Sophie the giraffe teething toy? My daughter who is also named Sophie 🙂 didn’t care much for it. The baby likes it but too little to hold on to it yet. Good luck and we love your show. My daughter loves watching you and it is her nightly routine now. Thanks!
The teething tablets worked for us too, but only on the front teeth. My daughter is 2 and a half and the molars are STILL coming in! She gets raging fevers every few weeks. We’ve done lots of tests and doctors are perplexed, but I know. The hand in the mouth for two days before the fevers is my indicator of what’s going on. How many teeth is this kid gonna have?! I feel like she’s a T-Rex or something, lol. Anyway, the teething tablets were a huge help in the beginning, hope you’ve found something to help!
PS-My daughter ADORES you and Star. You are lifesavers, it gives her something to look forward to each night. She’s even trying to do the sign language with you and she knows the whole Hush Hush poem. Adorable!