Teething Remedies That Actually Help My Baby

Let’s talk teething.

**Any Amazon links are affiliate links**

I used to hear parents talk about how hard it is when your baby is teething, but I had no clue. My first daughter never seemed to have teething symptoms. At most, she was fussy here and there, but nothing compared to my second daughter.

Now – I know. I know what those other parents were talking about.

Teething causes your baby some serious pain and discomfort at times and the worst part is, you never know when they will feel okay and when they will feel the pain. It seems to come in waves, at least in my experience. Some days are better than others and those bad days can be really bad.

There’s nothing worse than seeing your baby in pain and not knowing how to help.

If you aren’t sure if your baby is teething, here are some classic signs:

• constant drool
• low-grade fever
• cranky / fussy
• pulling at their ears or rubbing their face
• chews on objects more frequently
• swollen gums
• doesn’t want to eat
• has trouble sleeping

Now, your baby might have one, some or all of the symptoms above. Mine just had a couple. She gets super fussy, won’t eat her food and pulls on her ears constantly.

I decided to do some research early on to find out what really works for teething. One thing I quickly learned is that there’s a lot of different opinions about what works and what doesn’t. It looked like it was going to take some trial and error.

I was used to what my Mom taught me – Tylenol and Orajel. That’s all our parents knew as far as any teething remedies back in the day. Now we know that there are some dangerous side effects to Orajel, so that option is out for us.

After reading post after post about what options I had and what worked for other mom’s and their babies, here is what I’ve tried that truly seems to help my little one:

1.) TEETHING TOYS

My daughter specifically likes the toys that you can put in the freezer. We currently have two sets of these keys that she will sit and chew on for a good fifteen minutes or so. She also really likes the mesh teethers where you can put some fresh fruit in and then place them in the freezer. I stick some strawberries in there, put them in the freezer, then take it out when she needs some relief. This option can get messy though, so she goes in her highchair when I give her this teether.

There are so many teething toys on the market! If one option isn’t working for your baby, try another one. Teething toys don’t help babies for too long but they help for a short time at least.

2.) CHEWING ON A TOOTHBRUSH

This acts the same way as a teething toy but my baby will chew on this for a longer period of time. She likes all brushes actually, including hairbrushes. Our hairbrush has a rubber handle and she loves to chew on that. Same with the toothbrush – she loves both the handle and the side with the bristles. I’m sure this helps to soothe her gums a bit.

3.) GIVE THEM A BATH

A warm bath can also help calm a baby when they are teething. It’s more of a distraction than anything else. If the teethers aren’t working for my little one, I put her in a warm bath with some bath toys and she forgets about her mouth for a while.

This helps every time. Not once have I put her in there and seen her continue to cry. She always gets distracted with the water and ends up playing for a while. It’s not exactly the most practical option, especially if you’re out, but if you’re home, then a bath is a great option.

4.) TEETHING BISCUITS OR CRACKERS

We’ve also had success with teething biscuits. I think this one is a combination of being a distraction, while also being something to soothe their gums as they chew on the biscuits. However, this is another option that can get messy, so putting them in their highchair is highly recommended.

I’ve been getting these ones for my daughter and she seems to like them. (You can get them for pretty cheap at the grocery store or Target.)

5.) TYLENOL

Ahhhh Tylenol – the oh-so-debated Tylenol. Yes, there are side effects to consider when giving a baby Tylenol but I am not a mom opposed to giving it to my child – especially if it helps my baby with the pain. I understand that some mom’s prefer more natural remedies and don’t like to give their baby Tylenol and that is completely understandable.

Either way, make sure you talk to your baby’s pediatrician before going this route. Mine approved it for our little one so when nothing else is working and she seems miserable, I give her some Tylenol.

6.) AMBER NECKLACES

This is the one option on my list that I haven’t tried yet but I thought it was worth putting on here because I’ve heard a lot of mom’s swear by them. The idea is that your child’s body heat causes the amber to release oils containing succinic acid, which then get absorbed into your child’s bloodstream, helping to ease their pain.

You may sense my skepticism. I’m not 100% sold on these yet, but I would like to give one a try. I just don’t see how much they can really help, but I could be wrong because so many other mom’s seem to notice improvement with their babies when they wear these. (If you’ve tried them, please comment below and let me know your experience!)

These are the things (minus the amber necklace) that I have personally tried with my baby that worked and gave her relief. These are also the options I was comfortable with trying. I came across a lot more teething remedies when doing my research but just didn’t try them for one reason or another (i.e., wasn’t comfortable with it, haven’t bought the product, etc.).

If you’re curious though, here’s a list of other teething remedies I found from other mom’s:

• Chewing on green onions
• Letting them chew on a frozen washcloth
• DIY popsicles
• Essential oils
• Vanilla extract
• Put a metal spoon in the freezer, then let them chew on it
• Camilia Teething Drops

Unfortunately, all of it is temporary relief. I don’t think anyone has found a magic cure that makes teething go away all together, but the five options I mentioned above help ease my baby’s comfort more than anything else.

Has your baby gone through teething? What helped them?