Is your baby showing teething symptoms, or are they fussy for some other reason? If baby is exhibiting any of these seven signs, she is almost certainly teething.
Whether it’s brushing those teeth after they finally arrive or waiting for them to come in, baby teeth sure cause a lot of trouble! The process of getting these teeth can be effortless or excruciating depending on your baby. Even with minor cases, most babies show some teething symptoms.
When Do Babies Start Teething?
The tricky thing about teething is that symptoms can start 2 to 3 months before a tooth surfaces! This can be brutal for baby and family if there’s a lot of discomfort.
Teething Symptoms: How Do You Know If Your Baby is Teething?
Watch this video to find out.
The key is to look for these seven teething symptoms
1. Biting more than usual
This teething symptom will turn your baby into a vampire. Bite, bite, bite on anything from plastic spoons, to toys, to your breast. Griffin liked chewing on hard plastic things the best., but there’s a plethora of teething toys on the market which may also help.
2. Excessive drool
When babies are still newborns, they’re still learning how to swallow their saliva—this causes excessive drooling. Fast forward to teething, and the drooling starts again (or never stops in some cases). When baby is teething, the body creates extra saliva to lubricate the tender and bulging gums.
3. Fussier than usual, especially at night
These teething symptoms make babies who once slept through the night start to wake up several times for comfort. In the quiet hours of night, a baby often feels the teething pain more because there are fewer distractions.
4. Disturbances in sleep patterns
Because of teething discomfort, babies will usually nap less and wake up earlier in the morning. Fun times for all involved with these teething symptoms!
5. Fever, rashes, cough, and diarrhea
Although some doctors disagree, many mamas detect a slight fever (under 100 degrees) in their babies when teeth are imminent. Additionally, the extra drool can cause facial rashes, chafing, and coughing, since it pools at the back of the throat. Some babies even develop diaper rash and diarrhea.
6. Decreased appetite
When babies are in pain, they generally don’t want to eat, especially since it triggers their sore spots. Keep trying to feed them as much as possible, despite the resistance. Call your doctor if baby’s caloric input decreases dramatically.
7. Pulling of ears and rubbing of chin and cheeks
Babies can be quite resourceful and administer self massage. By pulling and rubbing around their jaw, they create counter pressure that eases some of the pain and throbbing.
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Baby Teeth Chart: Which Baby Teeth Come In First?
If your little baby is acting different lately because of teething symptoms, take heart there’s good reason. Soon enough, her little pearly whites will surface. Here’s a quick look at which baby teeth come in first:
Baby Teeth Chart What Order Do They Come In chart by Mama Natural
For more on which baby teeth come in first, check out this whole post on the subject.
Baby Teething Pain Relief
While all of these baby teeth come in, we don’t have to be victims to teething symptoms. There are some great things we can do to comfort baby in the midst of the teething process:
- Lower inflammation: Inflammation from teething stimulate nerves, causing pain.
- Boost the immune system: There is some debate whether teething lowers the immune system, or whether the emergence of colds and fevers while teething is simply a coincidence. Either way, boosting baby’s immunity can’t hurt.
- Apply cold and pressure: Cold helps numb the area, while pressure soothes inflamed gums.
- Try teething toys: Safe and non-toxic objects that baby can chew apply counter pressure to aching gums.
- Herbal remedies: To help ease teething pain, make an herbal tea, soak a washcloth, freeze it, then let baby chew on it.
Want to learn more? Check out my full post on effective teething remedies.
How About You?
What teething symptoms did your baby have?
