Those gummy smiles get me everytime!
It's hard as a caregiver to see your little one in discomfort. Some children seem to breeze through teething while others find it very distressing. I guess it's a little rite of passage that they need to go through, a part of life if you will, but that doesn't mean we can't make it a little eaiser on them by providing comfort, support and some natural pain relief. I really try to steer clear of baby paracetemol and ibuprofen as new research begins to imerge showing they may not be as safe as we once thought. So we need other safer options. Here's a little list of some things to try when your little one is going through this tricky time.
CUDDLES This one kind of goes without saying but what you're bub probably wants more than anything when they are in pain is just to be held close to you. Just like we adults would if we weren't feeling great, feeling safe and held can not be underrated. Lots of cuddles and breastfeeding are really what they need and that might mean they need to sleep near you, on you, or in a carrier.
CHAMOMILE This herb really is the bee knees when it comes to infants and children. It has so many wonderful properties that can help to soothe and calm, ease digestion and colic, aid with fever relief and help promote sleep. You can give your baby a small amount of cooled chamomile tea to sip on through a bottle or you could make an iceblock out of chamomile tea and give that to baby to suck on. Breastmilk iceblocks also work well for teething bubs or just on hot days.
FROZEN VEGETABLES Cold or frozen vegetables or fruits make great teethers. In particular frozen sticks of capsicum are great because they are firm (reducing choking risk) and they contain capsaicin which is a natural mild pain reliever. Celery sticks also work well for this. It's important that you supervise a baby to make sure they dont break piece off which could become a choking risk. Also allow the vegetable to sit at room temp for a few minutes instead of giving it to baby straight out of the freezer.
BABY ICECREAM Similarly to the frozen vegetables except this time we are blending up frozen fruits such as bananas and spoon feeding to bub to help bring some cool comfort to the mouth. Obviously this only applies to babies who have started solids. Add your frozen fruits (avocado works well too) to a high speed blender, add in a dollop of yoghurt if you like and some cinnamon and whizz it all up to form a smooth, creamy texture.
LICORICE ROOT If you hunt around at your local health food store, bulk foods store or ask your local herbalist/naturopath, you should be able to get hold of a piece of licorice root. Licorice is naturally sweet tasting and the herb beautifully anti-inflammatory. The roots comes in small sticks that baby can easily hold and really chew on to relieve the discomfort of teething.
I hope you've found something new from this list that you can try for your teething bub. If you've got a great natural teething reliever I'd love to here it! Please comment below. Know a parent with a teething bub? Please share this post with them.
Comments