How we got through teething.

"My toofers hurt mama."

Last week, we hit the dreaded teething milestone. Today, Linna has eight teeth (four on the top and four on the bottom)! Linna never really had issues with any of her other teeth popping through, but the new toofers in her mouth REALLY gave her a hard time.  For two or three days and nights, my independent, happy, smiley baby, became a clingy, fussy, runny-nosed, high-temperature nightmare. There were times when her temp would reach 102-degrees, and all she wanted to do was cuddle. Linna was in SO much pain! It killed me to see her like that. After trial and error, we found a few things that worked for Linna. We also learned a few things along the way...
1. Medicine: Target's brand of Infant Ibuprofen and Hyland's Teeth Tablets worked for us. Not only did the ibuprofen help with Linna's pain, but it brought her fever down too. Linna also loved eating the Hyland's Teething Tablets. I'm not sure if it was a combination of both medicines, but they really gave Linna some teething relief.

2. Frozen peas: Linna eats these like candy, even when she's not teething. I think the cold on her teeth helped numb some of her pain.

3. Shophie the Giraffe: One of AJ's guy friends actually told me about this little toy. It's a giraffe made of rubber, that Linna loves to squeak and chew on. The poor thing was covered in drool for three full days!

4. Chew Beads: Any time I have a necklace on, it goes right into Linna's mouth. Chew Beads are necklaces and bracelets made of 100% silicone (similar to bottle nipples and pacifiers), and are safe for Linna to chew on. Again, it's a piece of jewelry that you won't mind having covered in drool.

5. Bring out the bibs: Just when we thought Linna was past her drooling phase, we had to bring out the bibs again. Linna would leave TRAILS of drool all over the house. It's kind of like having a dog. To prevent her from soaking through her tops, we had to put Linna in multiple bibs, multiple times a day.

6. Late nights and early mornings: Not only did I have to rock Linna to sleep for all of her naps and bedtime for three straight days/nights, but Linna had a really tough time going down. There were times that she would SCREAM, and wouldn't let me leave the room. She also started waking up REALLY early (like 6am). For two parents who are used to a baby that sleeps 12 straight hours at night (8pm - 8 am), this was a big change. However, lots of cuddles and early mornings with the three of us in one big bed, helped get us through it. Linna has gone back to her regular sleeping schedule, but I was a little nervous there for awhile!

7. Appetite: Linna's appetite drastically decreased when she was teething. There were days that she barely ate anything, and she wanted her bottle a lot more. I gave her a orange juice/whole yogurt (YoToddler from Stonyfield is our favorite) mixture in a sippy cup too, to make sure she was getting some nutrition. She also ate a lot of Cheerios. I'm sure the crunch felt good on her new toofers!

8. Wine: Duh. For mom, not baby.

If your little one is having a tough time teething, trust me, you'll get through it. Our 11-month-old is back to her normal, happy self, but it did take a lot of patience to get there!

Good luck.